Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Oct 19, 2021 8:02 pm Hi! Does anyone know roughly when Aussie homes started to get built with chinese building materials? I'm looking at purchasing my first home and want to steer clear of asbestos – as my Aunt, god bless her, died from Meso after a long, painful and hard fought battle. The unfortunate thing was that she never worked with asbestos but was just unlucky enough to have a father that did. I'm now not comfortable living in a place with it. I've lived in a 1970's apartment before and found asbestos sheeting being used for the manhole cover in the kitchen as well as a crumbling ceiling of the letterbox! It's definitely not a nice thing to discover. I'm aware of how asbestos was gradually phased out in the 1980's. A house built in the 90's seems almost like the golden era of home built with Australian materials before things started getting shipped from China. (I was surprised to find out that Caroma even moved their operations to China a few years back.) I know that Chinese imports have been discovered containing asbestos as far back as ~2012. Any ideas what timeframe would be safe? Please no "you're more likely to die worrying about asbestos than from asbestos itself" replies It's a just a personal choice that I'd like to make. Thanks! Re: Chinese cement sheeting in newer houses? 2Oct 20, 2021 8:54 am sorry to hear about your family connection to such a horrible time in history. It would be impossible to tell with 100% confidence whether an existing home was built with imported materials, what they were and then whether any of them are likely to contain asbestos. The likelihood of newer homes containing any materials with asbestos is probably less than slim and more likely zero. I think the comfort you should be able to take is that even through asbestos is pretty bad, there are plenty of people who live in homes clad with it and continue to do so without any adverse health effects where the material isn't degrading or disturbed. In your auntie's situation, her ongoing exposure to someone who worked with it was the cause. They were covered in fibers and contaminated their environment with those fibers daily. That's not a good outcome and one that is not likely to ever repeat today. So as far as personal choices go- if you want to be 100% sure, your probably going to have to undergo a custom or an owner build and have all the materials tested or receive proof of their composition and trust that proof. That sounds like an expensive exercise. Or you can play the numbers and accept the likleyhood is close to zero and be better off financially. The numbers are grossly in your favour. Your choice. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Chinese cement sheeting in newer houses? 3Oct 20, 2021 8:03 pm I doubt you will find fibre cement sheet imported from China. It's a bulk building product that is manufactured widely in Australia. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Chinese cement sheeting in newer houses? 4Oct 20, 2021 9:48 pm chippy I doubt you will find fibre cement sheet imported from China. It's a bulk building product that is manufactured widely in Australia. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-14/ ... os/7166674 Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Chinese cement sheeting in newer houses? 5Oct 20, 2021 10:08 pm Noname chippy I doubt you will find fibre cement sheet imported from China. It's a bulk building product that is manufactured widely in Australia. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-14/ ... os/7166674 Maybe I only work on quality builders sites. I've only ever seen Australian manufactured fibre cement board used on any site I've been on. I wouldn't put it past Chinese manufacturers to be putting it in sheet though. I know I won't use imported panel in my kitchens because the quality can be questionable, lots of filler added. The local children's Hospital had ceiling panels imported from China that had asbestos in it and had to be replaced. My response was based on the fact that I have never seen imported FC sheet on any domestic site I've been on. Commercial projects would be a more likely place I would expect to see it. 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