Asbestos Fence Removal in Geelong: What Is Involved

Asbestos cement fencing is one of the most common asbestos materials still in place across Geelong, and one of the most commonly mishandled. It sits at the back of thousands of properties through Corio, Norlane, Belmont and Newtown, it has usually been there for fifty years or more, and it is often in poor condition because unlike a roof or a wall it has never been maintained.

If you have one and you want it gone, here is how the job actually works.

Recognising it

Asbestos cement fence sheeting is typically a flat or lightly profiled grey sheet, roughly six millimetres thick, fixed between timber or steel posts. Some of it is the corrugated profile people know from roofing, used on its side.

Age is the strongest indicator. Fencing of this type installed before the late 1980s should be assumed to contain asbestos unless testing says otherwise. Assuming is the safe default, and where it matters, our asbestos testing and identification work will confirm it properly rather than leaving you guessing.

Condition matters more than people realise. A sound, painted sheet in good order is stable. A weathered, cracked, broken sheet with exposed edges and fibres visible at the breaks is a different proposition, and unfortunately that describes a great many fences that have spent decades unmaintained.

Why this one gets mishandled so often

Fences feel like a small job. They are outdoors, they are low, and there is a strong temptation to take a hammer to one on a Saturday and put it in a trailer.

That is the single worst way to deal with it. Breaking asbestos cement releases fibres precisely because the material only becomes dangerous when it is disturbed. A fence that has sat harmlessly for fifty years becomes a genuine exposure event the moment someone starts smashing it.

It is also illegal to dispose of it as general waste, and tips will not accept it in a general load. Material has to go to a facility licensed to receive asbestos, wrapped and labelled correctly.

How removal is done properly

The method is straightforward and it is mostly about keeping the material intact.

Sheets are unfastened rather than broken, which usually means removing or cutting fixings rather than levering sheets off. Where sheets are already broken, the pieces are handled carefully and kept damp to suppress fibre release. Nothing is dropped, thrown or stacked roughly.

Material is wrapped in heavy plastic, sealed and labelled as asbestos waste. It is loaded for transport in a way that keeps the wrapping intact. It goes to a licensed disposal facility, and you should receive documentation confirming it was received there.

The ground beneath an old fence deserves attention too. Decades of weathering leave fragments and debris in the soil along the fence line, and a proper job includes clearing that rather than leaving it for whoever gardens there next.

Who can do it

In Victoria, the amount and type of asbestos determines what licensing applies. Non-friable asbestos, which is what fence sheeting is when intact, has a threshold above which a licensed removalist is required. A typical residential boundary fence is well beyond a trivial quantity.

There is a common belief that a homeowner can remove any amount of asbestos from their own property. That is not how the rules work, and it is not a good idea even where a small quantity might technically be permitted. The practical position is that a full fence should be removed by someone licensed for the class of material involved, with the disposal documented.

Our full-house and fence and shed removal work is carried out under the appropriate licence with disposal documentation provided as a matter of course, and Class A versus Class B licensing is explained in more detail in our earlier article on the subject.

The neighbour conversation

A boundary fence is shared, and that changes the job from a technical question to a practical one.

Under Victorian fencing arrangements, boundary fencing is generally a shared responsibility between adjoining owners, which affects both the decision and the cost. In practice the sensible sequence is to talk to the neighbour first, agree that the fence is coming out, agree what replaces it, and agree how the cost is shared before anyone books a removalist.

Removal also means the boundary is open for a period. Where there are dogs, small children or a pool on either side, that needs planning. Temporary fencing is often the answer, and it should be discussed rather than assumed.

Neighbours also need to know when the work is happening so they can keep windows closed and keep people and pets away from the boundary during removal. That is a courtesy, and it is also just sensible.

What replaces it

Most owners go to Colorbond, timber paling or a masonry solution. That is a straightforward fencing decision rather than an asbestos one, but the sequencing matters.

Posts are the item to think about. Old asbestos fences often have concrete or timber posts that can be reused, but they may also be at the end of their life, and pulling them out is easier while the boundary is already open. Deciding that in advance avoids doing the same work twice.

If you are replacing the fence at the same time, coordinating removal and installation reduces the time the boundary is open, which is usually what everyone wants.

What a proper quote covers

It should state the licence being worked under, describe how the material will be removed and kept intact, say how it will be wrapped and transported, name the disposal arrangement and confirm you will receive documentation, cover clearing debris from the soil along the fence line, and address temporary fencing if the boundary will be open.

If you have an old fibro fence anywhere around Geelong, Corio, Norlane, Belmont, Newtown or Ocean Grove, we are happy to look at its condition and quote it properly. Please do not take a hammer to it in the meantime.