Grey cement-sheet roof on an older house? Here is how to tell if it may be asbestos, when it is a hazard, what never to do, and how removal and replacement should be handled.
Grey fibre-cement roof sheets on houses built before roughly 2000 may contain asbestos, and the danger comes when they are drilled, cut, broken or pressure-washed. WHO classes all forms of asbestos as carcinogenic. Leave intact sheets undisturbed, never walk on them, and plan removal as specialist work: sheets wetted, removed whole, wrapped and disposed of properly. Repairs to such sheets are listed at RM800 – RM3,500 plus disposal (indicative Klang Valley, 2026); a replacement metal roof and the removal are quoted separately. Check the rules with DOSH. WhatsApp ClickBina your job details for a quote; we reply within the hour.
Before metal deck became the usual choice, many Malaysian houses, extensions, car porches and kampung homes were roofed with corrugated fibre-cement sheets. Some of those sheets contain asbestos. The site’s roof guides describe them the same way: houses and extensions built before roughly 2000 sometimes carry fibre-cement sheets containing asbestos, grey, thicker than metal, and they do not rust but do become brittle and grow moss.
From the ground, they are easy to mistake for old zinc. The differences to look for:
| Sign | Asbestos-cement (fibre-cement) sheet | Metal (zinc / metal deck) sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Colour and surface | Grey, cement-like, often mossy or blackened | Metallic, painted or galvanised; rust streaks when old |
| Thickness at the edge | Thicker, like a thin slab | Thin sheet |
| How it ages | Becomes brittle, cracks and breaks; does not rust | Rusts at screws, laps and low spots |
None of these signs proves the sheet contains asbestos; only testing a sample can. If your roof sheets look like cement rather than metal and the house is more than 25 years old, get it confirmed before anyone touches it.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is direct about the risk. All forms of asbestos, including chrysotile, are carcinogenic to humans. Exposure causes cancer of the lung, larynx and ovaries, and mesothelioma (a cancer of the pleural and peritoneal linings), and there is also clear scientific evidence that asbestos causes chronic respiratory diseases such as asbestosis (fibrosis of the lungs).
WHO names roofing specifically: the risk extends to building materials such as roof tiles made with asbestos cement, and anyone trimming or fitting asbestos-containing products is potentially at risk. It also notes that co-exposure to tobacco smoke and asbestos fibres substantially increases the risk for lung cancer.
The hazard is the fibres, not the sheet sitting on the roof. As the metal roof leak repair guide puts it, asbestos-cement is only hazardous when the fibres are released, which is exactly what drilling, cutting, breaking or pressure-washing does. WHO adds that exposure also occurs where asbestos-containing products have become degraded, such as during building maintenance and demolition and the disposal of building waste.
That gives a practical rule. An intact roof that nobody disturbs is a lower-risk situation than a cracked, crumbling roof that somebody is about to repair, clean or tear off. The dangerous moment is usually the work, which is why the method matters more than anything else on this page.
There are three realistic routes for an old asbestos-cement roof. Which one fits depends on its condition and on what else is planned for the house:
| Option | When it fits | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Leave it and monitor | Sheets intact, not leaking, no works planned nearby | No walking, cleaning or drilling; check again after storms |
| Overlay with a new roof | Sheets sound enough to leave in place; the frame can carry the new cover | HSE: attach the new material to the existing purlins and avoid drilling through the AC |
| Remove and replace | Sheets cracked, broken, leaking, or the roof is being rebuilt anyway | Wetted, removed whole, wrapped and disposed of properly |
For a roof that leaks repeatedly, the roof rust grading guide’s view is that full replacement with modern metal deck is more sensible than repairing the same sheets repeatedly.
Removal is specialist work, and it is not a job for a general handyman. What the site’s guides describe, and what the UK HSE task sheet for removing asbestos-cement sheets sets out, follow the same logic: keep the sheets whole and keep them wet.
Ask whoever quotes the removal to explain each of these steps, who will do the removal, and where the waste goes. A quotation that treats the old roof as ordinary demolition rubbish is a warning sign.
Asbestos removal and disposal is priced after a survey, so there is no reliable per-sq-ft figure for it. What the site’s roof guides do publish (indicative Klang Valley, 2026):
| Item | Indicative cost | Source guide |
|---|---|---|
| Repair to asbestos-cement sheets (cracks, broken sheets), pre-2000 homes | RM800 – RM3,500 plus disposal | Roof repair cost guide |
| New metal longspan roof: material, per sq ft | RM6 – RM12 | Re-roofing cost guide |
| New metal longspan roof: labour, per sq ft | RM3 – RM6 | Re-roofing cost guide |
| New IBR corrugated metal sheet: material, per sq ft | RM4 – RM8 | Re-roofing cost guide |
| New IBR corrugated metal sheet: labour, per sq ft | RM3 – RM5 | Re-roofing cost guide |
| Removal and disposal of the asbestos sheets | Quoted after survey | — |
WhatsApp us your job details for a quote — we reply within the hour.
💬 WhatsApp for a QuoteThe new-roof rates are for the replacement cover only. The removal method, access, the condition of the purlins or battens underneath and the disposal route are separate lines on the quotation. See the roof repair cost guide for how roof repairs are priced generally.
This guide does not set out the Malaysian rules on asbestos work or asbestos waste, because they are for the authorities to state and they change. Before any removal starts, ask the contractor which rules apply to the job and how the waste will be disposed of, and check with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH, Jabatan Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan). For a strata property, the management must be told before any roof work.
The UK HSE sheet cited on this page is foreign guidance. It is useful because it describes the method in plain steps, but it is not Malaysian law.
Grey cement-sheet roofs turn up most on older terrace houses, extensions, car porches and kampung homes. If you are buying one, note the roof in your inspection and budget for it; the property inspection checklist covers what else to check. If you are renovating, deal with the roof before interior works, so dust and debris never reach new finishes; the old house renovation guide explains the order of work for houses of this age.
If the roof is metal rather than cement, the problems and fixes are different: see metal roof leak repair and the roof rust grading guide.
ClickBina is an experienced KL & Selangor contractor. We handle whole-house refurbishment and coordinate the trades.
WhatsApp us your job details for a quote. A site visit is RM150, waived if you go ahead. The price is flat, with no hidden charges, and we reply within the hour. ClickBina is SSM-registered.
Health facts are quoted from the World Health Organization fact sheet. The removal steps quote the UK Health and Safety Executive’s Asbestos essentials sheet a14 and the site’s own roof guides; Malaysian rules are not stated here, only who to ask. Prices are quoted unchanged from the roof repair cost and re-roofing cost guides and are typical Klang Valley ranges for 2026, not fixed rates.
WhatsApp us your job details for a quote — we reply within the hour.
💬 WhatsApp for a QuoteTell us what you need — we reply within the hour.