Storm-Damaged Asbestos Roofing: What to Do First

Big southerlies do the same thing across Sydney every year: they find the oldest, most weathered asbestos-cement sheeting on a property and crack it. Roofs, eaves and fence sheets that were stable the day before end up broken and open to the weather.

Broken is the part that matters. Bonded asbestos cement is comparatively stable while it is intact. Once it is cracked, snapped or delaminating, it starts releasing fibres — and storm damage produces exactly that state, across a large area, quickly.

What to do first

Keep people away from it. Close off the area below and around the damage, including the yard if sheeting has come down. Keep children and pets inside.

Do not sweep or hose the debris. Sweeping makes fibres airborne, and hosing spreads fragments across the yard and into drains. Leave it where it is.

Photograph it from the ground. Photos from a safe distance are enough for us to scope the job and get you a quote, and they are also what your insurer will want.

Call your insurer early. Storm damage to asbestos roofing is frequently covered, and the claim goes more smoothly when the removal is documented from the start.

What not to do

Do not climb up to tarp an asbestos roof. Weathered asbestos-cement sheeting is brittle, and people fall through it — the fall is a more immediate risk than the fibres. Do not attempt to lift or stack broken sheets, and do not put any of it in a skip or a household bin; asbestos is a regulated waste stream and licensed facilities are the only lawful destination.

Making it safe properly

Emergency work on damaged asbestos is about containment first and repair second. We isolate the area, remove the broken material under controls, and get the building closed in. Where the roof itself has to come off, we remove and replace it in the one job so the property is not left open.

If a storm has damaged asbestos material on your property, call us and we will tell you what you are dealing with.