Asbestos cement roofs are still everywhere on Tyneside
Newcastle upon Tyne added a huge amount of industrial and commercial floorspace between the 1950s and the 1980s, and much of it was roofed in corrugated asbestos cement. Trading estates along the Tyne, workshop blocks on the edge of the city and agricultural buildings in the surrounding countryside all used the same sheeting because it was cheap, fire resistant and quick to install. Decades later a great many of those roofs are still doing their job, but the cement surface has weathered, moss has taken hold and owners are left with a question: does the roof have to come off, or can it be sealed and kept in service?
For sheets that remain structurally sound, encapsulation is usually the answer, and it is an approach the regulations expressly allow.
Your duty to manage under CAR 2012
If you own, occupy or maintain a non-domestic building in Newcastle upon Tyne, Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 places a duty to manage asbestos on you. You must take reasonable steps to find asbestos-containing materials, record their location and condition, assess the risk and keep a written management plan up to date. The regulations do not demand removal. Asbestos cement in sound condition that is unlikely to be disturbed can lawfully be managed in place, and HSE guidance recognises sealing as a legitimate way of doing that. A properly specified encapsulation, recorded in your management plan, is compliance in action rather than a way of avoiding it.
Why encapsulation usually costs less than removal
Stripping an asbestos cement roof means controlled removal, consignment of the sheets as hazardous waste, a complete replacement roof and disruption to everything underneath while the work happens. Encapsulation removes most of those costs. The roof is cleaned and prepared under controlled conditions, defective fixings and minor damage are dealt with, and the sheets are sealed with a coating system that binds the surface and restores weather protection. The building stays in use throughout. A roof is normally a sensible candidate when:
- The sheets are intact, with no widespread cracking, holes or impact damage
- The cement matrix is weathered but not soft, friable or delaminating
- Fixings and rooflights can be repaired or replaced as part of the works
- The structure beneath is sound and free of significant movement
- The material is asbestos cement, not insulation board or sprayed coating
The honest part: when encapsulation is the wrong answer
Coating a failed roof helps nobody, so we will not do it. If sheets are extensively cracked, brittle or breaking up, if water has degraded the cement to the point where it is soft and friable, or if the roof has suffered storm or impact damage across large areas, encapsulation only hides a problem that will resurface. And if a survey identifies asbestos insulation board, lagging or sprayed coatings rather than cement sheeting, that is licensed work and must go to an HSE-licensed removal contractor, not a coating company. Where that is the position on your building, we will tell you plainly and put it in writing, even though it means we do not get the job.
Survey first, then a straight recommendation
Every enquiry starts with a condition survey, not a quotation. We inspect the sheets, fixings, rooflights, gutters and structure, photograph what we find and report on whether encapsulation is appropriate. We are based in the South East and carry out surveys and coating works across England, with Newcastle upon Tyne and the wider North East covered through planned visits. If your roof dates from the 1960s to the 1980s and you suspect asbestos cement, the sensible first step is a survey and a written answer you can file with your asbestos management plan.
