Normanhurst 2076 · Hornsby Shire
Builders in Normanhurst: Renovating Safely Around Asbestos
Before anyone drills a hole, find out what's in the walls.
Normanhurst's big blocks hold Federation cottages and a lot of 1960s to 80s brick homes, the era when asbestos went into almost everything. Families here renovate rather than move, thanks to the station and the schools. Doing it safely starts with knowing exactly where the asbestos is.
Short answer
How do you renovate a Normanhurst house safely with asbestos?
Test before anyone drills. Homes built or renovated before 1990 can hide asbestos in eaves, wet-area linings, vinyl floor backing and old switchboard panels. A licensed assessor samples the areas the renovation will touch, and results come back within days. Bonded asbestos over 10m² needs a licensed removalist, so removal gets scheduled into the program before other trades start.
Written and reviewed by Oliver Alameri
Licensed builder, NSW Contractor Licence 487805C · Founder, Buildana
Fact-checked
Where asbestos hides in a Normanhurst house
If your home was built or renovated before 1990, assume it contains asbestos somewhere until testing says otherwise. The Federation cottages often didn't start with it, but decades of later additions usually brought it in.
The usual places: flat fibro sheeting on walls and eaves, the wall lining behind old bathroom and laundry tiles, vinyl floor tiles and the backing under sheet vinyl, corrugated roof sheeting on sheds and carports, flue pipes, and the backing board behind old electrical switchboards. That last one catches a lot of electricians by surprise.
Intact and undisturbed, most bonded asbestos sits there harmlessly. Cut it, drill it, sand it or snap it, and fibres get loose. Which is exactly what renovation does.
- Fibro sheeting on walls, eaves and soffits
- Wet-area wall linings behind old tiles
- Vinyl tiles and sheet vinyl backing
- Roof sheeting on sheds, garages and carports
- Switchboard backing boards and old flue pipes
Renovation is basically a list of ways to disturb asbestos. So test before you start.
What the rules say
In NSW, a homeowner can legally remove up to ten square metres of bonded material themselves, with the right precautions and disposal at a licensed facility. I don't recommend it. Most people underestimate how much there is and how easily it breaks.
Go past that threshold and a licensed removalist has to do it. The crumbly, friable type needs the top Class A licence at any quantity. Licensed jobs are notified to SafeWork NSW before work starts.
After removal, a clearance inspection confirms the area is safe before other trades come back in.
Renovating an older Normanhurst home?
Describe the changes you're planning and the decade the house went up. I'll organise testing in the right places, then quote a fixed price that includes safe removal.
0476 300 300How it fits into a renovation
We test early. A hygienist or licensed assessor samples suspect materials in the areas we'll touch, and the lab results come back within days. That tells us what's there and how much, before the quote is final.
Then the removal goes into the program as its own stage, before demolition and before any other trade starts opening walls. For a bathroom renovation, that might be a day. For a whole-house renovation with fibro additions, it could be a week.
If you have kids at home, you'll usually want to be elsewhere while removal happens. We give you dates well ahead.
Renovating on a big Normanhurst block
With lots of 700 to 1,200 square metres, many owners here add a rear family room or a second storey rather than sell. Much of the Hornsby Shire sits on sandstone, which makes new footings reliable but can mean rock excavation for anything below ground.
Heritage controls apply to some Federation-era streets, and Hornsby protects mature trees. We check both before design.
At Rawlinsons Sydney rates with no area adjustment, extension and fit-out budgets start from the published figures, with asbestos removal and any rock work priced separately once tested.
Asbestos checklist before renovating
Six steps that keep the family and the trades safe.
- 01
Confirm when the house was built and when it was last renovated
- 02
Get suspect materials in the renovation area sampled and tested
- 03
Include removal as its own stage, before demolition starts
- 04
Use a licensed removalist for anything over ten square metres
- 05
Arrange a clearance inspection before other trades return
- 06
Plan where the family stays during removal work
Asbestos and renovation questions
Is there asbestos in my house?
You can't tell by looking. If it was built or renovated before 1990, have suspect materials sampled and tested by a qualified assessor before disturbing them.
Can I remove asbestos myself in Normanhurst?
Yes, a homeowner may take out up to ten square metres of the bonded type with proper precautions and licensed disposal. More than that, or any friable material, is a job for a licensed removalist. We'd use a professional regardless.
Does asbestos removal delay a renovation?
Not much if it's planned. Testing takes days, and removal is scheduled as its own stage before demolition. Surprises cause delays, which is why we test first.
Is asbestos in eaves dangerous?
Intact fibro eaves are low risk. They become a hazard when drilled, cut or broken, for example when fitting new lights or during a roof replacement.
Sources and references
Costs are from the Rawlinsons handbook with the local cost index applied; rules and timeframes are checked against the sources below.
Test first. Remove it properly. Then build.
A Normanhurst renovation where the asbestos is found, handled and cleared before anyone opens a wall.