Soffit vents - asbestos

[steve123456]

Hi i was hoping someone might be able to give me some objective advice. I would like to put vents in my soffits to increase ventilation in the roof space, however i've been told that the soffits are made out of asbestos. I have spoken to two builders, the first one said he wouldn't put the vents in as his company wouldn't be insured, the second said it wouldn't be a problem and quoted me on the work.

Is drilling these asbestos soffits illegal? Is it likely to be a problem drilling a few holes in them for the vents?

Any opinions of help would be much appreciated

 

[cmother1]

I don't think opinions come into this: as far as I'm aware the handling of asbestos used in construction is covered by legislation. I'm sure the building control dept. in your town hall will be able to advise.

 

[justlead1]

Hi There is a devise like half a gold fish bowl that fits around the hole saw and collects the dust, which in turn passes through a vacuum hose into the bag for disposal. Good Luck

 

[^woody^]

There is no law regarding this (and the building control dept have nothing to do with this type of work either) but it will be covered by H&S legislation in respect of generally working unsafely.

The cutting into the asbestos will release fibres and these should be properly contained. If here is a suitable method of containing all the fibres/dust then that is fine, but drilling into soffits will release fibres into the eaves behind them, and there may be no way to control this so the work is intrinsically unsafe and unlawful in that respect.

Having said that, would any fibres released be enough to pose a health hazard or be blown away in the wind and diluted in the air?

Also, a normal vacuum will not retain any asbestos fibres as they are too small, and will just blow them out of the vacuum exhaust

 

[datarebal]

Use over fascia vent then abestos does not come into it.