Asbestos Siding History

Repainting or removal poses health risks you need to know about.

Asbestos siding history.

The issue here is asbestos and the risks of serious lung diseases it can cause. Asbestos cement is a mixture of portland cement reinforced with asbestos fibers. Archeologists uncovered asbestos fibers in debris dating back to the stone age some 750 000 years ago. Asbestos siding was made by adding asbestos a naturally occurring mineral to portland cement.

Asbestos cement was first developed in 1905 by the johns manville company who became one of the premier manufacturers of cement asbestos materials. The siding was made by combining cement with asbestos which is a naturally occurring mineral that is fibrous in nature and fireproof. And make no mistake asbestos is dangerous. Asbestos discovery the use of asbestos dates back at least 4 500 years.

A brief history of asbestos cement siding. Asbestos in the ancient world asbestos occurs naturally on every continent in the world. Cementious siding and roofing such as fiber cement siding lap siding and fiber cement roof shingles containing asbestos may then have appeared on homes constructed between 1906 and 1980 in north america and continuing later in some other countries. Evidence found near the lake juojärvi finland shows that people used it to make pots and other cooking utensils.

In theophrastus on stones from around 300 bc there is a reference to a material that is thought to be asbestos. It is believed that as early as 4000 b c asbestos long hair like fibers were used for wicks in lamps and candles. Asbestos cement roofi ng and siding in the early 1900s manufacturers reinforced portland cement with asbestos fibers to create a fire resistant and durable building material. Asbestos siding was very commonly used in buildings and homes from around the 1920s until the 1980s and can still be found in many older homes in the u s.

Ludwig purchased a factory for asbestos goods in upper austria in 1893. The product first made in 1905 served as a coating for boilers steam pipes and equipment that generated heat. The portland cement binds asbestos fibers into a hard mass. The use of asbestos siding shingles was a popular one that was used in the us from the early part of the 20th century until the 1970s.

In 1901 he patented his fiber cement invention and named it eternit based upon the latin term aetemitas meaning everlasting. Asbestos cement coatings also were used. Asbestos shingle history begins with inventor and entrepreneur ludwig hatschek who was born in the czech republic on october 9 1856.