Asbestos was widely used in home construction from 1930 to around 2000, particularly from 1960 onwards. Houses/flats built around this time may contain asbestos materials. Properties built since the mid 80's are unlikely to have asbestos in the fabric of the building and from 1990 extremely unlikely. Asbestos was outlawed in the UK in 1999.
Asbestos was commonly used in many ways inside and outside of buildings:
Inside
- Asbestos Cement (Water Tank)
- Loose fill insulation (Loft)
- AIB (Ceiling tiles, partition walls, panels in fire doors, around boilers)
- Vinyl floor tiles
- Textiles (Fire blankets)
- Textured decorating coatings (Artex ceilings etc)
Outside
- Asbestos Cement (Roof, panels, gutters and downpipes, flue pipes)
- AIB (Soffits),
If you would like some further information we have put together an guide showing you how to identify asbestos in your home.
Our kits are designed to enable you to safely take a sample from suspected material. They come with complete instructions and Personal Protective Equipment, which meets and exceeds HSE criteria. We do not recommend using our kits to test sprayed coatings, contaminated land or pipe lagging.
Our kit is designed to enable you to safely take samples from the following materials, to name but a few:
- Textured coatings (Artex)
- Corrugated cement roofs and asbestos sheets
- Walls and boards
- Thermoplastic floor tiles and their adhesive backings
- Wall boards and HVAC lining panels
- Soffit, fascia and rainwater goods
- External cladding panels
- Boiler flues and water tanks
- And window sills to name but a few…
You only need to submit a small sample, we recommend material the size of a 20 pence piece per sample.
Results are usually tested on the day they are received at the lab, usually the day after postage. Certificates will be emailed out the same day as results given.
If the result comes back positive we can offer advice on how to proceed over the phone or put you in contact with a local asbestos removal company.
Yes! Postage to you is included, and we also provide prepaid 1st class return delivery for your sample.
Exposure to asbestos fibres has been proven to cause various health issues such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestos and pleural thickening. This is why understanding what materials in your property contain asbestos is so important. Before starting any renovations on your property consider testing any suspect materials or have a full asbestos survey carried out.
Our asbestos test kits provide sufficient PPE to ensure you're protected when taking a sample. Analysis is carried out at an independent UKAS accredited laboratory.