Encapsulated roof
Completed white coating on an asbestos cement roof at SAICA, Warrenpoint, County Down.
- Sheets left in place
- Northern Ireland project
Asbestos roof encapsulation · County Galway, Ireland
Gaco Asbestos Roof Waterproofing in County Galway — Encapsulation Without Removal
Keep ageing asbestos cement roofs in County Galway in place, sealed and watertight with the GacoFlex asbestos roof system. Many farm buildings, factories and warehouses in County Galway still have corrugated asbestos cement roofs. As the sheets weather they become brittle, porous and harder to keep watertight. Encapsulation seals the surface and waterproofs the roof while the sheets stay where they are.
County Galway encapsulationSheets stay in place · survey-led
Approved & trusted
Survey-led, regulation-aware and manufacturer-backed
Manufacturer-backed product warrantyAvailable when the system is specified and installed by an approved installer to the manufacturer’s requirements.
Survey firstThe roof is inspected for structural soundness, condition and access before anything is specified. Not every roof is suitable.
Approved installersEnquiries from County Galway are routed to an approved installer who covers County Galway.
GacoFlex U91 + U92A U91 base coat and U92 top coat seal the asbestos cement surface.
HSA permit planned inSince the 2025 amendment, notifiable asbestos work needs an HSA permit before it starts.
Sheets stay in placeNo strip-out or disposal: the weathered surface is sealed and made watertight.
Local context
Coating weathered asbestos cement roofs across County Galway
Farming changes as you travel west through County Galway. Teagasc describes drystock and dairying on the lowlands of its Galway/Clare region, with suckler, sheep and mixed farms taking over in the hillier west, and around 20,000 farmers served in total. Ballinasloe’s horse fair, held since the 18th century, started out as a cattle and sheep market. West of Lough Corrib lies Connemara, bounded by Killary Harbour, Galway Bay and the Atlantic. From the Shannon side to the Twelve Bens, corrugated asbestos cement roofs on sheds and haybarns are a familiar sight. Many haybarns in the county are open-sided, which leaves the underside of the roof exposed to the weather as well.
No synoptic station in County Galway has published 1991–2020 averages, so the nearest Met Éireann reference is Shannon Airport, at 1,019.7 mm a year. Met Éireann notes that rainfall in the west generally runs between 1,000 and 1,400 mm, and that many mountainous districts exceed 2,000 mm — an exposed roof in Connemara may see considerably more than the Shannon figure. Persistent wet weather and coastal exposure erode fibre-cement sheets, encouraging lichen and moss and opening cracks at laps.
Gaco’s urethane coatings for asbestos cement, U91 and U92, form a seamless film over the prepared roof, sealing in the weathered surface and stopping water getting through cracks and laps. On exposed western sites, the installer pays close attention to fixings, ridge pieces and sheet edges, where wind uplift is greatest, and secures anything loose before coating. Application needs a dry weather window and surface conditions inside Gaco’s limits, and in the west those windows can be short. Duratite supplies the system and routes Galway enquiries to an approved installer. Roofs on older farm buildings often carry a patchwork of repairs — odd replacement sheets, bitumen patches and mixed fixings — each of which needs assessing before a coating can go over it.
The legal framework is the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2006, as amended in 2010 and again in 2025, enforced by the Health and Safety Authority. The installer’s assessment covers whether the work is notifiable, how the roof will be reached safely given that the sheets are fragile, and how cleaning water and debris will be contained. Galway County Council is the building control authority for sites outside Galway city. Where the building houses livestock, animals are kept clear of the area beneath the work.
Pricing
How much does asbestos roof encapsulation cost in County Galway?
It depends on roof area, condition, access and the specification, so we do not publish prices. After the free survey you receive a written quotation in euro from the approved installer.
Pricing · County GalwayWritten quotation after a free survey
Why encapsulate in County Galway
Four reasons County Galway building owners choose encapsulation
Cost and disruption of removal
Removal needs specialist contractors, disposal and a replacement roof. Encapsulation leaves the sheets in place.
Buildings that must stay in use
Livestock sheds, stores and production buildings cannot easily be emptied for a roof replacement.
Leaks through cracks and laps
Hairline cracks, failed laps and fixings let water in. The coating system bridges and seals them across the whole roof.
Weathered asbestos cement sheets
Older sheets lose their surface, grow moss and lichen and become porous. Encapsulation seals that weathered surface.
