Asbestos ceiling boards in older buildings
Many older buildings in Cape Town have ceilings made of asbestos insulating board. Used until asbestos was banned in 2008, many are still in place, often painted over and looking like any other ceiling.
An asbestos ceiling in good condition doesn’t always need immediate removal, but it does need to be managed and left undisturbed. The concern is disturbance: a board drilled for a light fitting, cut for a downlighter, sanded before painting, or damaged by a roof leak. That’s when fibres can be released, and that’s why asbestos ceiling removal in Cape Town is regulated work.
How to tell if a ceiling is asbestos
Only a laboratory test can tell you. Where it’s uncertain whether a material contains asbestos, it must either be treated as asbestos-containing material or a sample must be analysed by a competent laboratory (regulation 3). The age of the building, the look of the boards and old building plans can raise the question, but none of them can answer it.
Roof Direct doesn’t take samples or carry out testing; accredited laboratories do. Until you have a result, treat the ceiling as asbestos: don’t drill, cut, sand, scrape or break it.
Who removes asbestos ceilings?
Removing asbestos insulating board is Type 2 asbestos work under the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020, which must be done by a Type 2 registered asbestos contractor (regulation 1).
On our projects, the ceiling is removed by our sister company, Indi Maintenance Services, a Registered Asbestos Contractor (Type 2), certificate 2025RAC/CI-180, valid until 26 August 2028. Indi quotes the removal. Roof Direct inspects, coordinates the project, and quotes and fits the new ceiling afterwards, so you have one point of contact throughout. The plan of work and asbestos documents carry Indi’s name.
Indi’s registration covers asbestos insulating board and asbestos cement products only. Sprayed coatings, loose-fill or other insulation products, pipe lagging and other loose asbestos materials are not removed. If any of these are found, we’ll tell you and refer you to a contractor registered for that work.
How asbestos ceiling removal works
- Inspection and quotes. We look at the ceilings and the roof space, and you get itemised quotes: Indi’s for the removal and ours for the new ceiling. If the material hasn’t been tested, testing by an accredited laboratory comes first.
- Plan of work and notification. The approved inspection authority compiles the plan of work with Indi, setting out the material, the method, protective equipment, air monitoring and disposal. You co-sign it as the client, and the Department of Employment and Labour is notified in writing at least seven days before work starts (regulations 10, 11 and 15).
- A regulated area. The rooms being worked on are demarcated as a regulated asbestos area, with the prescribed signs, and nobody enters without correctly fitting respiratory protection and protective clothing (regulations 18, 19 and 20).
- Removal. Indi’s team removes the boards without power tools, which the regulations prohibit for cutting, grinding or drilling asbestos (regulation 24), using non-destructive wet methods as far as is reasonably practicable (regulation 8). The approved inspection authority monitors the air during the work (regulation 16).
- Disposal. The boards are sealed in containers that prevent exposure, labelled and taken to a site designated for asbestos waste, which issues a disposal certificate (regulation 21).
- Clearance. The approved inspection authority inspects the rooms, takes air samples and confirms that all asbestos waste has gone, then issues the written declaration for clearance certification (regulation 22).
- Your new ceiling. Roof Direct fits the new ceiling.
Rooms out of use during the work
The rooms where the ceiling is coming out are out of use from the moment the regulated area is set up until the clearance is done. On larger buildings, the work is planned in sections where that’s practical, so the rest of the building can keep running. What stays in use, and when, is agreed with you before the plan of work is signed.
Replacing an asbestos ceiling
Once the clearance is done, Roof Direct fits the new ceiling in Rhinoboard, Isoboard or Lambda board, depending on the room and where it is needed. With the old ceiling already out, this is also the right moment to plan new light fittings, fans or other fittings that would otherwise have meant drilling into asbestos board.
If the roof above is also asbestos cement, it makes sense to plan both together. See asbestos roof removal and asbestos roof replacement.
Your duties as the client
Before Type 2 work, the client provides an up-to-date inventory of the asbestos in place, makes sure a risk assessment is done, appoints an approved inspection authority in writing, co-signs the plan of work, and obtains the clearance certificate afterwards (regulation 11). Employers must keep disposal and clearance certificates for at least 50 years (regulation 23). We guide you through each step. This is general information, not legal advice; for the official text, see the Department of Employment and Labour.
Ceilings in offices, flats and homes
- Commercial and industrial. Work is planned around your operations, room by room or floor by floor where possible. See commercial and industrial roofing.
- Body corporates. Common areas and units are planned with the trustees and managing agent, with residents told in advance. See body corporate roofing.
- Homeowners. You’ll know which rooms are affected, and when. See roofing for homeowners.
For the credentials behind our work, see safety and compliance.
Get a free asbestos ceiling quote
Request your quote, call us, or send photos on WhatsApp; for all our asbestos services, see asbestos removal in Cape Town.