Identification and assessment of asbestos cement roof sheeting

McFadden, Sean (2014) Identification and assessment of asbestos cement roof sheeting. Bachelors thesis, Dundalk Institute of Technology.

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Abstract

In Ireland, Asbestos Containing materials were used throughout the 20 th Century. Asbestos cement roof sheeting was widely used from the 1950’s up until the late 1970’s (Hastie Insulation Ltd, 2011). Much of this roof sheeting remains in place to this day. AC roof sheeting has an average life expectancy of between 30 and 40 years. As a result, much of this sheeting is now reaching the end of its effective life. This has implications for building surveyors as it is likely they will encounter this material during the course of their work. This dissertation aims to highlight two integral areas of dealing with AC roof sheeting. These areas are the identification of the material, and the assessment of the condition of the material. Several different methods for both identification and assessment are discussed in order to discover the best practice for building surveyors dealing with the material. The methodology adopted was a literature review to examine the different methods which are in use both in Ireland and internationally. Case studies were also carried out on two buildings which have AC roof sheeting. This was undertaken in order to apply the theory discussed, and to compare different methods outlined. The key findings of this dissertation is that when identifying AC roof sheeting, a presumption is often made as it is well known for corrugated cement sheeting from the late 20th century to contain asbestos. Another finding is that the assessment method which the HSA recommend is not adequate to assess the condition of AC roof sheeting. The method which provided the most accurate report on condition during the case study was a method developed in Italy referred to as Method Two (Tuscan Region).

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelors)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Asbestos; Roof sheeting; Health and safety.
Subjects:	Engineering
Research Centres:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Sean McGreal
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2015 11:01
Last Modified:	31 Jul 2015 11:01
URI:	https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/448

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