Exterior Painting
Double-storey home | full exterior repaint
A weather-worn double-storey exterior stripped back, prepared and repainted in a clean two-tone scheme.
Asbestos & fibre-cement sheeting, Cape Town
Your asbestos roof does not have to come off.
Two quotes will land on your table. One rips the roof off, carts it away and rebuilds it. The other seals it, stops the leaks and adds years to it. Only one of them costs six figures. Here is everything the removal industry would rather you did not know.
- Based in Durbanville, working Durbanville, Aurora, Vierlanden, Eversdal, Welgemoed, Bellville, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Plattekloof, Sonstraal Heights, Panorama, Kenridge, Fisantekraal and surrounds
- WhatsApp us and we reply during office hours.
- Written scope, one fixed price for the job
Problem & approach
Where these projects go wrong, and how we handle them.
The usual problem
Somewhere between the 1950s and the late 1980s, a very large share of Cape Town's houses, outbuildings, garages, factories, workshops, farm sheds and school halls were roofed in asbestos-cement sheeting. Those sheets are now old. They have gone porous, the surface has chalked, the bolt holes have opened up, hairline cracks run off the corrugations, and the underside sweats in winter. So it leaks. And the first person you phone tells you the only answer is removal: strip the sheets, permits, a registered disposal site, new purlins, new sheeting, new gutters. A number with a comma in the wrong place. Meanwhile the actual problem, water getting through a surface, is a waterproofing problem, not a demolition problem.
Our approach
For asbestos cement, compliance comes before the coating. South Africa's Asbestos Abatement Regulations prohibit cleaning or preparing asbestos-cement surfaces. The Department of Employment and Labour's asbestos FAQ states that encapsulation with a rubber or synthetic coating may be allowed, but without surface preparation or cleaning. We assess the visible condition without disturbing the material and only propose Rubber Sealant® encapsulation where the system can be applied to the existing surface without prohibited cleaning or preparation. If that cannot be done, we stop and recommend the appropriate asbestos-specialist route instead.
What the removal quote does not tell you
Four things you get told about asbestos roofs. Only some of them are true.
“Asbestos is illegal, it has to come off.”
Manufacture and new installation stopped. Existing sheeting that is in sound condition is managed, not automatically ripped off. Managing it means keeping it undisturbed and sealed. That is encapsulation.
“Coating it just hides the problem.”
Coating it badly hides the problem. A primed, reinforced, three-coat seamless membrane is a waterproofing system. The difference is thickness, detailing and preparation, which is why we write all three down before we price.
“Removal is the only permanent fix.”
Removal is permanent, and so is the invoice. Encapsulation buys you a guaranteed, recoatable roof for a fraction of the number. When the sheets are genuinely finished, we tell you to remove them.
“The cheap guy will spray it for R40 a metre.”
He will roll one thin coat of acrylic over an unwashed, unprimed sheet. It looks perfect for one summer. Then it flakes off the chalk it was stuck to and you still have a leaking asbestos roof, minus the money.
Read your own roof
Seven signs your asbestos roof is asking to be sealed, not replaced.
If you recognise most of this list, your sheets are almost certainly still sound enough to encapsulate. That is a good morning for you and a bad one for whoever quoted you a new roof.
- Brown stains or drips appearing along one line of the ceiling in heavy rain
- Chalky grey powder washing off the sheets into the gutters
- Hairline cracks running away from bolt holes and off the corrugation edges
- Corners broken or lifted where someone has walked on the sheets
- Moss and lichen holding water on the shaded side of the roof
- Green or black staining on the underside of the sheets in the roof space
- A removal quote in five or six figures that made you close the laptop
We will get onto the roof, photograph what is actually happening and tell you honestly which of the two answers yours needs. If it needs removal, we will say removal.
What may be included
Scope you can actually read.
The exact line items on your quote depend on the site inspection. This is the shape of what a typical project of this type includes.
- Visible condition assessment without disturbing the asbestos-cement material
- Written scope identifying what Williams & Co will and will not do
- No cleaning or surface preparation of asbestos-cement surfaces
- No cutting, drilling, grinding, breaking, removal or disposal of asbestos-containing material
- Rubber Sealant® coating only where it can be applied lawfully to the existing surface as-is and the system requirements can be met
- Photographic handover record and applicable product / guarantee documentation
Products we work with
The Systems Behind the Work.
Approved applicator and authorised reseller of Rubber Sealant® Liquid Rubber.
Our preferred paint on most projects.
We are not a Plascon approved applicator. Plascon is simply the paint we choose to specify for its quality and track record, and we will recommend a different system where a project calls for it.
Our process
6 steps from enquiry to handover.
- 1
Enquiry and initial asbestos-cement screening
- 2
Non-disturbing visible condition assessment
- 3
Confirm whether a compliant coating pathway is possible on the surface as-is
- 4
Written quotation with scope, exclusions and product-system conditions
- 5
Coating application without cleaning or surface preparation of the asbestos cement
- 6
Handover photographs, product documentation and applicable guarantee terms
Honest limits
What we will tell you up front.
A proper contractor should be honest about what a service can and cannot do. These are the things we will always flag.