Project evidence
Asbestos roof encapsulation at SAICA, Warrenpoint
A Northern Ireland project, photographed on site. The SAICA Warrenpoint roofs combined closed-cell roofing foam with a GacoFlex U91 base coat; the build-up for each roof in County Galway is set at survey.
Foam from the walkways
SAICA, Warrenpoint, County Down: closed-cell roofing foam spray-applied from the walkway system over asbestos cement (Northern Ireland project).
- Fragile-roof walkways
- No one on the sheets
GacoFlex U91 base coat
GacoFlex U91 base coat applied over the cured foam at SAICA, Warrenpoint.
- GacoFlex U91
- Sealed surface
Republic of Ireland regulations
Asbestos regulations for roof work in County Galway
Work on asbestos-containing materials in the Republic of Ireland is governed by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 386 of 2006, as amended by S.I. No. 589 of 2010 and S.I. No. 632 of 2025).
Since the 2025 amendment, notifiable asbestos work needs an HSA permit before it starts, supported by the notification, a plan of work and a risk assessment. The installer’s programme for your County Galway roof builds that lead time in.
Every project is survey-led and risk-assessed, and notified to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) where required.
Because the sheets stay in place, they remain part of the building’s asbestos records after the work in County Galway.
County Galway questions answered
Asbestos roof waterproofing FAQs · County Galway
Straight answers to the questions building owners and managers ask most often.
Do you treat asbestos cement roofs in County Galway?
Yes. Duratite Ireland takes enquiries from County Galway and routes them to an approved installer of the GacoFlex asbestos roof system who covers County Galway. We do not have a branch office in County Galway; the survey and application are carried out by the approved installer.
Does encapsulation mean the asbestos is gone?
No. Encapsulation seals the asbestos cement sheets and makes the roof watertight, but the sheets stay in place, so they remain part of the building’s asbestos records.
How far ahead do I need to book asbestos roof work in County Galway?
Allow for the survey, the specification and the HSA permit, which must be in place before notifiable asbestos work starts. The installer plans the programme around it.
Can the building in County Galway stay in use during the work?
Often, yes, because the work is carried out on the roof with the sheets left in place. The installer’s risk assessment sets out any restrictions for your building.
Can my asbestos roof in County Galway be treated without removing it?
If the survey finds the sheets structurally sound, yes. The roof is prepared, sealed with GacoFlex U91 and U92 encapsulation coatings and, where specified, finished with a GacoFlex silicone topcoat. The sheets stay in place, so there is no removal or disposal.
Which regulations apply to asbestos roof work in County Galway?
In the Republic of Ireland, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2006, as amended most recently by S.I. No. 632 of 2025. Notifiable asbestos work now needs an HSA permit before it starts, supported by the notification, a plan of work and a risk assessment.
How much does asbestos roof encapsulation cost in County Galway?
It depends on roof area, condition, access and the specification, so we do not publish prices. After the free survey you receive a written quotation in euro from the approved installer.
Can an asbestos cement roof in Connemara be coated, given the wet weather?
Yes, but patience is part of the job. The coating needs a dry surface and conditions within Gaco’s limits during application and curing, and in the west dry spells can be short. The installer monitors forecasts, may coat a roof in sections, and will stop work if rain threatens rather than risk a poor finish.
Does a shed in east Galway weather differently from one near the coast?
Usually. Met Éireann notes rainfall rises towards the west and in upland areas, and coastal sites are more exposed to wind. That affects how quickly sheets erode and how carefully fixings and edges need securing. But the condition survey of your roof matters more than any county average when deciding whether encapsulation is suitable.
Should broken asbestos cement sheets be replaced before coating?
Yes. A coating seals weathered, sound sheets; it is not designed to bridge holes or badly cracked sheets. Broken sheets are replaced with suitable non-asbestos sheets before coating begins, and removing and disposing of the damaged ones is itself asbestos work under the 2006 regulations as amended, so it is handled within the installer’s risk assessment.
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Guide: asbestos regulations in Ireland
What the 2025 amendment means for roof owners, and the Northern Ireland rules.
Guide: asbestos cement roofs in Ireland
Condition, management options and the rules that apply before any roof work starts.
Case study: SAICA, Warrenpoint
Asbestos cement roofs encapsulated in place at an industrial plant in Warrenpoint, County Down.
All areas we cover
Every county in Ireland and Northern Ireland.