Asbestos Safety
If there is asbestos in your home, it's important to take extra care when carrying out any DIY.
Do not do any work which involves drilling, cutting or disturbing materials suspected of containing asbestos. Do not scrape or sand suspected asbestos materials before painting or decorating and do not attempt to remove any asbestos yourself. Advice on working on or near asbestos can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website [external link].
Before you attempt any DIY, you should contact us for advice.
Where asbestos remains, we have a duty to check its condition regularly. The frequency of the checks depends on the individual property, but we will contact you in advance to arrange an appointment if we need to check your home.
What is asbestos
Asbestos is naturally occurring fibrous raw materials. Asbestos fibres are strong and resistant to heat and chemicals. There are many types of asbestos, but its presence can only be determined by testing the material.
Common materials that may contain asbestos include:
- Roofing materials (tiles, guttering, drainpipes, soffit boards).
- Bath panels, fireplaces, flue pipes, cold water tanks.
- Decorative wall and ceiling coatings.
- Some types of floor tiles and adhesive.
- Toilet seats and cisterns.
- Some parts of heating systems (including boilers, gas fires and electric storage heaters).
- Insulating boards used for fire protection and ceiling tiles.
- Ducting covering service pipes.
Asbestos in your home
Asbestos is sometimes found in homes built before 2000, but it is not a problem as long as it’s in good condition and not disturbed.
When asbestos is disturbed (for example through DIY or home renovation), fibres can be released into the air. Breathing in these fibres can be harmful to your health. Most materials in homes that contain asbestos are low risk but work with these materials must be avoided.
Making changes to your home
If there is asbestos in your home, it’s important to take extra care when carrying out any DIY.
Where we find asbestos and it’s damaged (or could be easily damaged), we will arrange for remedial works or removal by our licensed asbestos removal contractor.
Before you do any DIY, you should inform us of your plans. You can do this via your Darlington Home Online account [opens in a new tab] or by emailing us at [email protected]
Don’t do any work which involves drilling, cutting or disturbing materials suspected of containing asbestos.
Don’t attempt to remove any asbestos yourself.