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Corrugated asbestos cement sheeting – roofing

Description

Moulded cement sheeting which has been shaped into a series of parallel ridges for added rigidity and strength.

May be painted. Some were coloured red/brown (Tasbestos Trojan Tile – about 1m length sheet).

Average asbestos content was around 15%.

Installed on pitched, single sloping, valleyed and sawtooth roof designs.

There were two main designs of corrugated sheeting produced in Australia. Firstly, from the early 20th Century, an 11-ridge mould with a half lap on each vertical side which widely sold for roofing as well as exterior siding in industrial applications. In the mid 1930s both Hardies and Wunderlich introduced a corrugated sheet with 7 ridges which were wider and deeper. Hardies marketed the original design as Standard, and the new design as Super Six, both under the Fibrolite brand. Wunderlich named their new design as Deep Corrugated, with both their 11 ridge and 7 ridge designs under the Durabestos brand. Improvements were incorporated to the rigidity of the new design with thicker underlaps. It was also a product more easily less confused with corrugated iron sheeting.

In the post-war years CSR commenced the manufacturing of AC corrugated sheeting with Fibrock Standard 11-ridge and a 7-ridge design branded Master Seven. In Tasmania, Goliath Portland Cement also produced a 7-ridge sheet under the brand Tasbestos.

Super Six became a common term to describe corrugated AC sheeting, despite the continual production and marketing of the smaller ridged products, as well as competing names in the market.

See fixings information page for further about use of bitumen washers/compounds.

Years of production/use

Prior to 1990

Brands/products

Asbestolite
Correbestos
Durabestos
Fibrock
Fibrolite
Fibrobestos
Super-Six
Standard
Tasbestos
Trojan tiles
Tuscan tiles
Master Seven (M7)
Deep six
Big Six

Residential uses

Houses
Garages, sheds and external toilet buildings, some without roof gutters

Industrial uses

Pitched, flat or saw tooth roofs
Foundries, factories, warehouses, electricity substations, workshops, Government buildings, iron/steel works, hospitals, railway structures, theatres, halls, churches, pavilions, service stations, boiler houses, mills, bakeries, baths, dressing sheds, aircraft hangars, abattoirs, engineering works and others

Be aware

Roof guttering and pipework will likely accumulate asbestos debris and dust, as this sheeting is directly exposed to weathering and subject to deterioration. The dust and debris should be considered friable material.

Corrugated sheets expand and contract with weather temperatures. Those sheets in contact with each other rub slightly during this process producing a fine asbestos containing dust which moves to the gutters.

Asbestos dust may accumulate inside structures with exposed interior roof sheeting – framework, existing shelving and lower areas.

Avoid using run-off water for garden or household water tanks for drinking, washing or bathroom.

Prolonged weathering will weaken bonded structure – surface flaking may occur. Moss and lichen and other organic accumulation weakens the bonded structure as root structures allow air and water ingress.

Panels and panel sections may have been used in other applications at same location: fences, retaining walls and for concrete formwork.

Wunderlich deep corrugated profile 1965 – underlap profile

Wunderlich deep corrugated Durabestos 1951

Wunderlich Deep Corrugated 1961 – stack end

James Hardie Super Six profile 1972

James Hardie Super Six profile 1980 (metric)

James Hardie Standard Corrugated profile 1972

James Hardie Standard Corrugated profile 1980 (metric)

Tasbestos corrugated profile 1952

Asbestolite image – corrugated sheets 1941

Tuscan tiles – James Hardie image late 1940s

Valleyed industrial roof – Wunderlich 1957

Newly installed AC corrugated industrial roof early 1930s – James Hardie image – State Library NSW

Corrugated AC sawtooth roofing on Hardie Ferodo brake factory Smithfield NSW – James Hardie image 1960s – State Library NSW

AC corrugated sheeting on sawtooth roof – James Hardie catalogue 1930s – Deakin Uni Figshare

AC corrugated sawtooth roofing – railway sheds – James Hardie image 1930s – Deakin Uni Figshare

Railway sheds with corrugated AC roofing as well as walling, rainheads and downpipes – James Hardie catalogue 1930s – Deakin Uni Figshare

Racecourse pavilion with AC corrugated roof – JH catalogue image 1930s – Deakin Uni Figshare

James Hardie advertisement 1940s – State Library NSW

AC corrugated roof 1960s – James Hardie image – State Library NSW

Underside of corrugated sheeting – appearance of condition in comparison to a weathered topside is clearly visible

Hail damage and exposed bundles of asbestos fibres

Asbestos residue and organic growth visible

Painted AC with visible fibre bundles on edge. Asbestos containing dust and residue in gutter

AC corrugated roof with coated edges – visible damage and exposed asbestos fibre bundles

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Asbestos cement ridge capping and gable ends

Description

Moulded AC sections of ridging fitted over apex of roof: pitched, saddle or sawtooth. Fluted for fit over adjacent corrugated sheets. 2-piece or single sections. Only a few designs of large range depicted.