Where are you?

Whisper me --

Be very careful in removing the asbestos youself. If you get it wrong you could be in the deep do do! I'd leave it to the professionals.

A lot more safety information here - http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/

Posted By: TriassicDoes the work need a licence?

Most work with asbestos needs to be carried out by a licensed contractor. This includes work on asbestos coating and asbestos lagging;
and work on asbestos insulation or asbestos insulating board (AIB) where the risk assessment demonstrates that the fibre release will be high, eg the material is badly damaged, or the work is not short duration work.

'Short duration' means any one person doing this type of work for less than one hour, or more people doing the work for a total of less than two hours, in any seven consecutive days. The total time spent by all workers must not exceed two hours. This includes time spent setting up, cleaning and clearing up.

Thanks everyone

I admit I did think of doing it myself but prefer a professional as long as the price is fair . I even thought of wrapping the boiler making a shuttering surround and then encasing in concrete but not sure how the disposal of a tonne of boiler would be done !
I will keep trying to get a fair quote

If in doubt get a couple more estimates. Never mind the high ones - firms often quote high for work they don't particularly fancy. Very low estimates arouse suspicion - they are probably frauds, cowboys or have misunderstood the job.

Once you've got three firms quoting within, say, +/-20% of the same price, you can choose whoever you think will offer good service at a good price.

We had some interior asbestos cleared. I thought the price was high until I saw the site turned into something out of Dr Who, with plastic sheet taped to every surface, wires and tubes running to a huge truck parked outside, and workers in respirators and orange full-body suits slaving away behind translucent curtains. Don't tell me that was all PR.

I didn't think you could remove Amosite lagging yourself, only asbestos cement sheets and now most LAs won't or don't have the facilities to take those anyway. Unlike asbestos cement where the fibres are bound by the cement matrix, Asbestos lagging has loose fibres held only by an outer "bag" or cover. Do it poorly and you'll contaminate the area forever.
Make sure when you choose, or are choosing, a contractor you see a copy of their licences and insurance and confirmation of where they will dispose of it (then check this out with phone calls to the the licencing authority and disposal facility etc). I know of many examples of cheap quotes where asbestos has been dumped (fly tipped) or mixed with building waste to hide it. I've also seen small businesses prosecuted for not ensuring their asbestos contractors are properly licensed. And don't forget to retain a copy of the waste transfer note.

The main thing to remember is that you will be living there and presumably so will your kids and as one asbestos fibre has the potential to course mesothelioma it's just not worth cutting corners.

Thinking about this - as these boilers were for commercial use the resultant scrap boiler will be commercial waste even if now the plot is for a domestic dwelling. Thus only a licensed asbestos contractor should be doing it. You just need an Environment Agency Inspector to be in the site office when you arrive at the transfer station to be in deep do do. Unfortunately there is no easy way to do this but spraying polyurethane foam over it to stop any fibres escaping is a short term idea but would make it difficult for the contractor to take any samples?
Good Luck.

If it's going to be really expensive you could look at claiming the disposal costs from the vendor - they should have declared the presence of asbestos (your search should have asked the question re asbestos) and if the site was classified as commercial (ie a farm) when you bought it, then they have an absolute legal duty to provide details including the type and location of asbestos on the site. Would be a fairly straightforward claim IMO.

Posted By: ShevekShould we just bag it up and take to local waste transfer station?

Probably best. Do some research as to which places will accept it first.

I found some shed roof material when clearing my garden in High Wycombe and took it to the local tip. They told me it was asbestos (so I was glad it was small enough bits that I hadn't needed to break it up or anything) and to take it to the tip in Amersham. Took it there and they told me to double bag and tape it then they could accept it. Was a bit annoyed that the people at the Wycombe tip hadn't mentioned that but luckily I'd left a pile of rubbish bags at my astronomy society's observatory near by so I was able to do it before the tip closed that day avoiding too much extra handling.

Have you poured those huge foundations yet ? -

barney

Posted By: barneyHave you poured those huge foundations yet ? -

Might have seen that done. Quite a good solution realistically, if not legally.

Asbestos?

Most likely - cement asbestos pipe - prevalent in construction for 50 or 60 years in may forms - i lived in a house that had bitumen painted asbestos mains water pipes feeding the street - not usually a problem if whole - once damaged it has the potential to release fibres.

As a broad pointer, don't pressure wash anything that looks like that pipe - the usual supect is people washing "mossy" shed and outhouse roofs and the like - as the wet run off dries it's absolutely laden with fibre

Regards

Barney

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