Asbestos Removal – Garage Roofs

SEPA Registration

Garage Roof Scotland is a SEPA Registered company (registration no. WCR/R/110596). This is important because it means that we are licensed to remove and dispose of asbestos safely. If a company says that they are registered it is always a good idea to check, otherwise they could be removing the asbestos garage roof sheets using unsafe methods and then fly tipping them!

You can easily check if a company is SEPA Registered using the SEPA website. (You can find Garage Roof Scotland by entering Paul McLean in the Search.)

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is the name given to a set of 6 naturally occurring silicate minerals. Humans have found uses for it and mined it for more than 4000 years. However, in the last 100 years mining increased vastly due to its desirable properties in building eg fire resistance, sound absorption and affordability. It became a common product to use in building insulation.

Problems with asbestos

As the uses of asbestos increased, health concerns about this product also increased. It is now known that inhalation of asbestos dust and fibres can cause serious and sometimes fatal illnesses such as malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. However it causes no problems at all if it is sealed as you cannot inhale the dangerous fibres.

Asbestos in garages

Asbestos-cement is the most widely used asbestos material and can be found in garages built before 1980. It is still used today, however only rarely and any material containing asbestos must be labelled as such. If your garage was built in the 60s or 70s it is quite likely to have roof sheets containing asbestos and possibly wall-cladding. Asbestos roof sheeting is normally a grey corrugated material. This product will have been perfectly safe but now that it is getting older it will be starting to show signs of wear and tear and weather damage. This is when the asbestos fibres can be released and cause health problems.

How much does it cost to remove an asbestos roof?

Unfortunately it does cost more to remove a garage roof if it contains asbestos. This is because the asbestos must be disposed of safely in a sealed licensed container in a specialist centre. The disposable site for the central belt of Scotland is in Glasgow. We are charged about twice as much to dispose of asbestos compared to other roofing materials.

Why choose Garage Roof Scotland for asbestos removal?

We have been licensed by SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) to dispose of asbestos and have all the necessary safety equipment. You do not want to risk your own health trying to do this yourself, instead please use a professional. We are local and work throughout Edinburgh, Glasgow and the whole of Scotland.

Considering cladding over your asbestos garage roof? Think again!

You may be tempted to clad over the top of your old asbestos garage roof. It’s usually a cheaper option but I would NEVER recommend doing this. Any garage roof company suggesting this is giving you bad advice.

Even if the quote to completely remove and replace your asbestos garage roof is more expensive it it ALWAYS the best way to go. I always recommend that it’s better to wait until you can afford to have the job done properly than go down the cladding route.

Remember, NEVER CLAD OVER an asbestos garage roof just because it’s the cheaper option!

​If you need help or advise about your asbestos garage roof, we can help. Contact us for further information and a free no obligation quote to replace your garage roof.