- South Africa's Asbestos Abatement Regulations prohibit cleaning or preparing asbestos-cement surfaces. The Department of Employment and Labour's asbestos FAQ states that encapsulation with a rubber or synthetic coating may be allowed, but without surface preparation or cleaning.
- Williams & Co does not pressure wash, clean, scrape, sand, brush, cut, drill, grind, break, remove or dispose of asbestos-containing material. We only quote a coating where it can be applied lawfully to the existing surface as-is and the proposed system can meet the applicable product requirements.
- A coating is not a structural repair. Material that is badly damaged, deteriorated or otherwise unsuitable for an as-is coating needs the appropriate asbestos-specialist assessment instead.
- A manufacturer's product specification does not override South African asbestos requirements. We proceed only where both can be satisfied.
- Qualifying Rubber Sealant® systems may carry a 13-year manufacturer product guarantee, subject to manufacturer inspection, specification, application, certification and maintenance conditions.
Not sure what your asbestos roof encapsulation needs? Send us a photo.
Take one photo on your phone, send it on WhatsApp, and we will tell you what we are looking at. We are in Durbanville most weeks, so a site visit is easy to arrange.
WhatsApp a photoFAQ
Asbestos Roof Encapsulation: questions we hear
Budgeting
Want the numbers before you phone anyone?
We publish real Cape Town rates, including our own, and explain exactly what a cheaper quote leaves out.
Exterior Painting
Single-storey home | exterior and trim
Walls, fascias and trim brought back to a crisp finish, with cracks treated before any coating went on.
Roof Painting
Tiled roof | cleaned and coated
Tiles cleaned down, ridges checked and re-bedded where needed, then coated with a specified roof system.
Keep reading
The pages our Durbanville clients read before they phone us.
Start here
- Painters in DurbanvilleWhat we charge, how we scope it, and why the cheap quote was never cheaper.
- Asbestos roof: seal it or remove it?The honest cost comparison nobody publishes.
Durbanville, service by service
- Roof waterproofing in Durbanville
- Damp proofing in Durbanville
- Exterior painting in Durbanville
- Interior painting in Durbanville
- Asbestos roof encapsulation in Durbanville
- Complex and body corporate repaints in Durbanville
Where we work
- Painters & waterproofing in DurbanvilleWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in AuroraWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in VierlandenWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in EversdalWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in WelgemoedWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in BellvilleWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in BrackenfellWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in KraaifonteinWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in Kuils RiverWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in PlattekloofWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in Sonstraal HeightsWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in PanoramaWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in KenridgeWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
- Painters & waterproofing in FisantekraalWhat the housing stock here needs, and what it costs.
Complexes, commercial & managed buildings
- Body corporate & complex repaintingA scope trustees can compare, phased block by block.
- Commercial & retail paintingShops and offices painted after hours, never closed.
- Warehouse & industrial coatingRusted metal roofs sealed, hot workshops cooled.
- For property managers & agentsWritten scopes, fixed prices, photographs for the file.
- Wine farm & estate paintingOld lime plaster, gables and cellars, handled properly.
Business parks & work at height
- Painting in Atlas GardensWarehouses and offices done around your trading hours.
- Painting in Durbanville HillsExposed, wind driven buildings need their own specification.
- Factory & industrial paintingWater first, then steel, then walls. In that order.
- Office park & multi-tenant repaintsFloor by floor, out of hours, nobody loses a day.
- Exterior crack & plaster repairWhy the crack came back, and how it is properly fixed.
- Working at heights paintingThe compliance to demand before anyone leaves the ground.
- Scaffolding & access paintingAccess is priced per erection. Plan around that and save.
- Painting tender checklistOne page, so three quotes describe the same job.
Specialist systems
- Rubber Sealant® Liquid RubberApproved applicator and reseller: prices, coverage, colours and guarantee terms.
- Buy liquid rubber in DurbanvilleThe same drums we use, collected by arrangement.
- Liquid rubber prices, per litre and per m²Every price published, with the coverage behind it.
- Asbestos roof encapsulationSeal the sheets in place instead of paying to strip them.
- Asbestos roof coating, Cape TownWhy a R60 coating lifts and a R285 system does not.
- Asbestos roof repairStop the leak without lifting a single sheet.
- Asbestos roof sealing costReal rates and three worked roofs, arithmetic shown.
- Asbestos roofing, Cape TownWhat you actually have up there, and what to do about it.
- How long an asbestos roof lastsThe real lifespan, and how sealing extends it.
- Waterproofing & damp proofingLiquid rubber on roofs, walls and rising damp.
Durbanville and surrounds
Get a fixed price for your asbestos roof encapsulation.
Three ways to start, all of them quick. Send a WhatsApp, tap to call, or leave your details and we come back with a written scope and one fixed price for the whole job.
WhatsApp Leroy now Call 079 435 6308
Monday–Friday 08:00–17:00
What happens after you send it
We reply, ask the few questions that matter, then book a proper look at the property. You get a written scope, one fixed price for the whole job, and a straight answer on what we will not do.
One-year workmanship guarantee on qualifying Williams & Co work.
Takes about 20 seconds