How To Nail Asbestos Siding

You can t drive screws and nails through them without pre drilling.

How to nail asbestos siding.

Pry out nails and remove whole pieces of 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. 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.

Breakage releases asbestos fibers. Covering old asbestos shingles with new siding may seem like an option too but it s not easy to do safely. If necessary carefully lift siding pieces with pry tool to expose nail heads. Start by hooking the siding on the bottom of the starter strip with the nail holes facing upward.

Asbestos shingles are relatively strong but brittle. Nail it in place using several nails a few inches apart until the top of the plastic is fully attached. 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. The house is a cape cod built in 1950 and has wonderful asbestos siding on it which i recently had painted.

Use a flat pry bar to pull out the nails and remove the pieces of siding carefully as they come loose. Place the top edge of the plastic sheeting at the top of the exterior wall above the siding. When you nail siding to the house remember to nail the siding loose. This siding is in 100 perfect condition the entire way around the house.

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. 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.