Asbestos Fence Removal Perth

Licensed Asbestos Fence Removal

Thousands of Perth homes built before 1990 still have asbestos fencing along at least one boundary. In suburbs like Bayswater, Como, Subiaco, and Morley, where much of the housing stock dates to the 1960s and 1970s, it is more common than not. The material was cheap, it was durable, and nobody knew how dangerous it was until the damage was already done. Now those fences are ageing. Sheets crack. Corners chip. The fibres that were safely locked inside the cement matrix start to become exposed, and that is when asbestos goes from dormant to hazardous.

Removing an asbestos fence is not a weekend project you can handle yourself. In Western Australia, any removal of asbestos containing materials over 10 square metres requires a licensed asbestos removalist operating under a Class B asbestos removal licence. At Fosters Fencing, our licence number is WR2270, issued under the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 and verifiable directly through the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (WorkSafe Licence and Registration Check). Tim Utting and David Fallows have been managing asbestos fence removal in Perth for over 20 years between them, and every job we do complies with the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984, the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996, and the Code of Practice for the Safe Removal of Asbestos 2nd Edition (NOHSC:2002(2005)).

Our asbestos removal workers have completed CPCCDE3014 (Remove Non-Friable Asbestos), and a qualified supervisor who has completed CPCCDE4008 (Supervise Asbestos Removal) is on site for every job. Each removal is also signed off by an Independent Competent Person (ICP) as required by law. Be wary of unlicensed contractors offering cheap asbestos removal. If something goes wrong and you have not engaged a fully licensed removalist, the liability sits with you as the property owner.

Why Choose Us For Your Perth Asbestos Removal

Plenty of fencing companies in Perth will pull down an old fence. Fewer hold the correct licence to do it when that fence contains asbestos. Here is what we do differently.

We notify WorkSafe before every asbestos removal job begins, as required under the regulations. The week before we arrive, we letter-drop your neighbours to let them know the removal is happening, because asbestos fibres do not respect property boundaries and everyone nearby deserves a heads-up. On the day, we set up proper containment with physical barriers and signage, and our crew works in full protective gear following strict safety precautions for non friable asbestos: controlled wetting of sheets to suppress fibre release, intact panel removal wherever possible, and double-bagging in marked 200-micron polyethylene for disposal. Once everything is safely removed, we transport it to a licensed disposal facility. Nothing leaves the site uncovered, unmarked, or untracked.

We have handled everything from straightforward single-boundary removals to jobs that test every part of the process. We recently replaced an asbestos fence in one go and our client, Jeanne Louw, said we “removed the old asbestos fence very neatly and professionally” and that the new colorbond we installed afterwards was “a great improvement to the property.” A more complex job came from Gemma Wakefield, who had a double boundary situation with asbestos, colorbond, and retaining all needing to come out and be replaced. Tim walked her through the full plan upfront, and she described him as “extremely knowledgeable and honest about the situation,” noting that he “explained how he would do the job safely and to the benefit of both parties.” One of our bigger projects involved six fence sections between four different property owners, all with asbestos. We coordinated every neighbour, managed the removal across all boundaries, and our client Nina Hitchins said we handled it “like the experts they are.”

These are the jobs where cutting corners catches up with you. We would rather take the time to get the containment right, communicate clearly with every property owner involved, and leave the site clean than rush through and create problems down the line.

Identifying If Your Fence Is Asbestos

This is the part most Perth homeowners find confusing, and understandably so. Asbestos fencing, non-asbestos Super Six, and Hardie fence all look almost identical to the untrained eye. Getting it wrong in one direction means unnecessary removal costs. Getting it wrong in the other means handling dangerous materials without realising it.

Here is how to tell them apart.

Fence Capping

Asbestos fences were commonly finished with fibre cement capping, a narrow strip of the same asbestos cement material running along the top. Hardie fence uses a metal capping instead. If your fence has fibre cement capping, you can be reasonably certain it contains asbestos. One complication: previous owners sometimes replaced the original capping with metal capping on an asbestos fence, so capping alone is not always definitive.

Number Of Ridges

Count the corrugations across a single sheet. Hardie fence has five ridges with a larger, more pronounced corrugation profile. Asbestos fencing and non-asbestos Super Six both have seven ridges with a tighter profile. If the sheet has five ridges, it is Hardie fence and 100 percent asbestos-free. Seven ridges means further investigation is needed.

Surface Texture

Turn the sheet over if you can, or look closely at both sides. Asbestos sheets have a distinctive hessian crosshatch pattern on one side, a texture that resembles snakeskin. It comes from the hessian backing used during the manufacturing process. Hardie fence and non-asbestos Super Six have a different surface: small dimples arranged in a linear pattern, found on one side only.

Diamond Shaped Metal Washers

Older asbestos fences were fastened with diamond-shaped metal washers to hold the sheets against the rails. During the transition from asbestos to Super Six in the mid-1980s, the same diamond washers continued to be used for a period, so this detail on its own is not conclusive. Combined with the other signs, though, it adds to the picture.

If you are still unsure, do not try to remove or disturb the fence. Call us. We can assess the material on site and give you a clear answer before any work is carried out.

Services After Your Asbestos Fence Is Removed

Once the old fence is down and the site is cleared, you have a blank boundary ready for something better. Most of our clients move straight into a new fence installation, and we handle the whole process so there is no gap between the removal crew leaving and the new fence going in.

Colorbond fencing is the replacement we install most often after asbestos removal. Our colorbond installations carry a ten-year BlueScope manufacturer warranty, and we back the workmanship with our own two-year guarantee. Tim often recommends colorbond for these jobs because the panels are lightweight enough to install quickly once the old asbestos is cleared, meaning less time with an open boundary between you and your neighbour.

We also install timber fencing, aluminium slat fencing, PVC options, gates (including custom gates), and engineered panel and post retaining walls where the boundary involves a slope. As of 2019, Hardie fence is no longer in production because the manufacturer determined it was no longer commercially viable, so if your old asbestos fence was a seven-ridge profile, the closest equivalent in appearance is now colorbond or aluminium.