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Thinking About Removing Asbestos From Your Home? What Every NZ Homeowner Must Know Before Touching a Single Sheet

A Free Homeowner’s Guide to Asbestos Removal in New Zealand

(Read this before you lift a crowbar, start a renovation, or book a skip bin)

Asbestos doesn’t look dangerous. That’s the trap.
It looks like ordinary cladding, roofing, soffit lining, fencing, vinyl flooring, or garage sheets. But once it is cut, cracked, drilled, or smashed, it becomes a microscopic dust that can stay in your lungs for life.

If your home was built or renovated before the mid-1990s, there is a real chance asbestos is sitting quietly in your walls or roof, waiting for the day you disturb it.

Before you decide whether to DIY or bring in a professional, you need to understand the rules, the risks, and the reality.

Step 1: Know What the Law Says (Not What the Neighbour Says)

In New Zealand, asbestos removal is controlled under:

  • Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

  • Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016

  • WorkSafe New Zealand guidance

The law separates asbestos work into:

1. Non-Licensed (Very Limited DIY)

You may be allowed to remove small amounts of bonded (non-friable) asbestos yourself, such as:

  • A few intact fence panels

  • Small areas of flat sheet

  • Minor cement products in good condition

But only if:

  • It is not friable (not crumbling or powdery)

  • It is not overhead

  • It is not being cut, ground, or sanded

  • You follow strict wet methods, PPE, and disposal rules

  • You do not expose others

2. Licensed Work (Class A or Class B)

You must use a licensed asbestos removalist when:

  • The material is friable

  • The area is large

  • The material is damaged or breaking

  • It is overhead (soffits, ceilings, eaves)

  • It is roofing, cladding, or demolition related

  • You are disturbing multiple building elements

  • You are doing full renovations or demolition

This is where Class B Licensed Removalists like PropertyHelp Ltd are legally required.

Step 2: Understand Why DIY Often Goes Wrong

Homeowners usually get into trouble because:

  • They underestimate how easily fibres become airborne

  • They don’t have proper respirators (P2/P3 with fit testing)

  • They use power tools

  • They dry sweep or vacuum with household machines

  • They break sheets to “make them fit in the trailer”

  • They contaminate their car, garage, and house

  • They get turned away from landfill because packaging is wrong

  • They expose neighbours without realising

Asbestos is not forgiving. It only takes one bad day.

Step 3: Ask the Right Questions Before Choosing DIY or a Removalist

Before any removal, ask yourself:

  • Is the material intact or already broken?

  • Is it above head height?

  • Is it structural or part of demolition?

  • Is it more than a few square metres?

  • Will cutting or snapping be required?

  • Do I have the right PPE, wrapping, and disposal pathway?

  • Am I prepared to legally transport and dispose of hazardous waste?

If you hesitate on any of these, you are already in “licensed work” territory.

Step 4: Why Using a Licensed Removalist Is Often the Smartest Move

A licensed Class B asbestos removalist like PropertyHelp Ltd provides:

  • Legal compliance with WorkSafe and HSWA

  • Asbestos Removal Control Plans (ARCPs)

  • Trained workers with medicals and respirator fit testing

  • Controlled wet removal methods

  • Correct PPE and decontamination procedures

  • Proper wrapping and labelling

  • Approved transport and landfill disposal

  • Documentation that protects you during sale, insurance, or council inspections

More importantly, they keep fibres out of your lungs, your soil, your neighbours’ houses, and your future.

Step 5: Think Long-Term, Not Just Short-Term Cost

DIY might look cheaper today.
Asbestos disease shows up 20–40 years later.

The real comparison is not: “Removalist cost vs DIY cost.”

It is: “Removalist cost vs lifetime health risk, legal exposure, property contamination, and resale problems.”

Step 6: Who to Call if You Want Straight Advice

If you are in Auckland or Waikato and unsure whether your asbestos can be DIY or must be licensed, talk to a professional before you touch it.

PropertyHelp Ltd – Class B Licensed Asbestos Removalists
📞 021 222 5246

They can:

  • Talk you through your specific situation

  • Explain what is legal and what is not

  • Advise if sampling or a survey is needed

  • Provide safe removal and compliant disposal

  • Protect you, your family, and your property value

Final Word to Homeowners

Asbestos removal is not a weekend project.
It is a regulated hazardous materials operation.

Before you renovate, demolish, or “just tidy up”:

  • Know what you are dealing with

  • Know the legal limits of DIY

  • Know when a licensed removalist is required

  • Know who to call for professional advice

Because with asbestos, the mistake you can’t see is the one that follows you for life.

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