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Before You Swing the Hammer: Why an Asbestos Survey Is the Smartest Step You Can Take Before Renovation or Demolition

If You’re About to Renovate, You’re About to Disturb History

Every older home in New Zealand carries a hidden chapter in its walls. Between the 1940s and the late 1980s, asbestos was stitched into the fabric of houses like reinforcing thread—strong, fire-resistant, cheap, and, as we later learned, lethal.

When you renovate or demolish, you don’t just change a building. You disturb decades of settled dust, sealed linings, and quiet fibres that have been minding their own business until a saw blade, grinder, or crowbar wakes them up.

That is why an asbestos survey is not a bureaucratic hurdle. It is reconnaissance before a controlled explosion.

Why a Professional Asbestos Survey Comes First

A proper asbestos survey does three critical things:

  1. Identifies Where Asbestos Is (and Isn’t)
    Not guesses. Not “it looks like fibro.” Actual sampling, laboratory analysis, and mapped locations.

  2. Tells You What Type and Condition It’s In
    Bonded or friable. Intact or degraded. Low risk if left alone, or high risk if disturbed.

  3. Dictates How Work Can Legally and Safely Proceed
    What can be removed, what must be encapsulated, and what requires a licensed Class B removalist under the Asbestos Regulations 2016.

For homeowners in Auckland and Waikato, engaging specialists such as PropertyHelp – Class B Asbestos Removalists means the survey and any subsequent removal work are aligned with both the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and WorkSafe NZ guidance.

When You Should Get a Survey

  • Before buying an older home

  • Before renovating

  • Before demolishing

  • When damaged cladding, soffits, roofing, or debris are discovered

  • When insurance or council consent is involved

If the house was built or renovated before the mid-1990s, a survey is not optional. It is prudent self-defence.

How Sampling Is Safely Carried Out

Whether done by a professional surveyor or, in limited cases, a homeowner under guidance, the principles are the same: control the dust, control the fibres, control the spread.

Personal Protection

Minimum protection:

  • P2 respirator (properly fitted)

  • Disposable gloves

  • Disposable coveralls or old clothing to be bagged

  • Safety glasses

Wet the Material

All sampling is done using wet methods. A fine mist of water with a small amount of detergent is applied to the surface to stop fibres from becoming airborne.

Minimal Disturbance

Only a small piece—no bigger than a coin—is taken. Hand tools only. No power tools. No grinding, drilling, or sawing.

Immediate Double Bagging

  1. Primary Bag:
    The damp sample goes straight into a sealed zip-lock or asbestos sample bag.

  2. Secondary Bag:
    The first bag is placed into a second bag and sealed again.

  3. Labelling:
    Clearly marked with:

    • “Suspected Asbestos”

    • Address

    • Location (e.g. soffit, cladding, garage roof)

    • Date

Decontamination

Tools are wiped with damp cloths, which are then bagged. Gloves and coveralls are removed carefully, turned inside out, bagged, and sealed. Hands, face, and exposed skin are washed thoroughly.

The sample is then delivered to an accredited laboratory for analysis. No guesswork. No assumptions. Just evidence.

What Happens After the Survey

If asbestos is confirmed, the survey report becomes the roadmap:

  • What can stay and be encapsulated

  • What must be removed

  • What removal class applies

  • What controls are required

  • What notifications and documentation are needed

For materials such as external cladding, soffits, gable ends, garage roofs, and bonded debris, removal often falls under Class B, requiring a licensed operator like PropertyHelp in Auckland and Waikato to prepare an Asbestos Removal Control Plan (ARCP) and carry out the work lawfully and safely.

Why This Step Protects More Than Your Lungs

Skipping a survey can lead to:

  • Contaminated homes

  • Costly clean-ups

  • WorkSafe enforcement

  • Insurance disputes

  • Health risks that do not show up for decades

Getting one done first means:

  • No accidental fibre release

  • No illegal disturbance

  • No panicked mid-project shutdowns

  • No exposure of family, neighbours, or trades

A Final Word to Homeowners

Renovation is about making a house better. An asbestos survey is about making sure the process doesn’t quietly make your life shorter.

Before you cut, drill, smash, or strip anything back:

  • Survey first.

  • Sample properly.

  • Bag and test, don’t guess.

  • Use licensed professionals when removal is required.

In Auckland and Waikato, PropertyHelp – Class B Asbestos Removalists work at the intersection of old buildings and modern health knowledge, making sure the past doesn’t poison the future.

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