[badgerbrock72]

Hi all

During a attempted smart meter install today the technician advised he couldn’t complete the job due to presence of an asbestos panel in the roof of my meter cupboard

Property built circa mid 70s so fair play.

I wasn’t aware and homebuyer survey didn’t highlight it’s presence.

The technician advised me to get it removed, so as he can come back and complete the job.

It’s been disturbed by I presume a previous owner or tenant, by means of a large hole cut into the sheet.

No idea how long ago but certainly not in the 4 years I’ve lived here.

Any advice…? Leave it and forget smart meter? Or if removing the panel any tips?

Thanks in advance

Garry

[MY340i]

if you do remove the panels wet them down with a hose pipe and wrap them in plastic. most council tips will accept it.

[isleaiw1]

Bain of my working life so in true work answer mode I would say leave it to the professionals, your health is more important....

[badgerbrock72]

Cheers chaps, any idea of a ballpark ££ - it’s a thin panel approx 1m squared

[SkyJawa]

Get it removed and bin the smart meter as well

[Daftasabrush]

Why are they refusing when the asbestos is in the roof? Presumably they won't be going anywhere near it so it's not an issue. Asbestos is only a problem if it's disturbed. We have asbestos underneath the edges of our roof tiles, if they refused to work because of that I'd laugh at them. You can't refuse to work on a building just because it has asbestos if you're going nowhere near it.

[robbiep]

Why the hell would you do it yourself, knowing the potential long-term health risks to you and anyone else in your household ?

It'll probably cost £100-200 to get a professional firm in to test and (if the test confirms that it is asbestos) remove it, and a fair chunk of that price will be to sample and test to confirm that it is actually asbestos (even the professionals can't tell just by looking at it)

I had a an old asbestos roof that needed removing from a outbuilding about 10 years ago - they came out, took a sample and measured up at the same time (was about 6m x 3m, only single storey building so no scaffolding needed), price for doing the sample was £45, the removal job was £500.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Daftasabrush

Why are they refusing when the asbestos is in the roof? Presumably they won't be going anywhere near it so it's not an issue. Asbestos is only a problem if it's disturbed. We have asbestos underneath the edges of our roof tiles, if they refused to work because of that I'd laugh at them. You can't refuse to work on a building just because it has asbestos if you're going nowhere near it.

Presumably because their risk and method statements say that if asbestos is present they are not allowed to start work, as one piece of asbestos they can see might mean another they cant see - until they start drilling.....

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by Daftasabrush

Why are they refusing when the asbestos is in the roof? Presumably they won't be going anywhere near it so it's not an issue. Asbestos is only a problem if it's disturbed. We have asbestos underneath the edges of our roof tiles, if they refused to work because of that I'd laugh at them. You can't refuse to work on a building just because it has asbestos if you're going nowhere near it.

Roof of the meter cupboard ie in proximity I believe, not roof of the house. At least that's how I read it.

[EvilDrPorkChop]

Leave it there and avoid the smart meter.

If you must do something with it if it's white looking, it's probably got very small amounts of asbestos in (Obviously don't take my word for it). If you can get it out without smashing it in one piece, personally (Again don't just go off my advice) i'd take it out and double bag it (As per local authority instructions) and take it to the tip as another poster has suggested.

[Abzynthe]

Our insurance company paid for the asbestos removal and a new ceiling putting up when we had a new bathroom fitted.

[badgerbrock72]

Cheers guys

So the meter cupboard is separate to the living area, so that’s not a concern

The problem is that a previous tenant/ owner has got some reason cut a section of the asbestos out, and left the cut edges.

I had a quote from a firm about an hour ago, sent him a pic and he said it’s a full day work, sealing off the area, taking the samples, doing it all properly etc, disposal, certificates to say safe etc.

£1250…..🙄🙄

I’ll try and upload a pic.

I could get a piece of mdf or similar cut to the exact size, and fix it up underneath with some form of adhesive (so no drilling, screwing) and then seal round the edges…. That’s the cheap fix but appreciate the proper way is the expensive way.

Can live without the smart meter obviously and I only use it as a bin storage, so could just keep bins in garage from here on and only open the door once in a while to read the old meter…

[badgerbrock72]

Not sure if this link will work

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0m1d...W5R4te6HPN61Bw

[DougMcL]

Put an N95 mask on, spray it with water and remove. Those masks are pretty easy to find.. and reliable. I've been wearing one for 18+ months in Covid central and still haven't caught it.

[rosstin]

Personally I'd want that out in the state it's been left. Would hope you could get a much better quote shopping around. Is the rest of house definitely clear?

[badgerbrock72]

Yeah I’m going to spend some time tomorrow shopping around.

As for rest of the house, good question… I expect asbestos will be present but hopefully undisturbed. Certainly nothing I’ve noticed but then I had no idea about this tbh.

[Sennen]

OP as others have said get it removed professionally.

I lost my father to Mesothelioma 12 years ago, it is an awful disease, he went from 17 stone down to less than 6 stome in 6 months. Nobody should go through that and thank goodness we are now aware of the risks.

In my early days I did alot of work with asbestos not fully aware of the risks at the time and it is a constant source of worry for me now to the extent that I have Chest Xrays every few years..... not that early diagnosis would be that helpful but it puts my mind at rest at least for a short period.

[machman767]

If it's not too big can it be encapsulated and left in situ?

[Nibbles]

I'd only get it removed if you really need a smart meter for variable tariffs or something specific.
If it does need to be removed, as it's not in the living area and seems fairly accessible, I'd be spraying it with a hose and removing it myself wearing an n95 mask as someone else suggested rather than paying £1250.

[Hartside]

It’s probably an Asbestos containing board like Asbestolux but you should get it sampled and checked to be sure it is actually an asbestos containing board. If it is an asbestos containing board they have a reasonably high asbestos content so should be treated with great caution.

Get the professionals in as they will shield the area and ensure no escape of fibres to the rest of the property. They should also vacuum the removal area with specially filtered vacuums, which is something you wouldn’t do if doing it by yourself. Ask the specialist for a written method statement and risk assessment to be sure you know how they will do it and also be able to monitor they are doing it as it should be done.

[badgerbrock72]

Thanks all for continued advice

I have sent pics and a video off to a couple more professionals so waiting for their replies.

Will keep this post updated, really don’t have a spare 1250£ floating about at the moment..

Thanks

Garry

[bytejunkie]

Originally Posted by robbiep

Why the hell would you do it yourself, knowing the potential long-term health risks to you and anyone else in your household ?

because damage from asbestos was caused by long term exposure.

my BIL is asbestos trained and when we found asbestos tiles under the carpet in the house we're in now, we used it to knock a load of money off the house. that said, the BIL said mask up, wet it down, take it to the council tip and it'll be fine. didnt risk it as we knocked money off for the pros to do it.

we used rhodar and it cost 1100 for a days work, which was all the floor times on the whole downstairs floor.

OPs quote seems high!