Is an asbestos-containing Eternit facade a financial risk?

Hello,

can one generally say something about houses with older Eternit facades? The facade itself is, roughly viewed by a layperson, undamaged and in good visual condition. It's not exactly attractive, but the location would be suitable. There is no intention to change anything about the facade for aesthetic reasons.

Does one burden oneself with an immense cost risk by owning a house with an asbestos-containing facade? Or is the only risk x% higher disposal costs if the facade would have to be replaced at some point?

So the main risk really lies in the disposal costs if you want to renew the facade, because then it has to be taken down; building over it is, as far as I know, prohibited. In this case, higher disposal costs have to be expected and the dismantling of the facade must be carried out accordingly. There are no other risks; therefore, with the Eternit facade, even if asbestos is indeed contained, there is initially no increased health risk per se. Because asbestos is present there in a bound form and in this form is harmless. Asbestos is only dangerous if the fiber is released.

Does taking on a house with an asbestos-containing facade impose an immense cost risk? Or is the only risk x% higher disposal costs if the facade ever needs to be replaced?

Asbestos fibers - simplified - only become hazardous when they are released. I believe - but have not researched it - that asbestos is not landfilled, but thermally recovered; accordingly, it would not be the delivery to the disposal company that is expensive, but merely the labor cost of the professional dismantling - and the special bags in which the stuff has to be sealed are probably also charged by the manufacturer in a way that keeps him grinning ;-).

Is an asbestos-containing Eternit facade a financial risk?

I find the question from the headline much more "nourishing": the crux of the matter is the asbestos. You should know that the company Eternit by no means stopped existing and offering fiber cement products with the phase-out of asbestos. Both in the form of corrugated sheets and in the artificial slate look, the end of asbestos was not also the end for Eternit.

No, this is usually not a bottomless pit. Dismantling the panels outside does not require enormous effort, like you might know from weakly bonded asbestos indoors (airlock, extraction, and so on).

The workers wear masks and, if applicable, suits, carefully remove the panels, and place them in Big Bags. Disposal costs a bit of money depending on the landfill, but other building materials (such as aerated concrete, Styrofoam, old roofing felt) are not much cheaper either.

So yes, it costs more than if it were a wooden facade, but it's not a "risk" that you have to be afraid of.

The risk is very easily manageable: Find out what the dismantling with disposal costs and - voilà! - you have an approximate magnitude for the risk. Alternatively, you generously estimate the costs based on internet research, e.g. with €50 per sqm including scaffolding. Done.

Thank you very much! I believe in my case the labor costs due to the increased effort would be the more important point. I will calculate the area from the construction plans and evaluate accordingly.