The short answer
A roofer can tell you what a material looks like and where asbestos is likely to be, but cannot confirm it by eye. HSE's advice is to treat any pre-2000 building as containing asbestos. Confirming it takes a specialist survey with testing, and we stop work on anything suspect until that is done.
Looking is not testing. Here is what a roofer can say on a visit, what needs a specialist, and why work stops on anything doubtful.
What a roofer can and cannot tell by eye
On a survey we notice what a roof is made of. Corrugated sheets on a garage, a flat panel under the eaves or a cement-looking slate on an older house all prompt the same thought: could this contain asbestos? We can say it is possible and where it sits. Saying it is, or is not, needs a laboratory.
Why can't it be judged by looking?
HSE warns that asbestos insulating board can pass for the harmless kind. You can find it in external soffits, which are the boards closing off the underside of the eaves. The same caution covers cement sheets, because the fibres sit inside the material.
HSE's working rule is simple: a building put up, or refurbished, before 2000 is assumed to contain it. Somerset Building Control says much the same for older Somerset buildings, expecting asbestos-containing materials to turn up during works. So an older roof is treated as suspect until a specialist proves otherwise, and we do not poke, drill or break a suspect sheet to find out.
The specialist survey and testing
Confirmation comes from a specialist asbestos survey, where samples are taken and tested. It is a separate job from a roof inspection, carried out by people set up to handle the material, and the result is a written record of what is and is not asbestos. Keep that record with the property papers, because the next contractor will ask for it.
What does a survey cost?
A typical UK asbestos survey comes to around £325 (MyJobQuote, Sep 2026). The price in practice depends on how many materials need testing and how easy they are to reach, and the specialist will tell you before they start.
A roof survey does not have to wait for the test result. We can inspect the covering, gutters and loft, take pictures and list every suspect material in the report, so the specialist knows exactly where to look and how many places to sample. The roof inspection and the asbestos survey then answer different questions, which makes both more useful. For a purchase or sale, the specialist report is something a solicitor can read as well, and our guide to the roof inspection report shows how the two fit together.
Why a suspect roof is not touched until it is checked
HSE guidance A14 says asbestos cement roofs are always fragile, which means a person can fall through one. That alone changes how we work: no one walks on a suspect sheet, and the access is planned before anyone goes up, with boards or a platform where a roof must be reached at all.
Is it dangerous to leave asbestos alone?
Asbestos that is intact and left undisturbed is a smaller concern than asbestos that is drilled, broken or scrubbed, and a sealed, sound sheet can sometimes stay where it is. The risk comes with disturbance, which is why cleaning, drilling and breaking up old sheets without proper steps is a bad idea, however small the job looks.
Where a roof needs work and the material is suspect, the order is the same every time. First the material is identified, then the right removal route is chosen, then the job is priced. Our garage and asbestos roof page covers the jobs that follow, and the page on asbestos in roofs explains the material in more detail. The rules about who may do what are set out below, and they differ by material.
What the rules say about removal
The route depends on the material. HSE puts the careful removal of cement roof sheeting and rainwater goods in the non-licensed category, provided nothing is snapped or crushed on the way down.
When does removal become notifiable?
Where sheets will be smashed or badly damaged, the job becomes notifiable non-licensed work, and tipping an asbestos cement roof down counts as that. Insulating board is different again: removing asbestos insulating board soffits is often licensed work, and HSE's risk assessment rules decide which, so that is settled before any plan is made.
Waste has its own rules. Waste is double-wrapped and labelled, then collected on a consignment note and never put in a skip, because the household waste exemption does not extend to asbestos. That is why the first question is always what the material is, and who is allowed to move it. Getting that wrong risks the people on site, the neighbours and the next owner.
If you have a roof or soffit you are unsure about, tell us the address and attach a photo. The suspect material goes into the survey notes and you hear who to ask about testing. The roof inspections page explains the visit.
Asbestos questions on a roof visit
Will you take a sample from the roof yourselves?
No. Sampling belongs to the specialist survey, done by people equipped and trained for it. We photograph the suspect material, record where it is and keep clear of it, so nothing is disturbed before the right person arrives. Breaking a piece off to test it is the very disturbance that creates the risk.
Does a newer roof need an asbestos check?
HSE's assumption covers buildings built or refurbished before 2000, which includes many Taunton terraces and farm sheds. A roof laid after that date does not fall under it, though you should check when the building and any later work was done. If the date is uncertain, treat the material as suspect and ask first.
The full picture: Roof inspections in Taunton · More short answers