Asbestos in pre-2000 homes

What should you ask about a pre-2000 shed, garage or coal-bunker roof made of cement sheet?

Ask the surveyor to say if they think it is asbestos cement, and do not break the sheets. HSE’s diagrams include cement roofs, wall sheets and gutters on older outbuildings. A home survey can recognise the look of a cement sheet. It does not sample it. If the sheet is intact, the usual HSE message is not to disturb it. If you need it gone, it has to be taken off whole and disposed of properly, not smashed into a rubble sack.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

Asbestos cement is the common material on small roofs of that era. It is not the same job as removing sprayed coating or pipe lagging, but it still is not ordinary rubbish. The surveyor’s sentence should be read with HSE’s location guidance, not as a demolition order. A Level 2 may give the outbuilding less time than the house. Read the limit.

If you will keep the shed, leave the roof alone and do not jet-wash it. If you will replace it, tell the contractor the sheet has not been sampled and ask them how they will remove it. Prices vary with area and access. HSE does not publish a shed price. A house survey that says “possible asbestos cement roof to garage” has done its job by warning you. Clearance is the next instruction.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Are you identifying cement sheet, or only noting an old roof you could not test?
Is the sheet cracked or still whole?
Is the outbuilding inside the level of inspection you carried out?

What are the typical next steps?

Do not pressure-wash or drill the sheets to fit a light.
If they must come off, ask the contractor about disposal before they start.
Do not use the survey sentence as a licence to break the sheets into the garden waste.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Is a felt shed roof the same?

Felt on timber is a different roof. The cement-sheet warning does not apply. The survey should say which it saw.

Does a garage survey include the house electrics?

No. And an asbestos note is not an electrical test either.