Corrugated sheets on a garage roof are one of the likeliest places a homeowner will meet asbestos cement. The material is a mix of cement and asbestos fibre pressed into rigid sheets. While it stays whole, with the fibre sealed in the cement, it is less of a hazard than loose fibre, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sorts work on it into groups according to how likely the work is to release dust.
This guide walks through that sorting for an ordinary garage roof: what counts as non-licensed work, what tips a job into the notifiable group, and what each means for you as the owner. It stays with the HSE position. If you only want the single answer on whether a licence is needed, our short answer on the asbestos licence question settles it, and the replacement roof side of the job is in garage roof replacement.
Asbestos cement on a garage: what the sheets are
Asbestos cement is a set mix. The fibres are locked inside the hardened cement, which is why a whole sheet that is not crumbling is regarded very differently from lagging or sprayed coatings. On a garage the usual form is large corrugated roof sheets, bolted or hooked to timber or steel purlins (the horizontal beams that carry the sheets), with a ridge piece along the top and sometimes cement fittings at the eaves.
Why the roof surface changes with time
Sheets weather. The surface can go grey and green with lichen and moss, edges can erode, and old fixing holes can chip. HSE's non-licensed work page addresses this directly, saying the category includes work with asbestos cement that is weathered but not otherwise substantially damaged. A roof that simply looks old is therefore not automatically in the more serious group.
Why this guide does not say yours is, or is not, asbestos
A sheet cannot be identified by eye alone. Telling the difference needs an expert look or a laboratory sample, and a survey is the sound route. Nobody can settle it from the pavement. If you already have a result in hand, the rest of this guide shows what it means for the work. If you are still wondering whether to test, the asbestos test cost answer sets out what a survey costs.
Intact sheet and non-licensed work
HSE's non-licensed work page places roof sheeting and rainwater goods made of asbestos cement in the lower-risk group, on one condition: they come off with care and are not broken into pieces. For a garage, that condition is the central rule. Careful removal of sound sheets does not need the specialist licence that HSE requires for the higher-risk work it licenses, such as removing sprayed coatings or lagging.
What careful means in practice
The wording is about handling. Sheets are unfixed, lifted whole and lowered, not smashed, dropped or thrown. Power tools are kept away from the sheets, and nothing is scrubbed or pressure washed. The next guide in this series, on the asbestos garage roof removal process, takes that method through step by step.
Non-licensed still means controlled
Non-licensed is not the same as unregulated. The employer doing the work still has duties to assess the risk, train people, supply suitable protective equipment and control dust. Those duties sit with the contractor, and your quote should show how the job will be run. It also does not mean an owner can ignore the waste: asbestos waste has its own handling and disposal rules, which our asbestos disposal answer covers.
When the same roof becomes notifiable non-licensed work
HSE has a second group between non-licensed and licensed, called notifiable non-licensed work, or NNLW. Two examples on the HSE page fit a garage roof closely. One is sheeting already badly damaged or in pieces, after a fire or a flood. The other is a job where the removal itself will shatter the sheets and put a lot of dust and debris into the air; the page names dropping an asbestos cement roof as an instance.
| Condition of the sheets | HSE group |
|---|---|
| Whole, or weathered but not otherwise substantially damaged, carefully removed | Non-licensed work |
| Substantially damaged or broken up, such as by fire or flood | Notifiable non-licensed work |
| Removal that will substantially break up the material, creating significant dust and debris | Notifiable non-licensed work |
Why the method matters as much as the sheet
Look at the third row. A roof can be sound at the survey and still turn notifiable if the way it comes down would shatter it. A failed plan therefore costs more than the dust: it moves the job into a group with extra duties. That is why we plan removal around lifting each sheet intact, and why a roof that is already collapsing needs a different conversation before any work is priced.
A single cracked sheet among sound ones belongs in the survey notes. Whether it moves the job into the notifiable group depends on how far the damage runs and how the sheets will come off, so that is judged on site, not by phone.
