Okay firstly is the roof sealed or painted? That’s your first option if it isn’t than painting or sealing will slow the deterioration of the entire roof surface which will continue to erode due to reaction to acidic pollution. Before you do that for the specific cracks seal them with liquid nails/sealant or similar if possible. You will need to follow asbestos safety precautions to do that – mask, PPE etc. To actually repair the sheets liquid nail or screw in cover panels of sheet metal remembering not to drill and following asbestos safety precautions.

In the sealing area there a number of options – you can just paint it but it will take a lot of paint as it soaks in and make sure its a UV resistant paint otherwise there is no point – it will be just as bad in 6 months time if you don’t use UV resistant. You can chemically treat it which usually involves two treatments one to clean it and then has to be safely drained and then treated. or you can polymer treat it which seals it up like plastic coating. These last two options though are so costly you may as well remove it. Remember you can get a TAX DEDUCTION for removing asbestos! Not the replacing of the roof just the removal part so you seriously should consider as five years is too long as it will continue to disintegrate as long as you have it in place. Also there is the extra insurance premium each year you pay for having an asbestos roof which due to all the storms is always increasing and add that over 5 years to the cost of maintenance. Also you run the risk of legal/tenant problem if it isn’t maintained – gutters in good condition and downpipes that go under ground etc. You haven’t said if its a house or commercial property so I’m presuming its a house as there are different laws for a commercial property you must follow. if you were only keeping it two or so years I’d say repair/seal for five or more years replacement may be the better option.
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Hi sandhya, I meant like any other problem  with a house for example with cracked walls which needed stabilising or ants needing treatment. Many people like yourself are scared off by a house with an asbestos problem- even identifying it could mean securing a discount at purchase or knowing someone like a licenced asbestos removalist who can sort the problem out quickly and easily.  Since 2019 the Australian tax office has been offering tax deductions for Asbestos Removal ( check with your accountant) Whats the mantra- buy a house with a problem and solve it!

That’s all I meant- especially since most people see it as too hard or too scary- yet in NZ you also have to test for mould and drug labs and that,s mandatory! Hope that helps.
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Hi Tony,

went and did a bit more study on carbon fibre and there are no studies or results yet of long term health risks for exposure to respirable carbon fibres. Its too new a material, currently airborne dust monitoring is being done on some sites and measured to similar scales as synthetic mineral fibres and asbestos fibres but there is not enough information available yet about longer term reaction of the body and lungs to these fibres to know what effect they will have on the bodies cells. So you may be right long term this may be another material that causes adverse effects in humans. Asbestos replacements and substitutes such as synthetic mineral fibre, glass fibre and kaolinite fibre all were thought to be safe but all of those materials have been found to have adverse long term side effects in large enough concentrations and longer term exposures. So sorry I can’t give you a definitive answer so mask up and follow safe procedures if you have to deal with it just like it was asbestos or fibreglass.
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Hello Tony,

I’ll investigate this a bit more and get back to you. My initial thoughts would be no as its not sprayed or usually friable, however it probably will pose a hazard similar to synthetic mineral fibre and glass fibre materials. But as I said I will investigate some more. Thanks for the query.

Thanks

for the comments so far. The bank is Heritage and the Units are fully self contained. We haven't seen a copy of the bank valuation as I think that is the problem no one wants to make a unverifiable call on their value.

Thanks