The loft cistern looks like old cement sheet and it is still on the feed. Why must you not break it up to remove it before completion?

What is the fuller explanation?

Asbestos cement was used for water cisterns. A surveyor who says the loft tank looks like old cement sheet is describing appearance, not issuing an identification. The cistern is still connected, so it is part of the plumbing as well as a materials question. Smashing it to get it out would disturb whatever the sheet is, in a roof space, while it is still someone else's house. A home survey is not an asbestos survey. Removal is not a viewing task.

Leave the cistern alone until you own the house or the seller has agreed a proper approach. Ask an asbestos surveyor whether the sheet needs sampling before a plumber disconnects it. Do not saw a corner off to prove the point, and do not wire-brush the outside. If the tank must stay in use for now, that is a plumbing decision taken without breaking the shell. The survey sentence is a warning about the material you can see, not an instruction to demolish it.

What should you ask your surveyor?

• What did you see of the cistern: a cement-like shell, a lid, or both?
• Was it still piped in, and did you see cracks or broken edges already?
• Did you name the material, or only record that it looked like old cement sheet?

What are the typical next steps?

1. Do not break, sand, scrape or remove the cistern before completion.
2. Ask for an asbestos survey before anyone cuts the shell out.
3. Leave it connected until a plumber and that advice agree a method.

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

Which pages should you read next?

• A white rope at a flue collar in the loft may be asbestos. Why is that a warning not to pull the rope out, rather than a repair the survey has priced?
• A bitumen pad is still under a stainless sink in a pre-2000 kitchen. Why should you not scrape it off while you measure up?
• Does a home survey service an unvented hot-water cylinder?
• Guide: What does asbestos mean in a home survey?
• All UK home survey questions

Sources

• Health and Safety Executive: Where asbestos can occur in buildings (diagrams; buildings built or refurbished before 2000)
• Health and Safety Executive: Locations of asbestos and taking the right action