If you were looking to buy a property, how would you feel if you were told there was asbestos in it? Some people would walk away, afraid of the cost of removing it and the potential risk to health. However, asbestos doesn’t have to be a problem.

According to the experts, as long as it remains undisturbed (so no cutting or drilling into it etc.), asbestos is deemed not to pose a threat to health. But if you’re intending to carry out alterations or renovations, it’s best to get a professional company in to check the property and carry out tests where necessary.

That’s what we did with a property that we’re buying. We intend to knock down the existing building, so that definitely falls into the realms of ‘disturbing’ it! Even so, we needed to know what is in the building in order to get it disposed of safely.

The company that came out to do the asbestos survey was licensed and experienced, and it didn’t cost a fortune.

Luckily we’d been warned by friends that we’d likely end up with holes in walls and floors etc. where it was necessary to check the materials inside the fabric of the house, so we weren’t too surprised when we saw the damage.

When the results came back, they showed asbestos in the cement roof tiles and sheets, in the ceilings and in the floor tiles – pretty much everywhere then! What we didn’t know was that some types of asbestos are more dangerous than others. Some has to be dealt with by licensed specialists, while other types are safe for non-licensed removal. There’s some really useful information on the HSE website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/index.htm.

All of the asbestos in the building has to be transported by a registered waste carrier and disposed of at a suitably licensed waste facility.

The results of our survey showed that all of the asbestos in the building has a low potential to release asbestos fibres and so it’s fit for non-licensed removal. And no requirement for a licence means less cost – not so bad after all!