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Risks of asbestos guttering?

Incheck

Well-known member
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1,739
Location
Cardiff
Now that UPVC & aluminium have become pretty much the standard fixtures of the modern age, i do wonder when i come across some of these old gutters whether they could be asbestos and what risks i could potentially be exposing myself to. I have no idea of how to tell the difference between asbestos & other materials, does anybody have any pointers? Would be appreciated if so,

Thanks

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The old asbestos gutters are still out there generaly they are in short lengths and the give away is that they are bolted together the bolt sticks through the bottom of the overlap bit , I think the risks involved with them is minimal providing you don’t cut or rub them down , we do vac some on rare occasions. Generaly they are painted so the asbestos is not going to affect you , but it never hurts to be cautious with things like this if in any doubt walk away .

 
I do a fair few of them. There is an estate by me where most of the residents have not changed them. After you have done the job suck up a bucket of water to dampen down what's inside the vac and bag it, stops it going airbourne. You could give the gutter itself a spray with water to dampen down the dust in it prior to starting the job.

I don't have a waste clearance license so gutter debris I put in customer bin. I let them know there is asbestos potentially in it. Without it actually being tested by a lab then who knows for certain if has asbestos in it. 

Customer can take it their local skip and drop it off there.

 
It only crossed my mind yesterday that i have a friend in the industry who is an asbestos removal guy. He said the risks of clearing out asbestos guttering are basically zero as it’s very low grade and as it’s a cement you’d have to turn it in to a paste before it formed. He did mention something about either an “installation board, or insulation” (couldnt tell as the phone was crackly) i assume he could have been referring to fascia boards, which, if are asbestos, are high grade and very dangerous indeed. But as i have nothing to do with those no worry. The clearing out of is all ok he reckons i’ll be absolutely fine


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It only crossed my mind yesterday that i have a friend in the industry who is an asbestos removal guy. He said the risks of clearing out asbestos guttering are basically zero as it’s very low grade and as it’s a cement you’d have to turn it in to a paste before it formed. He did mention something about either an “installation board, or insulation” (couldnt tell as the phone was crackly) i assume he could have been referring to fascia boards, which, if are asbestos, are high grade and very dangerous indeed. But as i have nothing to do with those no worry. The clearing out of is all ok he reckons i’ll be absolutely fine


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I got sent on an Asbestos course and I didn't realise how dangerous it was. I wouldn't go near an Asbestos gutter, all it takes is a bit of Asbestos dust to enter your lungs and its in there for life. Nasty stuff, I recommend anyone on this forum not to go near Asbestos whether mixed with cement or anything else, leave it to the professionals. Hard to believe but they still mine the stuff and its legal in poor countries!

 
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our house is old asbestos gutter, looks ****. I tell you one thing thats true, my mates sister died in her 40s of asbestosis. she never even worked with it. Her husband used to, and she used to wash his clothes, and then in the dryer. They reckon the tiny particles coming out of the dryer into the kitchen did it. she didnt have dryer funnel going outside. Dodgy stuff.

 
our house is old asbestos gutter, looks ****. I tell you one thing thats true, my mates sister died in her 40s of asbestosis. she never even worked with it. Her husband used to, and she used to wash his clothes, and then in the dryer. They reckon the tiny particles coming out of the dryer into the kitchen did it. she didnt have dryer funnel going outside. Dodgy stuff.
[emoji22] how tragic that is. I also can not believe it is still mined/used in so many countries.


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Asbestos was banned in this country in November 1999 so any properties built before this potentially could have asbestos used somewhere within the building.

20 tradesmen die per week from asbestos related disease .

After going on an asbestos awareness course I was gob smacked to how much asbestos was used within the building trade and where you can find it, the old black toilet cistern and toilet seats contained asbestos even the heat pad that can be found under the stainless steel sinks honestly you would be amazed where you can still come into contact with asbestos.

