You still see profiled asbestos cement roofs everywhere on Hull’s older commercial buildings. We’re talking about the sheds and warehouses around the docks, the units on trading estates from the 60s and 70s, and plenty of farm buildings across the East Riding too. Most were never built to last sixty years, but a lot of them are still structurally sound. They’re just porous, covered in moss, and shedding surface fibres as the cement weathers. If you own or run one of these, the law expects you to deal with it. Encapsulation is often the most sensible way to do it.
The duty to manage asbestos in Hull premises
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 put the duty to manage on whoever controls the maintenance of a non-domestic building. That means you need to find out if asbestos is there, check its condition, keep a register, and have a written plan to manage the risk. The important thing is, the regulations don’t say you have to remove it. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance makes it clear: asbestos-containing materials in good nick, left alone, are often safer managed in place than ripped out. Encapsulation is a recognised way to manage a roof in place. It fixes the weathering problem, rather than just noting it down.
What encapsulation involves on a sound roof
We start with a thorough clean. No abrasive blasting or aggressive pressure washing, because anything that grinds the surface just releases fibres. We treat and remove moss and other growth using controlled methods, sort out any dodgy fixings and minor laps, then apply a purpose-made encapsulant coating system across the sheets. The coating seals the weathered surface, stops the fibres getting out, makes the roof shed water properly again, and slows down any further decay. We do all the work from outside, so in most cases, whatever’s going on inside the building can carry on.
Cost and disruption: how it compares with removal
Stripping an asbestos cement roof is a massive job. You’ve got controlled removal, wrapping and disposal of the sheets as hazardous waste, then the cost of a brand new roof, usually with the building shut down while it happens. Encapsulation avoids the strip, the disposal and the new roof. That’s why it’s usually less money and causes far less disruption. We won’t pretend it’s always the better deal. Coating a roof that’s structurally knackered is just throwing money away, and we’ll tell you that straight when we see it.
When encapsulation is the wrong answer
Coatings can’t bring a failed roof back from the dead. If your sheets are cracked all over, full of holes, delaminating, crumbling at the edges, or soft enough to be friable, encapsulation isn’t going to work and we won’t offer it. Same goes if storm or impact damage has punched through the sheet, if the structure underneath looks dodgy, or if the building’s due for redevelopment. In those cases, removal is the honest recommendation. Badly degraded material needs a proper removal contractor working under strict controls, not just a coat of paint. Telling you that costs us a job. Not telling you would cost you a lot more.
Survey first, recommendation second
Every enquiry starts with us doing a condition survey. Nobody can honestly price or spec this kind of work from a photo. On a Hull roof, we’ll check:
- The condition of the sheets, how much the surface has eroded, and if it’s gone soft
- Any cracks, holes, previous patch repairs and how bad they are
- Your fixings, flashings, gutters and roof lights
- How much moss, lichen and other growth is on there
- The underside, where we can get at it, looking for damp and delamination
If the roof is sound, we’ll give you a written spec for encapsulation. If it’s not, we’ll tell you plainly that removal is the right way to go. We’re a South-East based contractor, but we work across the whole UK, and Hull and the East Riding are definitely within our normal patch. Either way, the survey makes the call, not a sales pitch.
