How To Nail Asbestos Siding

When you nail siding to the house remember to nail the siding loose.

How to nail asbestos siding.

The house is a cape cod built in 1950 and has wonderful asbestos siding on it which i recently had painted. This would trigger dust and asbestos dust is a problem as i ve mentioned. Breakage releases asbestos fibers. If necessary carefully lift siding pieces with pry tool to expose nail heads.

Place the top edge of the plastic sheeting at the top of the exterior wall above the siding. Pry out nails and remove whole pieces of siding. Each piece of siding overlaps the piece below it so when you remove 1 piece it will expose the nails attaching the piece below it to the building. Remove pieces of siding by pulling nails or cutting nail heads so as to minimize breakage.

Line up the nail holes between the old upper layer cement asbestos shingles and the new fiber cement shingles to be secured underneath. If cement shingles have to be cut use the manufacturer s recommended cutting tool not a power saw that will make a lot of dust. I ve searched this diy forum for some tips on drilling asbestos siding but the closest i found was folks discussing cutting holes in asbestos siding. The plastic is used to create a barrier to the elements as well as prevents the siding from rubbing against the painted asbestos siding.

Covering old asbestos shingles with new siding may seem like an option too but it s not easy to do safely. Nail it in place using several nails a few inches apart until the top of the plastic is fully attached. Use a flat pry bar to pull out the nails and remove the pieces of siding carefully as they come loose. Start by hooking the siding on the bottom of the starter strip with the nail holes facing upward.

You can t drive screws and nails through them without pre drilling. Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle.