Found asbestos in your Dorset home or business? Meyer Southern is an HSE licensed contractor for asbestos removal in Dorset, so whatever you have found is dealt with safely, legally and by one team from survey to clearance.
Tell us what you have found and where. A photo on WhatsApp helps us tell you straight away if it needs testing.
Dorset’s housing covers every era asbestos was used in, which is why so many of the asbestos services we carry out here are domestic. There are Victorian villas in Bournemouth, post-war semis and bungalows across Poole, Ferndown and Christchurch, and rural homes with extensions, garages and outbuildings that have stood for over two decades. Asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999 because of its health risks, so any older property built before 2000 can still hold asbestos containing materials.
In homes we find asbestos containing materials in garage roofs, artex and other textured coatings, floor tiles, insulating boards, water tanks, toilet cisterns, rainwater goods and old boiler flues. Left undisturbed and in good condition, most of it is low risk. Drill, sand or break it while planning renovations and it can release harmful fibres. Breathing in those microscopic fibres can cause asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer, and around 2,500 people die from mesothelioma in the UK each year.
If you suspect asbestos, our asbestos specialists will confirm it before anything is touched.
Dorset’s commercial buildings carry their own asbestos history. Industrial units on sites such as the former Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath, marine and boatbuilding premises around Poole Harbour, schools, care homes, holiday parks and listed buildings all went up or were extended while asbestos products were in common use.
The HSE estimates around 5,000 asbestos-related deaths a year in the UK, which makes this a health risk as much as a legal one. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 place a duty to manage asbestos on whoever is responsible for a non-domestic building, and that means knowing where it is, what condition it is in, and having an asbestos management plan. Our asbestos services for commercial sites cover asbestos surveys, the risk assessment, asbestos management plans, removal and disposal, and our asbestos related services include air testing and re-inspections.
Many tenders and approved contractor lists now ask for an HSE licensed contractor. We hold that licence, we handle the ASB5 notification for you, and we provide the full health and safety documentation your legal compliance file needs, so legal compliance is covered on paper as well as on site. Regulatory compliance is part of the job, not an extra.
The law splits asbestos work by risk. Higher-risk work, such as removing asbestos insulating board, pipe lagging or sprayed coatings, can only be carried out by a contractor licensed by the HSE. Doing that work without a licence is an offence.
Meyer Southern is HSE accredited and holds an HSE asbestos licence. That matters most when a job changes halfway through. If a garage roof job turns up insulating board behind the panels, or a ceiling turns out to be AIB rather than plasterboard, you do not need to stop and find a second firm. The same team carries on, under the right controls, with the right paperwork.
Stop work straight away. Do not sweep, vacuum or break it up. Keep people and pets out of the area and close the door.
Then call us on 0239 307 2182. We will tell you what happens next and arrange asbestos testing if it is needed.
Every one of these asbestos services starts with confirming the material and ends with full documentation. If you suspect asbestos in something not listed here, ask us. Our specialist services go well beyond this list, and we will tell you how to safely remove it or whether it should stay where it is.
Every job in our project portfolio shows the before, the controls and the finished, cleared space.
All work involving asbestos has to be assessed to decide whether it needs a licensed contractor. The answer depends on the material, its condition and the work being done, and an asbestos survey Dorset visit settles it.
| Category | Typical Materials | Notice | Who Can Do It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed | AIB, pipe lagging, sprayed coatings, loose-fill insulation | ASB5 to the HSE, 14 days before work | HSE licensed contractor only |
| Notifiable Non-Licensed | Degraded asbestos cement, some textured coatings | Notified to the enforcing authority | Trained contractor with medicals and records |
| Non-Licensed | Intact cement roof sheets, floor tiles | None | Trained contractor |
Lower-risk jobs do not legally need a licensed firm. The advantage of using one is that if the survey finds something higher risk, the job does not stall while you look for someone else. Some materials do not need removing at all, and encapsulation can be the safer and cheaper of the asbestos solutions available.
The HSE’s published list of licensed asbestos contractors shows each company’s name, licence number, licence type and expiry date. Check any asbestos contractor on it before they start, us included. Our licence number is 262606126.
Then check the quote. A good one is fixed and written, and it names the asbestos survey, the risk assessment, the method statements, any asbestos testing and air testing, the disposal route and the waste consignment notes you will receive. If any of that is missing, ask why.
From a single garage roof to a school refurbishment, our asbestos services and asbestos solutions cover every kind of property. Schools, care settings and commercial buildings often hold licensed materials like AIB and lagging, so they need an HSE licensed contractor before planned work starts.
Every Dorset job follows the same order, set by the legal requirements in the regulations and by HSE guidance, the main source of guidance on asbestos work in the UK. Health and safety comes first at every stage, for our team and for the people around the job.
We sample, we do not presume. A surveyor carries out a visual inspection and takes samples for asbestos testing at a UKAS accredited lab, which covers asbestos identification by type, including white asbestos, brown asbestos and blue asbestos. The results decide whether the job is licensed, notifiable or non-licensed, and shape the written risk assessment and method statements. Testing first keeps the safety plan accurate and the price fair.
The work area is protected and isolated before anything is touched, for the safety of everyone in the building. Wet methods and dust suppression keep fibres down, and licensed jobs run inside a sealed enclosure. Materials come away whole wherever possible, because broken material is what tends to release dangerous fibres.
All asbestos waste is double-wrapped in heavy polythene, labelled and carried under our waste carrier licence (CBDU538609) to licensed facilities for hazardous materials, in line with environmental legislation. It never goes in domestic bins or general skips. You receive waste consignment notes as proof of proper removal and legal disposal.
The area is HEPA vacuumed and wet-wiped. On licensed work, air testing by an independent analyst confirms it is clear before you move back in, and you keep the full documentation for your records.
Licensed work needs an ASB5 notification to the HSE at least 14 days before it starts. We send it for you, and it is the reason to call early if the job sits inside a renovation timeline.
On the day, the area is sealed inside an enclosure with an airlock and negative pressure units, so air only flows inwards. Our trained operatives wear respirators and disposable overalls, follow HSE ACoP L143, and run air monitoring throughout. The job ends with an independent four-stage clearance, and only then is the area certified safe to use again.
Damaged asbestos does not improve with time. A cracked garage roof gets worse with every winter on the Dorset coast, and a renovation that stops for a week can lose its builder for a month. Getting the right advice early is the quickest way back to work, and the safest of the asbestos solutions open to you.
Our HSE licensed team provides asbestos services across the whole Dorset area with a 24-hour response, fixed written quotes and a five-star Checkatrade rating. Customer satisfaction comes from turning up when we say we will and leaving the site clean.
Call 0239 307 2182, email admin@meyerenvironmental.co.uk, message us on WhatsApp or fill in the enquiry form.
Fill in the form and our Dorset asbestos specialists will be in touch within 24 hours.
It happens. A builder cuts into a boarded ceiling, a tenant drills through a panel, or a DIY job breaks up an old floor. Stop work, get everyone out, close the room off and do not sweep or vacuum the dust. Incidents of accidental disturbance should be handled by a competent asbestos professional, so get professional assistance before anyone goes back in. Call us and we will tell you what to do next and get a licensed team to you.
Yes. Meyer Southern is HSE accredited and holds an HSE asbestos licence, which allows us to carry out licensed asbestos removal as well as notifiable and non-licensed work. Employing licensed contractors for high-risk asbestos removal is a legal requirement, and only a licence holder can take on jobs like asbestos insulating board, pipe lagging, sprayed coatings and loose-fill insulation.
For you, it means one contractor for all your asbestos services, from the first asbestos survey to the final clearance, whatever the survey finds. Our licence number is 262606126, and you can check it on the HSE’s published list of licensed asbestos contractors. Ask us for a copy of the licence when we quote.
Asbestos is a health risk when it is damaged or disturbed. It can release harmful fibres that lodge in the lungs, and asbestos exposure can cause asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer, often decades later. That is why professional removal of asbestos is essential to prevent exposure, and why health and safety rules around it are so strict.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 govern asbestos exposure prevention in the UK. Owners and managers of non-domestic buildings have a duty to manage asbestos, which includes the common parts of flats. Residential homeowners do not carry the same strict duty to manage, but landlords have duties to their tenants, and any contractor working in your home must follow the regulations. We explain what applies to you on the first call, including the safety records you should keep.
The crew arrives with PPE, including respirators and disposable overalls. The work area is protected and sealed, and on licensed jobs a full enclosure with negative pressure is built so fibres cannot escape. Removal follows the risk assessment, using wet methods and dust suppression, then the asbestos waste is double-wrapped, labelled and taken to licensed facilities.
In most homes you can stay in the rest of the house while we work, and in most businesses the rest of the building keeps running. Your project lead tells you which rooms are off limits and when they are clear, and safety checks are signed off before any area reopens. Your safety and your neighbours’ safety come before speed. We plan every job for minimal disruption to the people living or working there.
First, stop. Close off the area, keep people out and do not sweep or vacuum. Call a competent asbestos professional for advice before doing anything else.
Homeowners can legally deal with small amounts of lower-risk bonded asbestos with care, but anything friable or higher risk, like insulating board, must be handled by trained professionals with the right controls. Doing licensed work without a licence is an offence, and dumping asbestos waste illegally can lead to heavy fines. Asbestos must never go in a household bin or general skip, and a licensed removal always comes with waste consignment notes. When we remove asbestos for you, that proof is yours to keep. If in doubt, send us a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you whether it needs testing.
Licensed work has a fixed lead time, because the risk assessment and plan of work have to be in place first. The ASB5 notification has to reach the HSE 14 days before work starts, so allow at least two weeks from booking to removal day. Emergency work can sometimes start sooner with the HSE’s agreement.
Across the industry, a survey and report typically takes from one to seven days, and preparation and permits from three to fourteen days. The removal itself can take one day for a garage roof or several weeks on a large commercial site. If your job sits inside a renovation or a property sale, call us early so the notice period does not hold it up.
For anything beyond a small, obvious job, yes. A full asbestos survey is needed before any major structural work on a building put up before 2000. Asbestos management surveys assess existing asbestos in a property that stays in use, while refurbishment and demolition surveys identify asbestos before construction work starts.
Demolition surveys are more intrusive because the building is coming down, so our survey services match the work you are planning. All our survey services follow HSG264, and surveys can cover a whole building or a single room. Property sales often trigger one, when a buyer’s surveyor flags a suspect material. See our asbestos survey Dorset page for the full process.
Asbestos testing means taking a small sample of the material and sending it for bulk analysis at a UKAS accredited laboratory. The lab confirms whether asbestos is present and which type it is. Home testing kits exist, but taking a sample can release fibres if it is done wrong, and a single result does not tell you about the rest of the property.
Our surveyors take samples under controlled conditions and seal them on site, and our testing services cover any suspect material. That includes artex and textured coatings, ceiling tiles and boards, floor tiles, garage roof sheets, soffits, fascias and guttering, insulating boards and water tanks. The results feed straight into the risk assessment, so you know what testing found, what the health risk is and what it means for your job. Testing before work starts also protects your safety and your builder’s.
The price depends on the material, how much of it there is, its condition, access, and whether the job is licensed, notifiable or non-licensed. A garage roof is a very different job from licensed insulating board removal inside an occupied building, so our services are always priced on what we find.
We do not give guesses over the phone. Every Dorset job is assessed, including any asbestos survey or testing needed, and you receive a fixed, written quote covering the risk assessment, removal, disposal and waste consignment notes. Call 0239 307 2182 for a no-obligation quote.
Homeowners can take small quantities of bonded asbestos to designated recycling centres in Dorset. Dorset Council’s scheme requires pre-booking, and only its Blandford, Wareham and Weymouth sites are licensed to accept cement-bonded asbestos. It is household waste only. If you live in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole, check with BCP Council before taking anything.
For anything larger, or if you would rather not handle it, our professional asbestos removal and asbestos related services take care of it, with the waste consignment notes to prove it. Our asbestos services cover the whole county, including Wimborne, Wareham, Portland, Verwood, Broadstone and Sturminster Newton, and neighbouring Hampshire.
