Mounting solution for corrugated cement roof

[ams]

As a qualified asbestos surveyor I can provide the following information:

• You should have a sample of the roofing material analysed by a UKAS (United Kingdon Accreditation Service) approved laboratory prior any work to determine if there is asbestos present:
• If it does contain asbestos work with this type of material is not notifiable to the HSE under The control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2006 and a license is not required to work with it:
• However, it still comes under those set of Regs and the necessary Risk Assessment and Plan of Work must be produced prior to work:
• The Risk Assessment etc should include the use of the necessary PPE & RPE for all operatives:
• There should be an application of a suitable fibre suppresant i.e 'Fibrelock' prior to any disturbance of the material:
• Any occupants of the building should be protected during all works from exposure to unaccceptable high levels of airborne asbestos fibres:
• You should check to determine if there is a liner panel on the underside of the roof sheets as this often is found to contain asbestos.
• In all, I would advise contacting the local HSE office and ask for their advice.

Hope this helps.

 

[MLC-Tom]

Hi JSS, I have been searching all over the place to locate a supplier for these fixings, Schletter themselves gave me some names that came to nothing and Segen out supplier says they are a 'bispoke' item so cannot stock them. Are you able to tell me the distributer so I can get hold of some. Thanks

 

[JSS]

Give me a call 07922 094 682

 

[JD6400]

Hi MLC-Tom
Be careful if you are fixing into anything other than well specked metal purlins , as there is absolutely no room for adjustment if the roof is not bang on level .
This is not to bad on the smaller systems , but will make a noticeable problem on the larger systems .

 

[rt1200]

By HSE A9, I thought we were ok to work on it. We can have the area shut down while we fit the panels (the unit isn't occupied at the moment yet) and we'd use crawling boards anyway.

If we win the job, we'll take a sample from the roof to get checked out - before we sign contracts. Frankly, if it is asbestos, and it takes us a week longer to install because of this, we'll still go for it. And we'll be sure to keep on the right side of the HSE.

Hi Biggs
it is legal for a bona fide contractor like yourself to undertake work on certain non licensable asbestos products such as asbestos cement. You would need to do a risk assessment and devise a method statement. You NEED to check that your insurance covers you for work on asbestos as this is where most fall foul. There cannot be anyone occupying those areas in which your working. It might be better to sub out the work of drilling through the sheets to a licenced asbestos contractor. It may appear expensive but nowhere near as much if something goes wrong. A similar project in my neck of the woods did go wrong and the final cost of the clean up was over a million pounds! Non of this is a reason not to do the job but if you low on competence in the sphere of work you will need to bring in that comepetence. After all, you wouldnt let an asbestos remover rewire your home would you?

 

[stjowen]

This thread has made for fascinating reading and I've just spent an hour on the phone, with a Solar Panel installer, discussing asbestos cement sheets.

Pre-1999 and most profile 6 and profile 3 cladding were asbestos content.
The content is proportionate to the date the sheets were manufactured, but normally about 5% content.
There are stamp marks on the edge of most sheets and this information will tell you date, batch and manufacturer.

You can take it as read that all asbestos and single skin metal profiled cladding, not fixed to manufacturers specification, will have no warranty.

I would class all asbestos roof sheets as fragile, always use crawler boards and safety nets.
Make sure you use a contractor that carries the correct insurance to allow handling of asbestos cladding.
Make sure your contractor's are wearing asbestos grade overalls and dust masks.
Make sure you have a site specific method statement and risk asssessment from the contractor, before work starts.
Register your site with Environment Agency for asbestos removal.

And then make sure that the structure of the building is suitable to take the additional loadings of the solar panel system.....