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Asbestos cement battens / cement strapping / cover strips

Description

Can be a moulded AC product for purpose, or sometimes just a cut piece of AC sheeting.  

Used to cover the join between two cement sheet panels on eaves, walls and ceilings, window and door architraves, as well as for decorative patterns.

Flat or D mould (curved exposed surface)

Interior and exterior application.

Tilux branded laminated skirting and moulded cover strips also marketed circa 1940s in two patterned colours, to match sheeting.

Brands/products
  • Fibrolite
  • Tasbestos
  • Flexboard
  • Fibrock
  • Asbestolite
  • Durabestos
Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Residential uses

Houses, garages, sheds and external toilets

Industrial uses

Sheds, offices, factories, warehouses, substations, workshops, pubs, government and community buildings.

Be aware

Cut sheeting adapted by builder may have exposed fibres on edges if not sealed.

Weathered or damaged stripping may expose unsealed sheeting , increasing the risk of further damage and asbestos friability.

Asbestos cement spandrel panels

Description

Panelling within window frame, usually framed from floor to near ceiling, or on multi-level buildings to cover external surface of tween flooring structures.

Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Brands/products
  • Fibrolite
  • Durabestos
  • Colorbord
  • Wunderflex
  • Tasbestos
  • Fibrock

Can be panel cut from any AC moulded sheeting design.

Residential uses

Housing, multi-storey apartments

Industrial uses

Commercial buildings and offices

Be aware

Windowsill mouldings and caulking may also contain asbestos if original fittings.

Flat coloured asbestos cement panels

Description

Coloured AC sheeting smoothed surfaced on both faces, with the colour appearing on one face only. Flat and curved sheets.

Used for curtain walling, spandrel panels and applied as double sheets back to back, such as in external balustrades.

Asbestos Products Ltd produced a coloured AC sheet named Artbestos in the 1930s for interior/exterior use. Colours listed as: Grove green, Sky blue, Stucco brown, Ochre, Shell pink, Cream and Buff.

Colorbord was a James Hardie product from 1960. Coloured AC sheeting market dominated by James Hardie. 

Colorbord range of colours and market names varied slightly from 1960s to end of production in mid 1980s.

Brands/products
  • Colorbord

    • Note: Not Colorboard –  a BurnieBoard wood product

  • Artbestos
Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Residential uses

Houses and apartment blocks – spandrel panels on balustrades and curtain walls

Industrial uses

Government buildings and schools, office blocks, motels, all industrial building applications – advertised as interesting infill variation for construction of schools, shopping centres as well as interior partitions in offices and factories.

 

Be aware

Some approaches to commercial remediation may have incorporated leaving in situ and covering with non-ACM materials.

Asbestos cement curved sheeting – external

Description

Curved flat sheeting. Advertised by Wunderlich more than Hardie’s. More often in mid-20th Century built residences as a feature of front façade.

Required moulded AC curved battens/cover strips for fixing.

Years of production/use

Mainly 1930s-1940s

Brands/products
  • Durabestos
  • Fibrolite
Residential uses

Houses

Industrial uses

Small commercial offices

Be aware

Painted curved AC sheeting may have appearance of rendered material.

Asbestos cement panels for specific form design

Description

Moulded AC panels to meet specific requirements, such as for architectural building design.

Images of highrise depict prefabricated steel frames with 12mm AC panel cladding and moulded AC window panels.

Moulded AC window frames were used in construction of office buildings. 

Other images depict school building constructed from prefabricated steel frames with attached AC panels 1976.

Brands/products
  • Hardies
Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Residential uses

Multi-storey apartments

Industrial uses
  • Commercial offices, schools
Be aware

Painted AC panels may have appearance of prefabricated concrete.

Asbestos cement moulded siding sheets

Description

AC moulded sheets that replicated appearance of battened timber grain or heavy textured cement render.

Indicators of moulded AC would include repeated identical stucco or woodgrain shape features on surface (Tip: look relative to edge of sheet jointing) – see below.

Marketed for external and interior use – for infill panels, gable ends, fences and screens.

Brands/products
  • Stucco
  • Montana
Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Residential uses

Homes

Industrial uses

Examples not identified

Be aware

Used with moulded AC internal angles.

