Villaboard and Hardiplank: which old sheet may contain asbestos?
Both names turn up in renovation chat every week. The brand tells you less than the age of the sheet, and neither tells you whether it holds asbestos.
Villaboard and Hardiplank are brand names for fibre cement sheet. And older sheets from either maker may be compatible with containing asbestos. The name on the old paperwork is not a test. What matters is when the sheet was made and what you plan to do to it.
Why these two names cause so much worry
Both brands were sold for decades as cheap, tough lining and cladding. Villaboard went into bathrooms, laundries and behind tiles. Hardiplank went on the outside as weatherboard-look boards. Millions of Australian homes have one or the other.
Fibre cement made before the mid 1980s often contained asbestos. Later versions were reformulated without it, but the look stayed almost the same. So a sheet that looks modern may be old, and a sheet that looks old may be safe. You cannot sort them by eye.
The date is a clue, not an answer
A house built or renovated before the late 1980s is a fair reason to be careful. A house from the 1990s is a much weaker reason, but not a clean bill of health. Renovators reused old stock, and sheets were sometimes patched in later.
Treat the date as a prompt to find out, never as proof either way. Our guide to what asbestos sheeting looks like covers what you can and cannot judge from the surface.
What never to do to a suspect sheet
Do not drill it. Do not cut it with a grinder or a saw, and do not sand it back before painting. Each of these breaks the cement and can free fibre into the air you breathe.
Skip the pressure washer on outside boards too. If a sheet is already cracked or crumbling, keep people away from it and read what a homeowner may legally remove. The rules differ by state, so your regulator has the last word.
How to settle the question properly
Only a sample analysed at a NATA-accredited laboratory can confirm what the sheet is. Our page on taking an asbestos sample explains the process and who may do it in your state.
Is it always worth testing? No. If the sheet is sound, painted and you are not touching it, leaving it alone is a sensible answer. Test before you renovate, drill, clad over it or sell. Wet-area walls and meter boards are covered in asbestos in walls.
Do Villaboard and Hardiplank contain asbestos?
Older sheets of either brand may contain asbestos, and newer ones were made without it. The brand name is not a test. The age of the sheet is the clue that matters.
Fibre cement made before the mid 1980s often contained asbestos. Later versions were reformulated, but they look almost the same, so you cannot sort them by eye. A stamp on the back is not reliable either, because people reused and patched sheets over the years.
Only a sample analysed at a NATA-accredited laboratory can confirm what a sheet is. Until then, treat an old sheet as suspect and do not drill, cut or sand it.
Which clues tell you whether an old Villaboard or Hardiplank sheet has asbestos?
None of them settles it on their own. The age of the sheet is the most useful clue, but only a sample analysed at a NATA-accredited laboratory confirms what a sheet is. Here is what each clue people rely on can and cannot tell you.
| Clue | What it suggests | Can it confirm asbestos? |
|---|---|---|
| The brand name on old paperwork | That the sheet is fibre cement | No. Older sheets of either brand may contain it, newer ones were made without it |
| A stamp on the back | Who made that sheet | No. Sheets were reused and patched over the years |
| A house built or renovated before the late 1980s | A fair reason to be careful | No. It is a prompt to find out |
| A house from the 1990s | A much weaker reason for concern | No. Old stock was reused and sheets were patched in later |
| How the sheet looks | Very little. Old and reformulated sheets look almost the same | No. You cannot sort them by eye |
| A laboratory result | What the sampled sheet actually is | Yes, for that sheet only, if the lab is NATA-accredited |
Until you have a result, treat an old sheet as suspect and leave it undrilled, uncut and unsanded. If you are about to renovate, clad over it or sell, taking an asbestos sample explains the process and who may take a sample in your state.
Frequently asked questions
Is Villaboard asbestos?
Older Villaboard may be compatible with containing asbestos, and newer sheet was made without it. You cannot tell by eye. Only a sample analysed at a NATA-accredited laboratory confirms it.
Is Hardiplank asbestos?
Hardiplank is a brand of fibre cement cladding. Boards made before the late 1980s may be compatible with containing asbestos. Later boards were reformulated, so the age of the board matters.
Can I tell by the brand stamp on the back?
Not reliably. A stamp is not a test, and sheets were reused and patched over the years. Treat an old sheet as suspect until a laboratory result says otherwise.
Can I drill Villaboard to hang something?
Not if the sheet could be old. Drilling breaks the cement and can release fibre. Get a sample analysed first and check your state regulator.
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