Melbourne’s mix of pre-1990 weatherboard homes, post-war brick veneers and CBD refurbishments often hides asbestos in eaves, wet areas and old sheet linings—especially before any sanding, drilling or demolition.
Answer a few quick questions to receive your personalised quote for Melbourne
Complete this step to continue
Our comprehensive service includes everything you need to make an informed decision about your property.
We inspect eaves, soffits, gable ends, verandah linings, external wall sheets and outbuilding cladding for tell-tale asbestos-cement profiles, joins and fixings, because these areas are often drilled for lighting, vents and repainting.
Bathrooms, laundries and kitchens are checked for older wall and ceiling sheeting, splashback substrates and patch repairs. These zones matter because moisture damage can break down sheets and create higher risk if disturbed during re-tiling.
We look for signs of older vinyl tiles, sheet vinyl underlays and black mastic-style adhesives where accessible. Flooring ACMs are commonly disturbed during levelling, grinding or removal, so identifying likely layers early helps prevent dusty demolition.
Where safe access allows, we visually check roof voids and subfloors for asbestos-cement fragments, old ducting, pipe lagging remnants, and cement sheet offcuts. These spaces often contain leftovers from prior works that get disturbed by electricians and plumbers.
Melbourne properties often have older garages, lean-tos, fences or garden sheds that still use asbestos-cement panels. We identify suspect materials in these structures because they’re frequently demolished without controls during backyard upgrades.
For each suspect item, we note whether it appears intact, painted/sealed, weathered, cracked or previously cut. This helps you prioritise actions—leave in place and manage, encapsulate, or arrange testing and removal before any renovation work.
Discover why thousands of property buyers trust us with their most important investment.
Professional inspections with attention to every detail. Here's a glimpse of our work.
Inspection photo 1
Inspection photo 2
Inspection photo 3
Get Visual Asbestos Survey as part of a comprehensive inspection package
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about our inspection service.
In Melbourne, any home built before 1990 is a strong candidate, including weatherboard cottages, post-war brick veneer homes, and older apartments that have had partial renovations. A visual survey is especially useful if you’re planning to remove tiles, replace eaves, renovate a laundry/bathroom, or demolish an old shed or garage where asbestos-cement sheeting was commonly used.
No. A visual survey identifies materials that are consistent with asbestos-containing products based on appearance, age, location, and construction details. Confirmation requires laboratory testing of a sample. If we find suspect materials, we’ll explain the safest next step, including engaging an appropriately licensed professional to sample or remove the material, depending on its condition and your planned works.
We inspect accessible internal and external areas where asbestos was commonly used, such as eaves and soffits, wet-area linings, older flooring layers where visible, sheds and fences, and—where safe—roof voids and subfloors. The goal is to map likely ACM locations and note their condition so you can manage risk before any cutting, sanding, drilling, or demolition starts.
Yes. In Melbourne renovations, we often focus on eaves and external linings (frequently disturbed during repainting and downlight installs), wet areas with older sheet linings hidden behind tiles, and backyard structures like garages and fences. We also pay attention to properties with multiple renovation stages, where older asbestos-cement may sit behind newer finishes or be left in roof spaces as offcuts.
Treat it as asbestos until proven otherwise. Avoid drilling, sanding, cutting or removing it, and keep the area stable and sealed where practical. If confirmation is needed, arrange sampling and testing through a suitably qualified professional, and plan removal or encapsulation based on the results and your renovation scope. We’ll outline realistic next steps so you can proceed safely and legally.
Still have questions?
Get in TouchACE Building and Pest Inspections will identify likely asbestos materials in pre-1990 properties and flag risk areas before renovations begin. Call 0413 163 187 to arrange your Melbourne inspection, including surrounding suburbs towards Ringwood.