Asbestos Insulation Board (AIB) Removal

Where you'll find it

Typically found in ceilings, partition walls, soffits, fire breaks, boiler cupboards and lift shafts, most commonly in schools, offices, social housing, hospitals and 1950s to 1980s commercial buildings. If your property fits that description and the material is undisturbed, don't panic, and don't drill, sand or break it. Send us a photo and we'll tell you what you're looking at, free.

How removal works

This is licensed work. Every job starts with sampling and a fixed written quote within 24 hours. Removal is carried out with the controls the law requires for this material, waste leaves site with consignment notes, and the area is handed back with the right certification for your records, whether that's a homeowner's document pack or a four-stage clearance certificate.

What it costs

Typical UK guide range: £100 to £300 per m², including disposal and paperwork. Access, quantity and condition move the number, our cost guide and calculator covers the detail, and once we quote, the price is fixed. Figures are industry guide rates, not Innov8 Group prices, we're typically cheaper. Contact us for an official quotation.

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Think you've found it?

Send a photo for free identification and a fixed quote within 24 hours.

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Projects on this material

AIB bathroom ceiling, Preston →

200m² AIB ceiling, St Patrick’s Club →

Licensed AIB removal, Doncaster →

All projects →

Where AIB hides

AIB was the fireproof workhorse of British construction from the 1950s to the mid-1980s: ceiling tiles and panels, partition walls, soffits outside, fire door cores, boiler cupboard linings, packing pieces under sills, and the walls of service risers in flats and offices. Painted over, it looks like any flat board — which is exactly why it catches out electricians, plumbers and DIYers drilling what they think is plasterboard.

Why AIB is high-risk — and licensed

Unlike cement, AIB is soft and low-density with a much higher asbestos content — often amosite (brown asbestos). Drilling, breaking or unscrewing it releases fibre readily, which is why almost all AIB work is licensed asbestos removal: a sealed enclosure under negative pressure, 14-day HSE notification, trained operatives in RPE, and independent four-stage clearance with air testing before the area is handed back. Budget guidance sits around £100–£300/m² — materially more than cement work, because of everything that surrounds the removal itself.

AIB or asbestos cement? The confusion that catches people out

The two get mistaken constantly, and the law treats them completely differently. Cement is hard, dense, brittle — tap it and it rings; fibres are locked in tight, and removal is usually non-licensed. AIB is softer — more like dense cardboard when cut — and releases fibre at a fraction of the provocation. You cannot reliably tell them apart by eye: a £125 sample test settles it before anyone commits to the wrong (and possibly illegal) removal route. We remove AIB under full licence across the North West — Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool.

What a licensed AIB removal looks like

The area is sheeted into a sealed enclosure with an airlock and negative-pressure unit, smoke-tested before work starts. Operatives in RPE remove boards whole wherever possible — unscrewing, not smashing — wrapping each piece as it comes down. Waste leaves through the airlock, double-wrapped and consigned. Then the part clients don’t see coming: a completely independent UKAS-accredited analyst runs the four-stage clearance — visual inspection inside the enclosure, air testing, then dismantling checks — before issuing the certificate of reoccupation. Nobody re-enters the space until that certificate exists.

If you think you’ve found AIB

Stop work in that area and don’t investigate further — no drilling a corner off, no snapping a piece to look at the edge. Photograph it, keep people away if it’s damaged, and get it sampled. If it’s already been broken — a puncture during DIY, a smashed panel in a void — keep the room closed and unventilated to other rooms and call us: assessment, air testing and environmental cleaning are routine work, and acting quickly keeps a small incident small.

AIB turns up domestically more than people expect: garage ceilings (the single most common find), integral garage walls, under-stairs cupboards and porch linings. If a house project touches any of these in a pre-1985 home, budget for a test first — and if it is AIB, factor the licence process into the timetable: the 14-day HSE notification is a legal clock that can’t be shortcut. Fixed quote in 24 hours on 0333 335 6375.

Found suspect board mid-job? Stop, seal, test

Most AIB discoveries happen mid-refurbishment: a ceiling comes down, a cupboard is stripped, and a soft grey board nobody expected appears. The right response is simple — stop work in that area, close the door, and get a sample tested before anyone touches it again. If it is AIB, we quote for licensed removal with the enclosure, notification and independent clearance built in; if the area has already been disturbed, we can also quote the environmental clean. What you should never do is let the job "carry on carefully" — a broken AIB board spreads fibres through a whole property, and the decontamination costs far more than the pause. Budget guidance is in our cost guide.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Common questions

What does asbestos insulation board look like?

Like ordinary board — that’s the problem. It was used everywhere from the 1950s to mid-1980s and can’t be identified by eye; only a test confirms it.

Is AIB dangerous?

It’s one of the higher-risk materials: it’s soft, and drilling, breaking or removing it releases fibres readily. Never work on suspected AIB yourself.

Does AIB removal need a licensed contractor?

Yes — most AIB work is licensed asbestos removal, requiring enclosures, HSE notification and independent clearance. We hold a full HSE licence.

What’s the difference between AIB and asbestos cement?

Cement is hard and dense with fibres locked in; AIB is softer with a much higher asbestos content and releases fibres far more easily — which is why the law treats them so differently.

REVIEWS

Rated 5.0 by our customers

★★★★★Google reviews

REVIEW SUMMARY

Based on 26 reviews

Innov8 Group provides exceptional asbestos services marked by responsive communication and professionalism. Customers praise their swift scheduling and affordable pricing.

James Hough

1 year ago

★★★★★ ✔

Called Innov8, spoke to Lee on the phone, next day removal of my floor tiles, now I'm asbestos free. Couldn't recommend a better firm.

Paul Smith

8 months ago

★★★★★ ✔

I had an asbestos ceiling removed from my kitchen, and the team at Innov8 Group were absolutely amazing from start to finish.

Daniel Evans

1 year ago

★★★★★ ✔

The team were fantastic help when we were buying a house with suspected asbestos. They reviewed the property before purchase.

HSE-licensed asbestos removal and environmental contractor. Surveys, removal, demolition, remediation and hazardous waste — one team, one responsibility. North West based, working UK-wide.