Asbestos in Older Hunter Homes: Where It Hides and How Removal Works

Why the Hunter has so much asbestos

Newcastle and the Lower Hunter grew quickly in the decades after the war. Steelworks, mines and the port brought workers and families, and they needed houses fast. Fibro sheeting was inexpensive, light and quick to put up, so it became one of the most common building materials in the region. Many of those fibro products contained asbestos.

Asbestos was also used in brick and weatherboard homes of the same era, in places most owners never think to look. A house finished before 1990 may well have asbestos somewhere in it, and across the Hunter that covers a very large share of the housing stock.

Where it usually turns up

Fibro wall cladding

The obvious one. Post-war fibro cottages in suburbs like Wallsend, Cardiff, Belmont, Mayfield and Rutherford often have fibro sheeting on the outside walls, sometimes inside as well. Gable ends on brick homes can also be fibro.

Eaves linings

The flat sheeting under the roof overhang is a frequent find, even on brick veneer and weatherboard houses that have no other fibro on the outside.

Bathrooms and laundries

Wet-area linings behind wall tiles are one of the most common places asbestos is found during renovations. Owners often discover it only when the old tiles start coming off.

Floors

The backing on old vinyl floor coverings, and some old floor tiles, can contain asbestos. Kitchens, laundries and bathrooms are where these usually sit.

Roofing and outbuildings

Corrugated roofing sheets on houses, garages, carports and sheds were often made with asbestos. In the coalfield towns around Cessnock and Kurri Kurri, backyard sheds with old sheeting are very common.

Flues and fittings

Flues from old heaters and hot water units, and some old electrical meter boards, are other places it can turn up.

Additions and sleepouts

Many Hunter homes were extended over the decades with enclosed verandahs, rear sleepouts and laundries. These additions were often built in fibro, even when the original house was timber or brick.

You cannot tell by looking

Asbestos fibro and later fibre cement sheeting look almost identical. Testing is the only reliable answer. Ahead of demolition or a strip-out in an older building, a hazardous materials survey shows what is present, where it is and whether it is friable or non-friable.

If you are doing a smaller renovation, have the materials in that room tested before anyone cuts, drills or sands them. Damaging asbestos material is what releases fibres.

Friable and non-friable

Non-friable asbestos is bonded into a solid material such as fibro sheeting. When in good condition, it holds together. Friable asbestos can be crumbled or reduced to powder by hand, such as some old pipe lagging or badly damaged material.

The difference matters because it decides who can remove it and how.

Who can remove asbestos in NSW

Asbestos removal licences from SafeWork NSW come in two classes:

• Class A: friable and non-friable asbestos
• Class B: non-friable asbestos only

Once there is over 10 square metres of non-friable material, a SafeWork NSW licensed removalist has to do the job, and any friable asbestos is Class A licence work only. SafeWork NSW must be notified before licensed removal starts, so the job needs to be planned with that notice built in.

On our jobs, the asbestos is taken out by removalists who hold the SafeWork NSW licence class the job requires.

What happens on removal day

The work area is set up and signed, and only the removal crew goes in. Sheets are wetted down to keep fibres from becoming airborne and are taken off whole where possible rather than broken. The material is wrapped and sealed in heavy plastic and labelled as asbestos waste. Friable work involves tighter controls, including an enclosed work area.

Once the material is out, the area is cleaned.

Clearance before anything else

After removal, the work is checked independently. Where friable (Class A) material was removed, the clearance check is done by a licensed asbestos assessor. For non-friable jobs, the check falls to an independent competent person. Other work in that area waits until the clearance certificate is in hand.

Your builder or renovator will want a copy, and it is worth keeping with your property records.

Disposal and tracking

Asbestos waste can only be taken to a site permitted by law to take it. The NSW EPA follows asbestos through WasteLocate, which records each load from the site where it was removed to where it was disposed of. Asbestos should never go into a general skip, a household bin or a kerbside clean up.

What to do if you find it

If you think you have found asbestos, leave it alone. Do not break, sand, drill or water blast it. Keep people and pets away from any broken pieces. Then get it tested and talk to a licensed removalist about what the job involves.

If the asbestos is part of a demolition or renovation, handling the survey, removal and clearance as part of the same plan keeps everything in order and avoids gaps between trades.

Send through the address, pictures of the material and any test results you have, and we will explain what removal involves for your property.