The guttering and AIB soffits would be low risk as you are not creating dust while carrying out your work and you would be using water which would suppress any dust but I would be careful if you was gutter vacuuming in fact I would walk away if asked to gutter vac.

 
When I was flat roofer, we often took up a old asbestos roof. Remember it’s only the dust that’s harmful. We used to soak the roof before taking it up. Really lowers the risk, as the dust doesn’t come out when it’s wet. But we always wore a appropriate mask as well.

If you’re worried or don’t feel comfortable when you come across one just leave it. That’s what I would do now. They’re pretty rare now in gutters.

 
I dread to think what’s already entered my system in my plumbing years to be honest. When i started at 16 and for years after, asbestos awareness was barely ever mentioned, i wonder if the subject is shunned and “rolled under the carpet” because from what i can tell it was literally everywhere, roofs, insulation, cements, floor tiles, pipe lagging, panelling around gas meters, used extensively around window frames, the list goes on. All that drilling i did, the times i got covered in all manners of dust, working on site where other people were creating lots of dust. I reckon the chances are its already in my system. Apparently, asbestos related illness takes 30-40 years before it surfaces, but if you smoke you are 75 times more likely to aggravate lung tissues and trigger it off. So i am very glad i quit smoking at least!


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They say that the next big threat will be from rock wool loft and pipe insulation and MDF in fact MDF is banned in america so its got to be bad lol
That’s me had it then! The number of times i’ve been stuck in an attic lagging pipes and fitting vertical flues with all that itchy rockwool getting on my nerves...
Crazy thing is it was often pitch black due to no electric and all you had was a lamp or head torch, ...so you couldn’t really see what you were working around most of the time


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Incheck I know that feeling I spend most of my time crawling around lofts knee deep in rock wool, rat Pee and sh*t  so if the rock wool fibres don't get me the Rat pee will Lol 

Before anyone pulls me up yes I do wear PPE when working in lofts

 
Incheck I know that feeling I spend most of my time crawling around lofts knee deep in rock wool, rat Pee and sh*t  so if the rock wool fibres don't get me the Rat pee will Lol 
 
Before anyone pulls me up yes I do wear PPE when working in lofts
People used to take the mick out of me for wearing a full boiler suit or wearing long sleeves in the middle of summer. The number of people wearing t-shirts doing trade work shocks me, especially when i see roofers up there with no top or just a t-shirt on and no hat. They reckon skin cancer rates in the Amish population are much lower because their clothing and wide brimmed hats protect them from the sun, and their lives are centered around hard manual labour and farming


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Wouldn't like me in my shorts all the time then?
Caught the postman wearing shorts the other day in the middle of a deluge! I thought to myself “must be mad” but then i do remember someone saying that working in wet trousers is worse than getting your legs wet. Maybe because the legs dry quicker once it stops raining whereas with trousers you’re stuck in them for the rest of the day. Still... as mad as i may be, i think i’m sticking with the trousers option [emoji51] for one, shorts dont have knee pads and second i dont fancy bare skinning it once the winds start coming in!


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They say that the next big threat will be from rock wool loft and pipe insulation and MDF in fact MDF is banned in america so its got to be bad lol
That stuffs nasty, was on a job years ago putting that in ceilings in the old matchbox factory in east london. covered in it, and didnt have a shower at cousins, just bath so you're in the bath and these little glass like bits are floating in the water etc. seriously, window cleanings a true cushy number when I compare it to some of those jobs.

(that was rock wool, not mdf)

 
That stuffs nasty, was on a job years ago putting that in ceilings in the old matchbox factory in east london. covered in it, and didnt have a shower at cousins, just bath so you're in the bath and these little glass like bits are floating in the water etc. seriously, window cleanings a true cushy number when I compare it to some of those jobs.

(that was rock wool, not mdf)
You mean Bow Quarter? (The old Bryant and May match factory)

Got a mate lives there.. cost a bomb to live there now as just down the Bow/Mile End road from Whitechapel

1 bed flats there for around 500k

 

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