Asbestos cladding: how to read the outside of an old house
Fibro and weatherboard-look sheet clad millions of homes. You cannot tell by eye, so treat old cladding as suspect until a sample says otherwise.
Cladding on a house built before the late 1980s may be compatible with containing asbestos. And you cannot tell by looking. Flat sheet and planked boards made from asbestos cement were sold as an easy, cheap outer wall. They were used nationwide, so a plain old fibro house is the rule rather than the exception.
What old asbestos cladding looked like
Three shapes turn up again and again. Flat sheets with thin cover strips over the joins. Wide boards with a groove, made to look like weatherboard. And textured or patterned panels, sometimes with a sand-like surface.
None of these is proof. Modern fibre cement looks almost the same, and thick paint hides the difference. That is why a guess from the street is worth nothing. Our page on what asbestos sheeting looks like shows what you can and cannot judge by eye.
Why painted cladding is not automatically a problem
Bonded cladding that is intact, sealed and left alone is generally regarded as low risk. The fibres stay locked in the cement. Trouble starts when the surface is broken, cut, drilled or blasted. So the question is never whether the wall is there. It is what you plan to do to it.
If the answer is nothing, you may have no job to do at all. Keep it painted and sound, and check it now and then for cracks or weathering.
Jobs that should never be done on suspect cladding
Do not pressure wash it. Do not sand or scrape off flaking paint, and do not drill it for a bracket or a new window. Each of these breaks the surface and can release fibre. If a job like this is on your list, stop and get a sample analysed first.
The same goes for cladding that has already cracked, been hit by a mower or been damaged by a storm. Keep people and pets away and read what a homeowner may legally remove. The rules differ by state, so your regulator has the last word.
How to find out what you have
The only way to confirm it is a sample analysed at a NATA-accredited laboratory. Our guide to taking an asbestos sample explains the process, and whether to do it yourself or hire someone depends on your state.
Not worth testing yet? That can be the honest answer if the wall is sound and you are not touching it. Test when you are about to renovate, clad over it or sell. For eaves and the soffit edge of the same wall, see asbestos in eaves and soffits.
Frequently asked questions
Is all old fibro cladding asbestos?
No. Many sheets from before the late 1980s were made with asbestos, but you cannot tell by eye. Only a sample analysed at a NATA-accredited laboratory confirms it.
Can I paint asbestos cladding?
Painting intact cladding is often accepted, but preparing it is the risky part. Do not sand, scrape or pressure wash it, and check your state regulator first.
Is it safe to live in a fibro house?
Intact, sealed and undisturbed bonded sheeting is generally regarded as low risk. The risk rises when it is damaged or worked on.
Who sets the rules for cladding work?
Your state or territory WHS regulator. Rules on who may handle the material and how much differ across Australia.
Sources
What this page explains is based on these official sources. If you check one and it does not match what you read here, send it to us and the article gets corrected.
- Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency. Asbestos Product Guide. What products contained asbestos and where they were used
- NSW Government. Asbestos in NSW. The NSW Government asbestos portal