Asbestos soffit

[do_it_yourself]

I recently moved into a house that needs a bit of TLC. The barge boards are all rotting away and I would like to replace them.

I was looking at the original plans and it details on them that the barge boards are connected to "asbestos soffit" boards! What I need to do is take off the barge boards, but I dont want to expose the soffit.

Would I need to get experts in to replace them or can I do it myself. I dont particularly want the house cordoned off but I understand that its a common building material for this type of home and there are many houses that use the same asbestos soffit.

Any advice would be helpful thanks

 

[Mw Roofline]

A fairly competent person can remove fascia boards without touching the soffit board. Just push/take off the first few tiles and work down from the top, easing the fascia board off with a crow bar gently.

Its a little more difficult on a bargeboard (apex) You just have to gently tap the board outwards from the back and loosen it that way.

Just take your time and be gentle, you should be ok.

Obviously the politically correct answer would be to keep well away and spend a couple of K's getting the experts in.

As long as the soffit board is not disturbed then you'll be ok

 

[Nige F]

They`re asbestos/cement.......which is about 100 times safer than raw asbestos.......particularly if you don`t cut the sheets allowing fibres/cement dust to escape