When to Remove Asbestos Siding and When Leave It On-- Hamilton NJ and West Windsor NJ Requirements

When to Remove Asbestos Siding and When Leave It On

5/25/2016

Many houses in Hamilton NJ and West Windsor NJ still have asbestos siding on their walls. Asbestos was very popular product back in the fifties and sixties, then in the eighties we found out that asbestos can be harmful to our health. So now many people ask a question what to do about that asbestos siding on their house. Let's see when to remove it or leave it on.

When you own a house or just bought one with asbestos siding on it, don't be upset about that too much. Asbestos siding in most cases is a "non-friable" material, it means that siding is not easily releases it's fibers into the air, as long as it is not disturbed by cutting it with a saw. When you don't cut it or break it into small pieces, asbestos siding is not going to pose any threat to your health. The new vinyl siding can be easily installed over top of the asbestos siding. But before the new vinyl siding installation check with your township and see if it is allowed to leave asbestos siding on. In the State of New Jersey in Hamilton, Princeton and West Windsor Townships it is allowed to install new vinyl siding on top of the existing asbestos siding.

Anyway, why to Remove Asbestos Siding from the walls of your house:

When the asbestos siding is removed, you can check the soundness of the walls. Sometimes asbestos siding is a cause of water leaks. You should inspect areas around the windows of your house, that's the most probable places for water leaks. The other way to see if something bad going on under the asbestos siding is by looking at the walls, when you can see some bowed places on your walls, then it means that the water got trapped behind the siding and damaged the plywood, so to be safe, it is better to remove asbestos siding.
Remove asbestos siding when you think and strongly believe, that it is harmful in any form or state, no matter what. When even the small thought about that staff wakes you up at night, then just like in overall life, whenever you feel uneasy about something and you want to make peace with yourself it is much better to get rid of that something that keeps you awake at night.
Remove asbestos siding, when you are tired of painting and maintaining it. This type of siding has to be painted every five to seven years, it is not maintenance free product like vinyl siding. Asbestos siding is fragile by it's nature, if the tree branch falls or a baseball occasionally hits the wall, you may have a cracked asbestos siding panel and it is going to be hard to find new siding piece to replace it.

Let's see when to Leave Asbestos Siding On:

When asbestos siding is in good shape and you don't mind maintaining it. As long as this material is not disturbed, it can stay on the walls of your house for a long period of time. Asbestos siding does not rut, burn or contracts.
When there is desire to remove it but there is no money to do it. Asbestos siding removal is an expensive endeavor. In the State of New Jersey, it is allowed to perform removal of asbestos siding by a homeowner or subcontractor, the asbestos removal license is not required. In Hamilton, NJ and West Windsor NJ Townships, there are are strict rules for the asbestos disposal. When our company does the asbestos removal, before the vinyl siding installation, we order special dumpster for asbestos. The labour for removal and dumpster can add about $2100-$2900 to the total price of the siding project, the extra expense depends on the size of the house.
Asbestos siding provides better insulation for the walls. When you want to better insulate your house and save some money, you may decide to install vinyl siding on top of the existing asbestos siding. In that case you add some extra insulation on to the walls of your house. As a rule, when new vinyl siding is installed on top of the asbestos, the three eight insulation underlayment has to be installed behind it, so it adds even more to the energy efficiency of your house.

All in all, it is for you to decide what to do. We provided some clues about asbestos siding removal, but as always we keep the door open for you, so you can make your own decision, which reflects your goals and desires.

20 Comments

Taylor Bishop link

1/2/2019 01:35:22 pm

Thanks for explaining when asbestos siding should be removed. It's good to know that you should remove the siding if you believe it is harmful in any form. It seems like a good precaution in general, especially if you want to be sure you are safe from the siding.

Stolk Wollongong link

2/8/2019 10:31:59 pm

I think you made very good points when to leave asbestos siding, specially when you don't have the money to it. But I do agree with Taylor here, it is best to remove it as a good precaution in general.

Tree removal Hamilton link

4/1/2019 01:31:54 am

You are to share this post with us here and we are to read this blog. I can say that it was great blog for us to read. Nice blog.

Andrei

4/2/2019 06:30:00 am

Thank you for commenting!

4/4/2019 01:23:20 am

4/4/2019 06:57:11 am

Hi Stolk,
Yep it is the best way to do it by removing the asbestos, if the budget allows . Then you can check the plywoods on the walls and make sure that there is no rotten ones.

Patricia Jaeger

2/20/2021 01:15:48 am

To replace broken asbestos shingles, you can find exterior cement siding shingles 24” x 12” at Home Depot, with predrilled holes, and you can also purchase the white nails.
I read that these asbestos shingles are best left in place because they are good insulation for the house.

Alex

2/20/2021 10:23:30 am

Yes, definitely it is a good point. If you have a few shingles damaged and tight budget, it is a great way of doing it. Fix it and no need to worry about it.

Levi Hutton link

4/3/2021 10:50:56 am

Thanks for this blog ppost

4/12/2021 09:45:50 am

We are glad, that the info helped you to make a right decision about asbestos siding

Braden Bills link

4/12/2021 09:40:55 am

I recently bought an older home, and I think it may be using asbestos siding. It makes sense that I would want to have it removed if it is! I can see how keeping that around could be really dangerous for health.

4/12/2021 09:44:25 am

Hi Braden,
Yep, no doubt about it. If it feels uncomfortable to have it on the walls of your house, you should definitely go ahead and remove it. The upside of doing this, you are gonna be able to check the soundness of the walls as well

Adam Golightly link

4/29/2021 06:57:41 pm

My mom has been thinking about replacing the siding, but she thinks that it has some asbestos problems. She would really like to get it removed safely. It was interesting to learn about how she should check how sound the wall is when it is removed.

4/30/2021 07:50:09 am

Hi Adam, that's for sure the only way of checking the soundness of the walls is to remove the existing siding

Chance Cook link

8/31/2021 08:46:11 am

It's good to know that I can check my walls' soundness after getting rid of asbestos. Perhaps I could get a professional to remove and check the soundness of the walls. Then they might be able to put in some insulation for me too.

8/31/2021 08:48:32 am

Yes, that's the only way to check how sound the walls are, once the asbestos siding is removed

Vivian Black link

1/19/2022 10:32:11 am

Thank you for the information about how asbestos siding has to be painted every five to seven years. Our siding that is made from asbestos has not been painted in over ten years. We are worried about discarding it before we replace it with aluminum siding. A waste disposal professional can do this job for us. We will make sure to seek the help from someone in this field.

Tex Hooper link

6/16/2022 05:35:16 pm

You make a great point about how asbestos can develop on the siding. I need to get a contractor to fix my basement. I think I have popcorn ceiling down there.

Jessie Holloway link

9/9/2022 03:36:14 pm

I never thought about how you could keep asbestos siding if it's unharmful. MY brother is afraid he might have asbestos in his basement and doesn't want t take any chances. He's been looking into calling some professionals down to come safely remove it so his family isn't at risk.

Olivia Smart link

12/15/2022 06:17:07 pm

Thank you for explaining how you should remove asbestos siding if you don't want to continue painting it or maintaining it. My brother has been wondering if it may be time to get his siding removed. It does have asbestos, so I'll be sure to pass this on to him to see if he thinks it's time.

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