Asbestos Sheets and Corrugated Cement Roofing
Asbestos cement sheets are hard grey sheets, often corrugated, used on garages, sheds, barns and walls until asbestos was banned in 1999. Only a test can tell you for sure. Intact sheets are a lower risk, but the roof is fragile, so never walk on it. Removal typically costs £20 to £55 per m², plus VAT.
Think your sheets are asbestos? What to do now
- Stay off the roof. Asbestos cement roofs are always fragile and can't take your weight.
- Don't break, cut, drill or pressure wash the sheets. That's how fibres get into the air.
- Get them tested, then get a quote. We arrange asbestos testing and removal across the UK.
How can you tell if a sheet is asbestos?
Only a test can tell you for sure. HSE says the only way to confirm asbestos is to test a representative sample.
Asbestos cement is a hard, grey material. Asbestos can be in any building built or refurbished before 2000.
Four common beliefs, and the facts:
Myth
Moss or lichen means it is asbestos
HSE gives no way to spot asbestos cement by eye. The only way to confirm asbestos is to test a sample.
Myth
The wavy profile gives it away
Asbestos cement is hard and grey, but HSE gives no shape or colour as a test. Asbestos-free replacement sheets are also sold to match the old profiles (we checked what's for sale).
Myth
Walking along the bolt line is safe
HSE's roof work guidance calls this a common but fatal belief. You can't rely on asbestos cement sheet to hold someone's weight.
Myth
Old and weathered means it must come off
Asbestos in good condition is often best left where it is. Breaking, cutting, drilling and wire brushing are what release fibres.
A test settles it. A sample taken and tested by a visiting surveyor starts from £75, plus VAT. We arrange asbestos testing, or see how to identify asbestos.
Where are asbestos cement sheets found?
Mostly outside, on roofs and walls. HSE describes cement roofs as large, profiled asbestos cement sheeting.
Garage roofs
HSE names garages and sheds as small asbestos cement structures.
Sheds and outbuildings
The same sheets were used on sheds and other small buildings.
Barns and farm buildings
HSE's farm safety pages say fibre cement roof sheets are commonly called asbestos cement.
Wall cladding
Like roof sheeting, but it can be flat. Often found on buildings with asbestos cement roofs.
Panels around the home
HSE's drawing of a typical home shows asbestos cement panels outside, and some bath and window panels inside.
Soffits and fascias
HSE's drawing of a home shows soffits and fascias in asbestos cement or insulating board.
Gutters and downpipes
Often fitted at the ends of cement roofs, especially on warehouse type buildings.
Are asbestos sheets dangerous, and can you walk on them?
The material itself is lower risk. The fibres are tightly bound with cement, and it has to be aggressively worn away to release them. Sawing, drilling, wire brushing and breaking it do that.
For cleaning, HSE says high-pressure jetting is right only in exceptional circumstances, done by a specialist contractor.
Never walk on an asbestos cement roof. These roofs are always fragile and can't take your weight.
Walking along the line of the bolts is "a common but fatal belief", says HSE's roof work guidance.
Falls through fragile surfaces, especially fibre cement roofs and rooflights, account for 22% of fatal falls from height in construction.
Can you still buy asbestos sheets, and what replaces them?
No. Using asbestos in building work has been illegal since 1999.
The law now bans putting anything that contains it on the market.
HSE says that covers supplying it, paid or free, apart from items it exempts. Sheets already fitted can stay until they're disposed of or reach the end of their service life.
When a roof is replaced, the old sheets come off and a non-asbestos roof goes on. HSE also asks whether sheets could be covered over with non-asbestos material instead of removed.
For the options on a garage, see what to put back on an asbestos garage roof.
Who can remove asbestos sheets?
- Intact sheets: non-licensed work. Taking off asbestos cement roof sheets is non-licensed work if they're carefully removed without breaking up. It's still a job for trained workers.
- Sheets that break up: notifiable work. Dropping an asbestos cement roof is one example HSE gives, as is material badly damaged by fire or flood.
- Doing it yourself. HSE's advice is not to remove asbestos without training. It strongly encourages using trained professionals.
More in do you need a licence to remove asbestos?
We arrange asbestos sheet removal across the UK. Get a free quote.
How many asbestos sheets will the council take?
Usually only a few.
We can get it taken down and taken away for you. We arrange asbestos sheet removal and collection across the UK.
What councils take
Of the 38 councils in our lookup that put a number on it, the commonest limits are three, four or six sheets. In 26 of them, the limit is six or fewer.
They count in different ways, so compare like with like. Some count per visit (Oxfordshire four, Leicester eight), some per year (Ceredigion two, Calderdale eight). Derbyshire takes two, once only. Some take only unbroken sheets: Bath and North East Somerset, for example, takes three.
Of the 189 councils and waste authorities we checked, 30 currently take no household asbestos.
Wrap them first. HSE says intact sheets shouldn't be broken up, but double wrapped in 1000 gauge polythene and labelled. Rules checked 10 to 11 October 2026; check with your council before you go. Find your council's rules.
Council schemes are for small amounts that have already been taken down and wrapped. For anything more, or anything still in place, we arrange the whole job.
What does asbestos sheet removal cost?
Asbestos cement sheet removal typically costs £20 to £55 per m², plus VAT. Typical prices for common jobs:
Asbestos cement sheets or corrugated roofing
£20 to £55
per m², plus VAT
Small areas cost more per square metre because every job carries a minimum charge.
Shed or outbuilding roof removal
£380 to £1,100
plus VAT
The size of the roof and how easy it is to reach decide the price.
Collection of asbestos that is already wrapped
From £135
plus VAT
Most cost £260 to £450
The amount of waste and the distance to a permitted disposal site decide the price.
A sample taken and tested by a visiting surveyor
From £75
plus VAT
Most cost £95 to £165
The number of samples and how quickly you need the result affect the price.
Garage roof prices are in the garage roof guide.
For your own price, tell us on the form what the sheets are on, roughly how many there are, and whether any are broken. Your price depends on the job. Every quote is free. Prices are shown before VAT unless they say otherwise. How we work out these prices.
Key takeaways
- Get grey cement sheets on a building from before 2000 tested before anyone works on them.
- Never walk on an asbestos cement roof. It's fragile.
- Leave intact sheets alone. Never break, cut, drill or pressure wash them.
- Check your council's limit before taking any to the tip, and wrap them first.
Primary Sources & Further Reading
- HSE: Locations of asbestos and taking the right action
- HSE: Sourcing professional advice and services on asbestos issues
- HSE: Asbestos FAQs
- HSE: Diagrams showing where asbestos can occur in buildings
- HSE: Non-licensed work with asbestos
- HSE: Notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW)
- HSE: Why asbestos is dangerous and where it can be found
- HSE: Cleaning weathered asbestos cement roofing and cladding (task sheet a12)
- HSE: Removing asbestos cement sheets and dismantling a small structure (task sheet a14)
- HSE: Painting asbestos cement products (task sheet a16)
- HSE: Health and safety in roof work (HSG33)
- HSE: Fragile surfaces
- HSE: Falls through fragile roofs (agriculture)
- HSE: Asbestos exemption certificates
- REACH (retained), Annex XVII: restrictions, entry 6 asbestos fibres
- GOV.UK: Dispose of hazardous waste
- GOV.UK: Dispose of household waste
Photo: Harald Weber, CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.