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Before You Pull It Out of the Ground: Why That Old Pool Fence Could Be Asbestos – and How to Handle It Safely

That “Just a Fence” Might Be a Time Bomb

Old pool fences in New Zealand often look harmless: weathered grey panels, brittle sheets, maybe a bit of moss, maybe a crack or two. Many homeowners assume it’s just old fibre cement or “fibro” and start unbolting, snapping, and stacking.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
A huge number of pre-1990 pool and boundary fences are asbestos cement.

Once broken, drilled, or smashed, those panels can release fibres that the body never forgets. The lungs don’t heal from asbestos exposure. They record it.

So if you’re standing there with a spanner in one hand and a skip bin on order, stop. The smart move is not removal. The smart move is identification first.

Step 1: Assume Until Proven Otherwise

If the fence was installed before the mid-1990s, especially if it is:

  • Grey or off-white cement sheet

  • Brittle and chalky at the edges

  • Corrugated or flat panels in steel posts

  • Heavy for its size

Then you treat it as asbestos-containing material (ACM) until lab testing proves it is not.

Step 2: Make the Area Safe Before Sampling

Before any piece is touched:

  1. Restrict Access
    Keep children, pets, and neighbours away. No foot traffic. No lawn mowing. No leaf blowers.

  2. Dampen the Fence and Ground
    Use a spray bottle with water and a small amount of detergent. Light mist only. The aim is to lock fibres down, not wash them into the soil.

  3. No Power Tools
    No grinders. No drills. No cutting discs. Mechanical force equals airborne fibres.

Step 3: Personal Protection – Non-Negotiable

Minimum protection when sampling:

  • P2 respirator (proper fit, not a paper dust mask)

  • Disposable gloves

  • Disposable coveralls or old clothing to be bagged

  • Safety glasses

This is not overkill. This is lung insurance.

Step 4: Taking the Sample

  1. Wet the Spot Again
    Lightly mist the area where the sample will come from.

  2. Take the Smallest Piece Possible
    Coin-sized is enough. Use hand tools to gently prise a loose edge. Do not snap, crush, or saw.

  3. Avoid Creating New Breakage
    The best sample is one that is already fractured.

Step 5: Bagging – How to Contain the Risk

Bagging is what stops your car, your garage, and your home becoming contaminated.

  1. Primary Bag
    Place the damp sample straight into a zip-lock or asbestos sample bag. Seal completely.

  2. Secondary Bag (Double Bagging)
    Put the sealed bag into a second bag. Seal again.

  3. Label Clearly

    • “Suspected Asbestos”

    • Address

    • Location: “Pool fence panel”

    • Date

  4. Decontaminate Tools and Yourself
    Wipe tools with damp cloths and bag the cloths.
    Remove gloves and coveralls carefully, turning them inside out.
    Bag and seal.
    Wash hands, face, and exposed skin thoroughly.

The sample then goes to an accredited asbestos laboratory for analysis. Not guessing. Not Google. Not your builder mate’s opinion. Science.

Step 6: If It Is Asbestos – Do Not DIY the Removal

Pool fences are often:

  • Large sheet panels

  • Brittle

  • Fixed with bolts that snap

  • Embedded in soil that may also be contaminated

Removal can quickly become Class B asbestos work under the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016.

This is where licensed specialists like PropertyHelp, a Class B Asbestos Removalist servicing Auckland and Waikato, step in. They manage:

  • Asbestos Removal Control Plans (ARCPs)

  • Controlled wet removal

  • Sheet handling without breakage

  • Soil and debris contamination control

  • Correct wrapping, transport, and disposal

  • WorkSafe-compliant clearance

Why This Matters More Than You Think

An old fence doesn’t look dangerous. But once it’s broken, every gust of wind can carry fibres across your lawn, into your house, into your neighbour’s section, into your lungs.

The cost of a survey and proper removal is small.
The cost of getting it wrong can last a lifetime.

Final Word to Homeowners

Before you unbolt, smash, or dump that old pool fence:

  • Assume asbestos until tested.

  • Dampen and isolate the area.

  • Sample carefully with PPE.

  • Double-bag and lab test.

  • If positive, call a licensed Class B removalist like PropertyHelp in Auckland and Waikato.

Some things can be recycled.
Some things need to be respected, contained, and removed by people who know exactly what they’re dealing with.

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