Asbestos Survey in Craigavon

Craigavon is a planned settlement, begun in 1965, so a large part of the town’s building stock sits squarely in the asbestos era. That period overlaps with the most common use of asbestos in domestic and commercial construction, especially in boards, insulation products and textured coatings. Marlborough House on Central Way, Tamnafiglassan, BT64 1AD, was built between 1973 and 1977 with a bold concrete frame, while Fairview House at Tannaghmore Gardens reaches back to the late 18th Century. Those two buildings show how varied the local stock can be, from 1970s civic modernism to older heritage fabric that may have been altered many times.

Local construction patterns matter too. Concrete, brick, timber, render and cladding all appear across Craigavon, and each of those building forms can conceal asbestos in different places, especially in roof sheets, soffit boards, boiler flues and service panels. The borough had 84,642 occupied households at Census 2021, and the average household size fell to 2.56 usual residents per household. Larger detached homes and older semis often have extensions, garage conversions or replacement roofs, and those later changes are exactly where hidden asbestos can turn up during a survey.

Industrial and civic activity also shapes demand for surveys here. Almac Group, Moy Park and Craigavon Area Hospital all sit within a local economy that has a stronger-than-average manufacturing base and an expanding services sector, which means non-domestic asbestos management is a live issue as well as a domestic one. The wider borough contains 1,052 listed buildings and structures, with 20 properties on the Heritage at Risk Register in the Craigavon Urban Area in 2023-24, 5 of them in Craigavon itself. Older listed or altered buildings need careful planning before intrusive work, because original materials and later refurbishments can both hold asbestos.

• Planned settlement started in 1965
• Borough detached homes at 42.5% in 2022
• Craigavon Urban Area population 72,301 in 2021
• 1,052 listed buildings in the borough

A management survey is the starting point for buildings that will stay in use. Our surveyors carry out a non-intrusive inspection, sample suspect materials and create the information needed to manage asbestos safely over time. In a Craigavon office, school building or retail unit, that means the duty holder knows where ACMs sit before routine maintenance starts. Under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, non-domestic premises need that duty-to-manage approach.

A refurbishment survey is different. It is intrusive by design, because it looks behind surfaces, above ceilings, under floors and inside service zones where asbestos can remain hidden. That survey is required before kitchen replacements, structural alterations, reconfiguration or demolition, and it matters just as much in a 1970s civic building like Marlborough House as it does in a terraced home near the older parts of the borough. Domestic owners do not have a legal duty to survey, but the risk before refurbishment is real, so a pre-work survey is the sensible standard.

Demolition surveys go further still, because they are used where a structure is coming down or a major strip-out will expose every part of the building. Our asbestos surveyors treat those jobs as high risk until the fabric has been opened up and checked. Craigavon has enough homes, offices and public buildings from the asbestos period that a quick visual check is never enough before major work. If the plan involves hidden voids, old service runs or later extensions, the survey needs to match the work, not the other way round.

Our asbestos surveys in Craigavon start from £200, which gives homeowners and landlords a clear entry point for smaller inspections. A straightforward management survey on a compact property will usually sit near that level, while a refurbishment survey costs more because it is more intrusive and often needs more samples. Larger homes, including 4-bedroom detached houses around Craigavon, usually take longer and need more checking points, so the fee rises with the work involved. The price reflects the site visit, sampling and reporting together, not a cut-down inspection.

Several factors move the final cost up or down. Property size, number of rooms, access to lofts and crawl spaces, and the amount of suspected asbestos all affect the time spent on site. A listed building such as Fairview House, or a 1970s civic building like Marlborough House on Central Way, may need extra care because the construction history is more complex. If a property has been extended or altered around the original 1965-1980 structure, our surveyors may need to inspect several layers of work before they can close the report.

Turnaround is usually quick once samples reach the lab. Most results come back in 3-5 working days, and our report then sets out the findings, risk ratings and recommended actions in plain language. For many Craigavon properties, that means the next stage can be planned without delay, whether the job is a small domestic repair or a larger project in the wider Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough. If asbestos is confirmed, the report shows what can stay, what should be encapsulated and what needs licensed removal.