“It’s only asbestos cement.”
Those words can create far bigger problems than people realise.
We regularly see the same mistake on roofing, fascia and soffit jobs. A contractor finds an old soffit board, assumes it’s asbestos cement, removes it without the right checks, and only afterwards discovers it was actually an asbestos insulating board, commonly known as AIB.
By that point, the damage has already been done.
The photographs below are from a case our team investigated directly. Once the soffit had been removed, asbestos-containing debris was found scattered across the roof, the gutters and the ground surrounding the property. Lab analysis later confirmed the material was AIB, not asbestos cement.
This wasn’t just a case of misjudging a product. It’s a reminder of why asbestos-containing materials should never be assumed before work starts.
What We Found
The contractor believed they were dealing with asbestos cement soffit board.
But the material had not been properly identified before removal. Once it was broken apart, the debris was no longer limited to the soffit area.
Fragments were found across:
- the roof covering
- the guttering
- the surrounding ground
- areas around the property
From what we found afterwards, the work didn’t appear to have been planned, controlled or carried out in a way you’d expect even for asbestos cement, let alone a higher-risk material such as AIB.
What should have been a routine soffit job became a contamination issue requiring specialist remediation.
This is exactly why we always say when dealing with any suspect material, and in this case identifying asbestos in soffits and gutters, appearance alone is never enough. Asbestos cement and AIB soffits can look almost identical to the untrained eye, especially once they’ve been painted or weathered.
Experience Doesn’t Equal Competence
One of the most common misconceptions in construction is that experience with a job automatically means competence to handle asbestos.
It doesn’t.
A contractor can be highly experienced at replacing fascias, soffits and roofline materials without being competent to identify asbestos-containing materials, assess the risk, or know whether the work needs to be licensed.
The question shouldn’t be “can I get this off?”.
It should be “do I know exactly what this material is?”
If the answer is no, the work should stop until the material has been sampled, surveyed or properly assessed by someone competent to do so.
Why Visual Identification Isn't Enough
AIB and asbestos cement can both appear as flat, solid roofline boards. Once they’ve been painted, weathered or partially damaged, telling them apart by eye becomes genuinely difficult, even for people who work on roofs every day.
This applies just as much to soffits, fascias, canopy boards and garage rooflines. A board that looks and feels like asbestos cement could just as easily be AIB. Testing is the only reliable way to know for certain, not a visual guess, however experienced the guess is.
The Hidden Cost of Getting It Wrong
Skipping proper identification to save time or cost can quickly become the most expensive part of the job. A single wrong assumption can lead to:
- property contamination
- emergency remediation
- specialist environmental cleaning
- licensed asbestos removal
- air monitoring or reassurance testing
- project delays
- HSE involvement
- potential enforcement action
- unnecessary exposure to asbestos fibres for everyone on site
It also damages trust between contractor and client at exactly the point it matters most.
The cheapest option before work starts can become the most expensive mistake afterwards.
Advice for Homeowners
If you’re having soffits, fascias, gutters or roofline materials replaced on a property built before 2000, it’s worth asking a direct question: how has the contractor confirmed whether asbestos is present?
“It looks like cement” is not confirmation. Neither is “we’ve seen this before.” If the material hasn’t been tested or properly assessed, nobody actually knows what it is yet.
We run through identifying asbestos soffits and gutters, what to look out for, and when to get material tested before allowing work to start.
Advice for Roofing Contractors
If you work on roofs, fascias, soffits or gutters, asbestos awareness isn’t optional.
Many roofline materials fitted before 2000 could be asbestos cement, AIB, or a non-asbestos product. The problem is that you can’t always tell by looking.
If you’re not trained, equipped and legally compliant to work with asbestos, stop before disturbing the material.
Get it sampled. Ask for a survey. Bring in a competent asbestos contractor where needed.
The decision you make before work starts is what protects you, your client and everyone else nearby.
Identify It Before You Disturb It
Cases like this are avoidable.
The material should be identified before it’s touched, not after.
At Fibre Safe, we regularly investigate situations like this once things have already gone wrong in both homes and commercial properties . We’d much rather help identify the material before work starts than deal with the contamination afterwards.
If you’re unsure whether a soffit, fascia, gutter or roofline board contains asbestos, don’t guess.
Contact Fibre Safe today on 0800 458 4136 or send a message here.
