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propertyrenovation.com.au

Read the year before the renovation.

A home built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos, the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says. Lead Alert, the Australian Government's 2016 guide, says homes built before 1970 are most at risk of lead paint, but that a home built since then might still have some.

A year line from 1900 to today. Lead paint: as a rule of thumb, Lead Alert says the lead content of paint was limited to 1 per cent by 1970, and SA Health puts homes built before the mid-1970s most at risk; asbestos products, phased out by 1990 and banned from 31 December 2003; loose-fill asbestos insulation, installed in some homes in the 1960s and 1970s. Four renovation jobs below, with a dot where an official source says the job disturbs lead paint or asbestos products. up to 50 per cent lead, homes built before 19501% by 1970, as a rule of thumbred-lead primer into the 1970sLead paintSA Health: mid-1970s Asbestos productsphased out by 1990asbestossafety.gov.au: homes built or renovated before 1990 might contain it Loose-fill: the 1960s and 1970s banned from 31 December 2003 1900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020 today What the job disturbsLead paintAsbestos productsSandingLead Alert: dry sanding releases lead-rich dust into the homeQueensland: do not saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materialsDrillingasbestossafety.gov.au: hand tools only, dust captured, for a small hole in asbestos-cement sheetCutting sheetingasbestossafety.gov.au: hand tools only, dust captured, for a small hole in asbestos-cement sheetDemolishingSA Health: renovating, like removing walls, can mobilise lead paint dustasbestossafety.gov.au: asbestos can be disturbed during renovation or demolition
  1. TodayNewest at the top: scroll to your home's decade
  2. 2020s
  3. 2010s
  4. 2000sAsbestos banned from 31 December 2003
  5. 1990s
  6. 1980sAsbestos products phased out by 1990
  7. 1970sLead content limited to 1 per cent by 1970; SA Health: mid-1970s
  8. 1960sLoose-fill asbestos in some homes, 1960s and 1970s
  9. 1950s
  10. 1940sPaint up to 50 per cent lead before 1950
  11. 1930s
  12. 1920s
  13. 1910s
  14. 1900s
  • Lead paint: as a rule of thumb, Lead Alert says paint’s lead content was limited to 1 per cent by 1970, and SA Health puts homes built before the mid-1970s most at risk.
  • Asbestos products: phased out by 1990; a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain it.
  • Hard stop: banned across Australia since December 2003; the national ban took effect on 31 December 2003.
  • Loose-fill asbestos: installed in some homes in the 1960s and 1970s; NSW asks anyone working on or in a pre-1980 home to check for it before starting or quoting work.

What the job disturbs

  • Sanding: Lead Alert says dry sanding releases lead-rich dust into the home; Queensland says not to saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials.
  • Drilling: for a small hole in asbestos-cement sheet, the national agency allows hand tools only, with the dust caught at its source and protective equipment worn.
  • Cutting sheeting: asbestossafety.gov.au allows only hand tools to cut a small hole in an asbestos-cement sheet, with the dust captured at its source and protective equipment worn.
  • Demolishing: SA Health names removing walls for lead dust; asbestossafety.gov.au names renovation and demolition damage for asbestos.
  • Choose your home's decade: each year on the line is a link that lights its column.
  • A dot under a column means an official source names that job as disturbing that material.
  • Lead paint: as a rule of thumb, Lead Alert says the lead content of paint was limited to 1 per cent by 1970, but homes built after 1970 might still contain paint with more than 1 per cent lead.
  • SA Health puts homes built before the mid-1970s, particularly before 1940, most at risk of lead paint, and asks owners of a home built before 1980 to follow its six-step guide when renovating, restoring or repainting.
  • Calcium plumbate in imported metal roofing paints ran well into the 1980s, Lead Alert says.
  • asbestossafety.gov.au: products were phased out by 1990 and banned in 2003; a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos.
  • The 31 December 2003 ban took effect nationally, Safe Work Australia says.
  • Loose-fill asbestos went into some homes in the 1960s and 1970s; NSW keeps a register of homes that NSW Fair Trading has confirmed contain it.
  • Job dots rest on Lead Alert and SA Health for lead dust, Queensland's renovating page for sanding asbestos, and asbestossafety.gov.au for cutting, drilling and demolition.

Before the first cut

  1. The year

    Homes built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos, asbestossafety.gov.au says. For lead paint, Lead Alert puts homes built before 1970 most at risk, and SA Health flags homes built before the mid-1970s, particularly before 1940.

  2. The register

    NSW keeps a register of homes confirmed to contain loose-fill asbestos insulation, searchable by street address. A home that does not appear on the NSW register is not, for that reason, free from loose-fill asbestos insulation, the NSW Government says. The ACT keeps its own register of known residential premises in Canberra affected by loose-fill asbestos insulation.

  3. The test

    An asbestos survey should always come before a renovation, asbestossafety.gov.au says, and if in doubt, treat a material as asbestos. For lead, SA Health says colour-change test kits from hardware, paint or safety equipment stores are relatively cheap and quick to use but limited in their accuracy, and that it is important to test all layers of paint, not just the top coat.

The five guides, each lit on the year line

Where this guide stops

Asbestos: the official minimum

  • The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says: “It is not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and in some places the law goes further. In the Australian Capital Territory any removal needs a licensed removalist, unless it is part of minor routine maintenance or other minor work. In Queensland a home owner must be trained before taking out more than 10 square metres of non-friable material, and only a removalist holding a Class A licence may remove friable material.
  • For a major home renovation where asbestos might be present, the agency’s advice is to engage a licensed asbestos removalist.
  • Its fibres are dangerous to health once they are released into the air and breathed in, the agency says.

Never do these to asbestos material

  • “Saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials”: one of the things Queensland’s renovating page says not to do.
  • Clean it with high-pressure water or anything abrasive, such as scrubbing or sanding; the agency warns this can cause widespread contamination and an expensive clean-up.

All asbestos waste must go to a landfill site licensed to accept it, the agency says, and Safe Work Australia’s demolition code adds that it is moved and disposed of under your state or territory’s environment protection rules.

General information only; have a licensed assessor test before you cut.