Asbestos can exist in a variety of forms in a building; cement, coatings, floor tiles, insulating, lagging and loose. Many buildings build before 1999 will contain at least one form of asbestos as it was often too expensive or too difficult to extract.

Asbestos cement can come in the form of roofing, cladding and guttering. The most common would be corrugated cement roofing found on warehouses, farm buildings and sometimes sheds and garages. This is considered the safest form of asbestos because the material is held within the concrete but can easily be released if sawed or drilled.

Plenty of ceilings and walls in older buildings were coated in asbestos by either spraying or a textured coating, this existed in lofts, living spaces and around beams. Textured coatings are often quite stable but sprayed coatings have the highest asbestos content so even a small disturbance could release vast quantities into the air.

Tiles made of asbestos were often used in insulating floor surfaces underneath laminate flooring or carpets. Similar forms of the material were used in fire blankets and oven gloves. Although generally quite safe to work with it is still best to consult a specialist or guidelines.

AIB or Asbestos Insulating Board was quite commonly used to insulate lift shafts, roof linings, fire doors and partition walls. Large quantities of this is can still be found in many buildings build before the 1990s and is considered so dangerous only a licensed contractor can work with it.

Many cavities, pipes and boilers are filled and coated with loose fill and lagging asbestos. These are both considered very hazardous and should not be worked with or exposed to anyone other than a trained contractor. Exposure to any of the toxic fibres released can cause damaging respiratory problems and eventually cause a form of cancer known as Mesothelioma.

Want advice on asbestos in buildings then visit the ‘whats-my-claim-worth’ site to find out if you canmake a claim for asbestos exposure.