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Asbestos-cement siding, and how to handle it

This material went onto an enormous number of mid-century houses, including plenty in Rochester, and many still have it. Understand what you have before work starts.

Learning halfway through is a mess.

What it looks like. Small rectangular shingles, hard and brittle rather than flexible, often with a faint wood-grain texture and a slightly wavy lower edge. It chips rather than dents. It is frequently painted, sometimes several times.

Do not identify it by eye and act on that. Visual identification is a reason to test, not a conclusion. The only way to know is a laboratory analysis of a sample, taken properly. That test is inexpensive against the cost of getting this wrong in either direction.

Intact and left alone, it is generally not the urgent problem people fear. The risk comes from disturbance: breaking, sanding, sawing, power washing or dropping it. That is exactly what a siding tear-off does, which is why the material and the trade collide here.

Handling and disposal are regulated, and the rules are specific. Who may do the work, how it must be handled and where it may be taken are not things to guess at or to leave to a general crew's judgment. Ask the state environmental authority what applies to your situation, and use a contractor who does this work rather than one who is willing to.

Which creates the one honest exception to the usual rule. This site's whole position on siding is that going over the old material buries whatever is underneath, and that is right nearly always. Cement shingle is the case where leaving sound material in place and cladding over it is a legitimate and sometimes preferred approach, because it avoids disturbance entirely. It has to be a real assessment rather than an excuse, and the wall behind still has to be understood, but here it is a genuine option rather than a shortcut.

What a good contractor does. Tells you what he thinks it is, recommends testing, and does not touch it until the result is back. What a bad one does is start pulling.

Two housing stocks and a shared border

Rochester is the largest New Hampshire community I serve. It has two very different kinds of building.

Downtown, Gonic and East Rochester carry the mill-era housing where this page's subject lives. Older, denser, frequently re-clad at least once already, and exactly the vintage where cement shingle turned up. Those houses are also multi-storey in places, so staging is a real share of the price.

The Spaulding corridor is postwar and newer: conventional framing, panel sheathing, simple geometry and easy staging. Predictable jobs at predictable prices, with none of the above attached.

Three things make Rochester a good place to own a home and buy this work.

Your bidders come from two states. Rochester sits directly across the line from Sanford, and the labour pool is shared, which widens your options and keeps pricing competitive.

New Hampshire has no sales tax, which on a full replacement with a large material package is a genuine difference from an identical project on the Maine side.

And land and housing cost less here than on the Maine coast, which combines with the other two to make this one of the better value propositions in my whole service area.

For permit and inspection requirements, ask City of Rochester building and zoning. Check again if testing comes back positive, because the result can change who is allowed to do the work.

Who hires a siding contractor in Rochester, NH

Owners of mid-century houses with cement shingles who want to identify them. Buyers working through the exteriors of downtown and Gonic mill housing.

Families along the Spaulding corridor replacing original builder siding. Maine residents who crossed the line for the housing prices.

What does the job cover here?

The work may include tear-off and disposal, followed by sheathing repair and a weather barrier. Flashing and cladding come next.

Then trim. Fascia and soffit may also be included, once you know what is coming off.

With suspect material, testing comes first. It isn't part of the siding scope.

The result decides that scope.

When should you side a house in Rochester?

May through October. Installation temperature ranges for fasteners and sealants point toward those warmer months.

Finish requirements do too.

Allow extra time at the start when testing is involved. First comes a sample and laboratory result.

If needed, the right contractor must then be arranged before a siding crew is useful.

Why is Rochester different?

A meaningful share of Rochester housing carries material that changes who may touch it. Homeowners usually don't know until somebody is already on a ladder with a pry bar.

Too late.

And a fact worth having before you hire: New Hampshire does not license general contractors or builders. Electricians and plumbers hold state licenses. There is no builder registration to look up, whatever the websites selling one imply, so what you can actually verify is insurance, references, financial stability and reputation. My ten-step process checks all four. For work involving a regulated material, ask separately about the specific credentials that work requires.

What should you ask before hiring in Rochester?

How do I know if my siding contains asbestos? Only by laboratory testing of a properly taken sample. Appearance is a reason to test, never a conclusion.

Is asbestos-cement siding dangerous if I leave it alone? Intact and undisturbed it is generally not the urgent hazard people assume. The risk comes from breaking, sawing, sanding or power washing it.

Can I side over it instead of removing it? Sometimes, and this is the one case where going over old material is a legitimate approach rather than a shortcut, because it avoids disturbance.

Who is allowed to remove it? That is regulated and specific. Ask the state environmental authority, and use a contractor who does this work rather than one who is willing to try.

Rochester falls in the lower half of these ranges. Labour isn't priced like Portsmouth.

The no-sales-tax difference also helps with material costs.

Testing and regulated removal aren't included in this table. Neither should be buried in a siding number.

They require separate scopes and pricing. And any quote that quietly absorbs them deserves hard questions.