Asbestos Roofing Removal in Cobham
Asbestos roofing removal across Cobham and Elmbridge, from the extensions and outbuildings behind the larger houses out towards Oxshott and Stoke D'Abernon to the cement soffits and gutters on the interwar semis. Whole-sheet removal, replacement options, and the paperwork to close it out.
Cement Roofs On Cobham's Older Outbuildings
Walk the back gardens of the larger houses around the Fairmile and out towards Oxshott and you find a lot of cement roofing that has been there for decades. Lean-tos against the rear wall, sheds and workshops at the end of long plots, flat-roof extensions added in the 1960s and 1970s, the odd stable block or pool house behind the bigger properties near Stoke D'Abernon. Cobham grew along the River Mole as a coaching village on the Portsmouth Road and then spread out in waves of interwar and postwar building, and a good deal of that outdoor roofing went up in corrugated asbestos cement long before the 1999 ban.
This is broader than the single lock-up garage. We are called out to roofs on outbuildings, to lean-tos and porches, and to the cement soffits, fascia boards and gutters that run along the eaves of the 1930s semis through the older streets near Church Street and the High Street. The sheets and boards were cheap, fire-resistant and easy to fix, so the trade used them everywhere, on the workshop at the bottom of the garden as readily as on the back extension. In sound condition and left alone, that material sits there harmlessly. It is the years of Surrey weather that turn it into a job, and on a roof that weather never stops working.
Why A Weathered Roof Is The Higher Risk
A cement roof sheet is bound tight when it is new, so the fibres stay locked in. Decades of frost, rain and sun change that. The surface goes chalky and starts to break down, moss takes hold in the corrugations, water finds its way into the hairline cracks, and the sheet grows brittle. A cracked or crumbling roof is the higher risk, because the fibres are far easier to dislodge once the binding has gone soft. A gust of wind, a dislodged sheet, a branch coming down in a storm, or someone climbing up to clear a gutter can all release fibres too fine to see. A roof is also exposed in a way an indoor material never is, so it tends to be the part of an old property that has weathered the worst.
Those fibres are the danger. Breathed in, they lodge in the lungs and can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma decades after exposure, often twenty to forty years on. That long delay is why the work is licensed and regulated rather than a job for a ladder and a weekend. People reach for an angle grinder or a hammer to break a stubborn sheet, and that is the worst thing you can do, because cutting and snapping is exactly what throws the fibres into the air.
It also means a deteriorating roof should not wait. The longer a flaking sheet stays up, shedding a little more each winter, the more it spreads around the garden and onto the ground below, where it ends up trodden through a Cobham home on the soles of shoes. A roof that is starting to go is a problem that grows, so the sooner it comes down properly, the smaller the job stays.
Whole-Sheet Removal And A New Roof
Where a roof sheet is still intact we take it down in one piece. The sheets are unbolted and eased off their fixings rather than levered or snapped, because lifting each one whole keeps the fibres contained and stops the breakages that scatter material across the plot. Everything is then double-wrapped and carried straight to a licensed disposal facility. On a flat-roof extension, a lean-to or an outbuilding behind a larger house, the work usually runs without a skip, so the drive and the road stay clear. Soffits, fascia boards and gutters come down the same careful way, board by board, rather than being ripped off, and the ground below is sheeted to catch anything that drops.
No one can confirm asbestos by eye, including us. Two roofs that look identical can test completely differently, so anything suspect goes to a UKAS-accredited laboratory before a tool touches it. We take the samples under controlled conditions and removal does not start until the type and condition are known.
Once the area is confirmed clean we can fit a replacement to suit the building: galvanised steel box-profile for a workshop or shed, three-layer torch-on felt or a tiled finish on an extension, or asbestos-free fibre cement that keeps the original look without the risk. New soffits and fascia in uPVC or timber close off the eaves for good. Plenty of owners take the chance to upgrade a tired outbuilding while the roof is off, and replacing the lot in one visit works out tidier than patching around old asbestos that will only need dealing with later.
Larger, Higher Roofs And Licensed Work
Some of the bigger properties out around Oxshott and the Fairmile carry larger spans of cement roofing on detached garages, garden buildings and tall outbuildings, and a higher or steeper roof needs proper access and a more careful plan than a low lean-to. We work off scaffold or a tower where the pitch and height call for it, drop the sheets down safely rather than throwing them, and keep the whole drop sheeted and contained. The aim is the same on every roof, large or small: get the material down in one piece and off site without spreading a fibre.
Most outdoor roofing is non-licensed work, but the rules tighten where the material or its condition demand it. For higher-risk licensed work we give the HSE the fourteen days of notice the law requires, work under full enclosure, and finish with four-stage clearance testing carried out by an independent analyst before the space is signed off. Every job, licensed or not, closes with the waste consignment notes and certificates that prove the roof was removed and disposed of by the book.
We hold Spectra licence number 142305706, we have worked across Surrey, Sussex and south-west London for more than seven years, and there is no skip left on your drive and no mess left behind. To sort an asbestos roof in Cobham, call 0800 024 6168 and we will book a free site visit and a fixed written quote.
Concrete Asbestos Garage Removal, Cobham
Cobham, Surrey · Garage Removal
View this project"Clearaway Asbestos did a brilliant job coming out to survey our old garage roof for asbestos. They were professional and we were impressed with the job they did replacing the garage roof"
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Removal Process
From first call to final certificate, every job follows the same clear four-step process.
Survey
We inspect the property and confirm the material. Sampling available if required.
Quote
Fixed written price covering removal, disposal and any replacement work.
Removal
Material is removed safely, double-wrapped and taken to a licensed disposal facility.
Certificate
You receive a waste consignment note and disposal certificate confirming legal handling.
Why Choose Clearaway
Specialist Crew
Asbestos work is all we do, every day, across the South East.
Fully Licensed
Licensed asbestos removal contractor (Licence No. 142305706). Full public liability insurance on every job.
Local & Fast
Surrey-based. Most domestic jobs are booked in and finished within a week.
Our Own Team
We never subcontract. The people who quote your job are the people who do it.
Get in Touch
Send a few details about your project and we will come back the same working day with a fixed price. We cover Surrey, London and the South East, including Esher, Cobham, Kingston, Richmond, Epsom, Guildford, Woking and Croydon.