Where asbestos is found in Queensland homes

Knowing where asbestos is found in Queensland homes helps you spot the risky spots before anyone picks up a drill. Asbestos was used widely in houses built before 1990, and it turns up in more places than most people expect.

Here is a walk around an older house, inside and out. Remember that finding a likely material is not the same as confirming it. Only a lab test does that.

Inside the house

Kitchens, bathrooms and laundries

Wet areas are the classic spot. Flat cement sheeting was often used on walls and ceilings in kitchens, bathrooms and laundries because it handles moisture well. If you are planning a renovation of these rooms, treat the sheeting as asbestos until it is tested.

Walls and ceilings

Flat sheeting was also used for internal walls and ceilings in many homes. Joins were often finished with plaster patching compounds, and some of those contained asbestos too. Textured paint on walls and ceilings is another one to watch.

Floors

Vinyl floor tiles from older homes can contain asbestos. Sheet vinyl and linoleum may have a felt backing or underlay that is friable, mostly in buildings built before the mid-1980s. Friable material like that needs a Class A removalist. Some felt carpet underlay is friable as well.

Heaters, stoves and hot water systems

Some old heaters, stoves and hot water systems have asbestos in their lining. If you are replacing one, ask before you pull it apart.

Outside the house

Roofs and gutters

Corrugated and flat roof sheeting, roof capping and guttering were all commonly made from asbestos cement. Never use a high pressure water cleaner on an asbestos roof. Homeowners can be fined up to $10,000 for it.

Eaves, gables and cladding

Eaves and soffits, gables and wall cladding often used flat sheeting. This is what most people mean by fibro.

Fences, carports and sheds

Fencing, carports and backyard sheds from the same era regularly used asbestos cement. These are often forgotten, then broken during a clean-up. Our guide to asbestos testing before you renovate covers what to check before you touch them.

Pipes and flues

Water pipes, downpipes and flues may be asbestos cement.

The meter box and switchboard

Switchboards and meter boards built or imported before 1 January 2004 may contain asbestos. Most installed before 1990 are very likely to. Timber meter boxes installed before 1990 can be lined with fibro. Do not drill or cut into them. Call your electrician and tell them you suspect asbestos.

What about insulation?

In Queensland, asbestos insulation was not used in residential buildings, although isolated cases occurred in other states. That means roof insulation in a Queensland home is less likely to be the problem than sheeting, but it is still worth checking what you have.

Toowoomba homes

Toowoomba is known for preserved Victorian-era and traditional Queenslander architecture, and in the 2016 census 76.3 per cent of occupied private dwellings were separate houses. We do not have housing-age figures by suburb, so use the building's age rather than its address. If you are in a Toowoomba suburb with older homes, that pre-1990 rule of thumb is a sensible default.

What to do next

Make a list of what you have found, then move to the next step. Our asbestos testing service in Toowoomba covers sampling and lab analysis, and the guide on how to identify asbestos in your home explains the signs that mean test first. Rules are updated from time to time, so check asbestos.qld.gov.au for the current guidance.

Not sure about something on your list? Call (07) 3185 2323 and describe it.