What notifiable work adds for the person doing it
For notifiable non-licensed work, HSE requires employers to notify the work to the relevant enforcing authority, make sure medical examinations are carried out, and keep registers of the work, which act as health records. The details on the HSE page are specific, and they are worth knowing so you can read a contractor's answers against them.
- Notification: due before work begins, and HSE sets no minimum notice period. Only the online form is accepted.
- Medical examinations: repeated at least every 3 years for the workers concerned.
- Registers of work: kept for 40 years.
Who carries these duties
These are employer duties, not homeowner duties. As the owner, you are not asked to fill in the form. What you can do is ask your roofer whether the job is likely to be notifiable, who will notify it and when, and how the sheets will be taken down. A clear answer is a good sign, and a vague one is a reason to ask again.
Why the paperwork matters to you
The notification trail is also a record that the job was assessed and done under the right rules. If you later sell the garage or the house, a buyer's solicitor may ask what became of the asbestos sheets. The licence answer and the written quote together give you the paper trail.
What it means for a Stroud homeowner
Put the HSE position together with how garages are used and a few practical points follow.
If your sheets are sound
The likeliest outcome for a weathered but whole garage roof is careful removal as non-licensed work, followed by a new roof. The price is in two parts, the removal (the national range is covered in our garage roof cost guide) and the new covering. Be wary of any quote that gives no idea of what it covers.
If they are damaged
Fire, a fallen branch or a long-neglected hole can break sheets. In that case the roof may fall into the notifiable group, and the survey should say so. It is also a reason not to walk on the roof, never to brush off debris, and to keep children and pets clear until the position is known. Broken sheets are a point for your own caution, not a job for a quick patch. A leaking roof is made safe first, but on asbestos cement that means a method that leaves the sheets undisturbed.
Access and the Five Valleys
Garages in the valleys often sit on steep or shared plots. Lowering whole sheets to the ground and stacking them for collection takes room and time, and a lane too narrow for a vehicle changes how the waste leaves the site. We assess the route at the survey so it is priced in rather than found on the day. Stroud District Council's pages and the HSE site are the places to check rules for your own area.
Covering over, drilling and other things to avoid
People sometimes ask whether a new roof can simply go on top of old asbestos cement sheets. That is its own question and it has a page of its own, but the HSE logic behind it is the same: any work that drills, cuts or breaks sheets raises the risk, and any later removal of a covered roof becomes harder. Ask for advice specific to your roof before you commit to leaving sheets in place.
Everyday jobs that disturb sheets
Fitting a satellite dish, drilling for a vent or hanging a light, cleaning with a wire brush or hosing the sheets with a pressure washer, all disturb the surface. HSE's guidance is about carefully handled material, so these are the habits to avoid. Moss treatment should be gentle, and only after advice.
If you are buying or selling
A garage with an asbestos cement roof is not a bar to selling, but a buyer will usually ask what is known. A survey result, a quote that covers both removal and replacement, and later a record of the work, make the answer straightforward.
Reading the HSE pages yourself
The guidance is short and clearly written. HSE sets out non-licensed work and notifiable non-licensed work on separate pages, and both are worth a read before you ask contractors for quotes.
How we handle an asbestos garage roof
The survey comes first. We photograph your own roof, noting the state of each sheet and its fixings, and the route to and from the garage. If the material has not been tested, we recommend a sample before any work is priced. The written quote then covers access, removal, waste, the new deck and covering, and making good.
Removal is planned to keep the sheets whole, with the method and the HSE group the job is likely to fall into explained in writing. The replacement roof is chosen with you from the options in the garage roof materials guide, and if the new roof needs Building Regulations approval we explain it and deal with the notification. Waste leaves with us, the site is left clear, and the 10-year workmanship guarantee comes in writing. If you would like to talk it through first, call 01453 933613 or use the enquiry form.