Asbestos cement moulded panels

Description

Moulded panels for cladding or siding applications. Primarily marketed for exterior use on walls and gable ends, but also for internal feature walls, screens, fencing and partitions. Horizontal and vertical direction application.

Appearance can be that of rows of planking, smooth, woodgrain, half-moon logs or flat with grooves, columns or ribs.

Large market input of moulded panels by Hardie’s and Wunderlich. These manufacturers competed with similar/identical product. Even using the same name for Log Cabin panelling.

Panels patterns may vary depending on which face was installed as external facing.

Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Brands/products
  • Weatherboard
  • Shadowline
  • Hardiflex
  • Highline
  • Chamferboard
  • Coverline
  • Log cabin
  • Durawall
  • Striated (also known as Striated Hardiflex)
  • Fluted
  • Ribwall
  • Lineboard
  • Hardigrain
  • Ranchline
Residential uses

Homes, garages, sheds, exterior and interior feature walls, spandrel panels

Industrial uses

Commercial, government and community buildings

Be aware

Used with moulded AC internal and/or external angles.

Uncapped edging that displays bare fibres.

Some moulded patterns have identical appearance to steel cladding, when painted.

Moulded panel profiles

Asbestos cement (individual) planks

Description

Imitation of timber planks. Surface appearances of flat and woodgrain. 

For external walls, gable ends and screening.

Not to be confused with moulded AC panels of  around three planks appearance, but with smaller widths.

Overlapped horizontal layering. Nailed into studs.  If vertical battens not used at horizontal joints a thin strip of the same AC planking may be adhered to back of panel joints.  Punched nail-heads and joints may be filled with putty.

Marketed as infill panels, incorporated into house design between brickwork, windows and other structural items.   

Also refer Woven asbestos cement sheeting for fences.

Brands/products
  • Wunderplank
  • Hardiplank
Years of production/use

1960s to mid-1980s

Residential uses
  • Homes, garages
  • Community buildings
Industrial uses

N/A

Be aware

Used with moulded AC internal and/or external angles. Adhesives used may contain asbestos.

Corrugated asbestos cement sheeting – external walling

Description

Walls of moulded cement sheeting which has been shaped into a series of parallel ridges for added rigidity and strength. May be painted.

As with most AC product, visible damage indicators will include a jagged appearance at points of damage.

Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Brands/products
  • Asbestolite
  • Correbestos
  • Durabestos
  • Fibrock
  • Fibrolite
  • Standard
  • Super-Six
  • Deep six
  • Tasbestos
  • Fibrobestos
  • Master Seven (M7)

Asbestos raw material varied between manufacturers. CSR Fibrock also used crocidolite (Blue) asbestos for AC sheeting.

Residential uses
  • Garages, sheds, farm structures, rarely on housing
Industrial uses
  • Any industrial building. Often used in conjunction with AC corrugated roofing
  • Community buildings, cinemas and churches
Be aware

Extensive use of corrugated sheeting will likely be accompanied by other AC structural items such as corner moulding, guttering, downpipes etc

Asbestos cement flat sheeting – external

Description

Fibrous asbestos cement sheeting, commonly known as ‘Fibro.’

Used as external wall sheeting throughout 20th century until production ceased in mid 1980s.

Also used on gable ends, different facias, curtain walling, eave soffits, balustrades, fencing and formwork.   

Installed with AC moulded angles, corner moulds, battens and cover strips for jointing.

Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Asbestos silicate raw material varied between manufacturers. CSR Fibrock used crocidolite (Blue) asbestos

Brands/products
  • Fibrocene
  • Fibrock
  • Durabestos
  • Fibrolite
  • Tasbestos
  • Flexboard
  • Asbestolite
  • Hardiflex
  • Hardie’s compressed sheet
  • Fibrobestos
  • Wunderflex
  • Endurite
Residential uses

Houses, garages, sheds, external toilets, chook pens, boat houses

Industrial uses

Foundries, factories, warehouses, substations, workshops, community and government buildings, office buildings, shops, churches, rural and others

Be aware

Breakages are characteristically jagged. Painted AC sheeting may not be visually obvious as ACM. May be covered in render or other material.

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Email: enquiries@asbestossafety.gov.au

Phone: 1300 326 148

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The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.

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