Asbestos Garage Removal & Demolition

There is no legal requirement for a householder to hold a licence to remove asbestos cement from their own property. That is a statement about the legal threshold, though, not about whether it is a sensible thing to do. The Health and Safety Executive identifies asbestos as the single greatest cause of work-related death in Great Britain, accounting for around 5,000 deaths a year. Asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis typically take decades to develop, so there is no immediate sign that anything has gone wrong. In practice the obstacle that stops most DIY removals is not taking the sheets down — it is disposing of them legally afterwards.

Asbestos cement is comparatively stable while it is intact and in good condition. The danger comes from how it is handled. Snapping or dropping sheets, drilling them, or cutting them with an angle grinder or other power tool releases respirable fibres into the air, and weathered or damaged sheets shed fibres far more readily than sound ones. Regulation 11 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 requires exposure to be prevented, or reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable. In practical terms that means removing sheets whole, keeping them damp to suppress dust, hand-lowering rather than dropping, and never using power tools. The HSE sets out the accepted methods in its Asbestos Essentials guidance, HSG210.

Because it is hazardous waste, not builders' rubble. Asbestos cement is classified under List of Waste code 17 06 05*, and it can only go to a facility specifically permitted to accept it — not a skip, and not the general waste stream. Anyone transporting waste in the course of a business must be registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier, which is why most skip hire firms and general builders will not touch it. Each movement of hazardous waste must also travel with a consignment note under the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005. Most council household waste recycling centres either refuse asbestos outright or cap it at a few sheets with pre-booking. This is usually where DIY removal stalls: the sheets come off in an afternoon and then sit in the garden for months because there is nowhere lawful to take them.

Householders have a duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to ensure their waste is transferred only to an authorised person. Depositing controlled waste without a permit is an offence under section 33 of the same Act, and carries an unlimited fine and, in serious cases, imprisonment. Setting the legal position aside, asbestos that has been fly-tipped or buried on site tends to cost the property owner considerably more to put right later than lawful disposal would have cost at the time, and it has an awkward habit of surfacing during a conveyancing survey.

For a domestic garage, usually not. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 divide work into licensed and non-licensed categories, and the asbestos cement used in garage roofs, wall panels and rainwater goods falls into the non-licensed category. An HSE licence is required for higher-risk materials such as sprayed coatings, thermal lagging and most asbestos insulating board, which are rarely found in a domestic garage. Non-licensed does not mean unregulated: the work still requires trained operatives under Regulation 10, proper controls under Regulation 11, and waste consigned to a permitted facility.

Any garage built or re-roofed before 2000 may contain asbestos cement, and it is very common in prefabricated concrete-panel garages of the 1950s to 1980s. Typical signs are corrugated grey roof sheets, flat wall panels, and cement gutters or downpipes. You cannot identify asbestos reliably by eye — it needs a laboratory-tested sample. If you are unsure, do not disturb it, and treat it as though it does contain asbestos until proven otherwise.

Sheets are removed whole wherever possible rather than broken up, kept damp to suppress fibres, and hand-lowered instead of dropped. Nothing is cut with power tools. The material is double-wrapped and labelled, then transported under our waste carrier registration to a permitted disposal facility. You receive a consignment note confirming the waste was disposed of legally — worth keeping with your property paperwork.

Cost depends on the size of the garage, how much asbestos is present, the condition of the material and how easily we can get to it. A single prefabricated garage is usually a one-day job. Because disposal is charged by weight and volume, we always quote after seeing the structure rather than giving a figure over the phone. Site visits and quotes are free and carry no obligation.

We clear the debris and leave the ground level and ready for whatever comes next. Most customers take the opportunity to have a new concrete base laid at the same time, which avoids a second mobilisation and a second set of costs. We can move straight from demolition into a new base, a replacement garage, or a full garage conversion.

Yes. We demolish and clear timber, steel, brick and concrete-panel garages as well, along with sheds, outbuildings and redundant hardstanding. The same site clearance and groundwork service applies whether or not asbestos is involved.