Dealing with Asbestos Shed

skipy89 on 27/11/2022 - 00:19
Last edited 27/11/2022 - 00:32

Hi All,

Recently brought a new property and had a shed( want to remove) on the property. We had thought there was a possibility that it contained asbestos. Completed the test and was identified as asbestos.

Trying to keep the costs down as much as possible. The dimensions of the shed are 3.8m x 5.8m. We would be happy to get rid of the slab ourselves

Will start to get quotes to remove, but just wanted to see if anyone had any advice to look out for and possible costs?

Location: Western Sydney.

Pictures : https://imgur.com/a/bpSrCm0

Link to report: https://imgur.com/a/aJzRLzx

Home & Garden Garden Shed

Comments

  • dcep on 27/11/2022 - 02:03
    +1

    happy to get rid of the slab ourselves

    unless tested otherwise

    https://www.asbestos.nsw.gov.au/concrete-slabs-and-asbestos

    • apsilon on 27/11/2022 - 06:05

      Even if it doesn't test for asbestos I'd assume it was present. Back then it was common for tradies to dump rubbish under a slab. Commonly beer bottles, caps, cans etc but offcuts of material wasn't uncommon either. You could break up the "clean" slab and suddenly expose offcuts of the sheets for example.

  • bargaino on 27/11/2022 - 04:08
    +1

    Obviously asbestos cement panels. I don't know why you wasted money on testing.

    In WA, I'd just remove the panels myself, wrapped in black plastic on a trailer, and take them to the local disposal site.
    Wear a decent N95 mask. If you are super fussy, you could wear old clothes and dispose of them afterwards. But it's not plutonium, or loose fibres.
    Looks like well under a ton, shouldn't cost much. Is NSW different?

    • Euphemistic on 27/11/2022 - 05:58
      +2

      In NSW you cannot remove more than 10m2 DIY.

      It needs to be double wrapped. You need to book the disposal and I think there’s an app of some sort to track the disposal.

      Get a reputable licenced contractor to remove the asbestos only.

    • Mcuser on 27/11/2022 - 08:01
      +1

      Yeah wasted money, nsw only allowed up to 10m2, do 10m2 a day or week.

    • Sinnerator on 28/11/2022 - 08:18

      I also spray if down with a lot of water regularly before touching the sheets also. Helps control any dust/fibres.

      • Euphemistic on 28/11/2022 - 08:24

        Do not use high pressure water. use a misting setting or low flow dribbling. Impact of water can dislodge fibres spreading contamination.

  • Euphemistic on 27/11/2022 - 06:03

    Get a licenced contractor to remove the asbestos only. DIY the rest. AFAIK you can only remove less than 10m2 DIY. There’s serious fines for doing it wrong. Probably more risk in fines than danger in removing the asbestos.

    IMO it’s dangerous, but not as dangerous as the media seems to portray. Can be done safely, just need to be smart about it. Go do some research on your council or the EPA website and go from there.

    • dcep on 27/11/2022 - 12:36

      You'll only know if it's dangerous 20+ years later from exposure.

      So feel free to take your punt if you're over 50s.

      As for your neighbour kids in close vicinity, well tough luck if they got someone like you.

      • Euphemistic on 27/11/2022 - 12:54

        Having worked in an OHS environment and dealt with asbestos management, done reading (yes, not research) on the management of asbestos and discussed how to work around asbestos with people who’ve done the asbestos course I believe I could work around it more safely than average Joe.

        If you deal with it in accordance with the rules it’s OK. Removing a small amount of asbestos sheeting properly is not going to give myself nor the neighbours kids cancer.

        I’d rather do some work myself properly than employ a non reputable company that’s likely to take my $ and dump it in the bush.

  • Mcuser on 27/11/2022 - 08:02
    -1

    And people still go to Bunnings and buy Jamie’s Hardie products lol

  • Archi on 27/11/2022 - 08:37
    +3

    Do yourself, your family and your neighbours a favour… pay for a licensed contractor and dont be home when they remove it.

    If you read how dangerous asbestosis and Mesothelioma are you would reconsider a DIY approach.

    • Euphemistic on 27/11/2022 - 09:45

      Yes it’s dangerous, but treated with proper care precautions isn’t extremely dangerous. There’s asbestos fibres in the natural environment. It’s very dangerous if you don’t treat it with caution

      I works with an OHS guy that was quite conservative in his OHS views. He did his own asbestos removal work (within the law). You could tell when he’d being doing some removal as he’d rock up to work without his usual beard. Shaved it off to get a better seal with the appropriate mask.

  • GordonD on 27/11/2022 - 10:06

    My father was an avid DIYer who did a lot of work on our house using asbestos cement sheeting. And he died early, diagnosed with lung cancer, Over half a century ago, back before asbestos was the scary thing it is seen to be now. He smoked, so there was really no need to look for another reason he'd get lung cancer.

    Years later we wondered if it was mesothelioma. And if so whether us kids, who played around where he was cutting it, might expect the same later in life. So here I was prompted by this thread to look on the net to see how they tell the difference. They are both cancers. They both attack the lungs. It takes a biopsy or autopsy to tell which it is. But they have two completely different causes, smoking and exposure to asbestos fibres. So here's the odd thing. The US states that have the highest rate of lung cancer are the exact same states that have the highest rate of mesothelioma. Why would two things that just look very similar, but have different and entirely unrelated causes occur in the highest numbers in the same places?

    I'm not trying to make some point. The statistics just make me wonder.

  • AndyC1 on 27/11/2022 - 10:46

    Chances are that there are off-cuts around the shed in the ground up to about 30 cm deep, so watch out for any bits in the ground under or near the shed that are NOT rocks and assume that they are asbestos.

    So long as you put the offcuts in a plastic bag when you see them (leave the offcuts and get a bag from the house and take the bag to the offcut) and tie the plastic bag for proper disposal once you finish doing the work.

  • skipy89 on 27/11/2022 - 15:58

    Thanks all for feedback esp. concrete slab. Will ensure quotes I get include removal of slab

  • JIMB0 on 27/11/2022 - 18:26

    Just do what my old neighbor did. Get someone old who is unlikely to live another 30 years to smash it up and put it in plastic rubbish bags. The council won't do anything other than issue a notice to dispose of it properly. Council even downplayed the risk of it getting airborne and spreading.

    • GordonD on 27/11/2022 - 21:05

      Hey, thanks for the idea, that'd be a well-paid job for someone like me to supplement my pension. I definitely haven't got 30 years left in me.

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