1 in 3 houses in NZ contain asbestos which makes it a widespread problem.
The Hawkes Bay is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regions, climbing an impressive 10 per cent in just the last five years, with a 5.8 per cent increase in occupied dwellings. With this comes plenty of residential and commercial renovations.
In the 80’s and 90’s asbestos was a popular and inexpensive insulation material so there are thousands of commercial buildings and residential buildings in the Hawkes Bay with asbestos in the walls and ceilings. If your home or building was renovated in the 80’s or 90’s, it is likely to contain asbestos in some form. The only way to be sure whether a material contains asbestos is to have it tested by a qualified laboratory.
In Art Deco homes built in the 1920s and 1930s, asbestos sheets were sometimes used as a stucco substrate and in larger floorings or decorative ceilings which may have been installed. Asbestos may also be present in textured paint or insulation dating from this period. Houses in the 20s and 30s were constructed without insulation and while it is not mandatory to insulate existing houses that are not being altered, a large number of homes being renovated and having insulation installed will discover the presence of asbestos.
Asbestos was a component of a wide range of building materials used in the 1920s and 1930s. Examples include linoleum flooring, fibre-cement products (sheet lining and cladding, roofing shingles) and insulation materials.
We only recommend testing suspect materials if they are damaged (fraying, crumbling) or if you are planning a renovation that would disturb the suspect material.
So if you have a commercial or residential building that requires an asbestos inspection to determine if there is asbestos, or asbestos removal in Hawkes Bay, get in touch today.
