Asbestos Siding House Painting

This presents a problem when it s time to repaint the exterior of the house.

Asbestos siding house painting. Begin by analyzing a paint sample for lead content. Covering old asbestos shingles with new siding may seem like an option too but it s not easy to do safely. Let the siding dry then prime and paint with the best exterior latex you can find. Painting cement asbestos siding or non asbestos fiber cement siding is in part a cosmetic decision.

Instead of replacing asbestos siding on an old house homeowners have the option of treating it with specialty paint that will prevent any exposure to the dangerous chemicals. I work on house siding projects all the time though rarely on asbestos because it doesn t need anything other than better paint color choices which seem dated. Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle. It s not difficult at all to paint asbestos siding as one of its benefits is that paint easily adheres to it and it is very durable and can last for decades without chipping or cracking.

Besides the need to create a good surface for painting asbestos siding there are two other areas of concern. The first is the possible and almost certain presence of lead based paint on the siding and the second is the asbestos in the siding itself. Lead paint wasn t outlawed until 1978 so it s sure to be present on siding going back to the 1950s. The shingles are extremely snug against one another.

Reply roseann march 20 2017 at 9 16 am. Normally you d scrap down the old paint from your siding but doing that with asbestos can release dangerous particles into the air. Our method of choice to first apply zinsser peel stop triple thick primer which is a water based acrylic binding primer designed to penetrate and stop previous coatings from peeling. Old asbestos shingles on your house aren t dangerous unless you start breaking scraping or otherwise disturbing them.

You can roll it or brush it on but make sure you get under the small lip at the bottom of each asbestos siding shingle. Begin painting the siding with your choice of brushes and rollers making sure to check often for runs. I read the advice about how to paint the asbestos shingles but i am concerned. One concern when repainting this type of siding is the small gaps between the shingles.

Because of this it s important that all asbestos be treated carefully especially when painting asbestos siding. We have rarely seen this material in a worn friable condition but should that occur one might paint the surface also to stop fiber shedding and to preserve the material. Painting asbestos siding is often a much better alternative than trying to remove it.