How To Nail Asbestos Siding

Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle.

How to nail asbestos 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. Breakage releases asbestos fibers. 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.

This would trigger dust and asbestos dust is a problem as i ve mentioned. Place the top edge of the plastic sheeting at the top of the exterior wall above the siding. The house is a cape cod built in 1950 and has wonderful asbestos siding on it which i recently had painted. Now that you have your backer board up and set firmly in place you can put the siding up safely without worrying about the asbestos falling down behind the siding.

You can t drive screws and nails through them without pre drilling. This siding is in 100 perfect condition the entire way around the house. If siding should begin to crack or crumble immediately wet the cracked or broken areas with the pint size spray bottle or garden pump sprayer. When you nail siding to the house remember to nail the siding loose.

Line up the nail holes between the old upper layer cement asbestos shingles and the new fiber cement shingles to be secured underneath. Remove pieces of siding by pulling nails or cutting nail heads so as to minimize breakage. 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. If necessary carefully lift siding pieces with pry tool to expose nail heads.

Nail it in place using several nails a few inches apart until the top of the plastic is fully attached. Start by hooking the siding on the bottom of the starter strip with the nail holes facing upward.