Another asbestos product that was extremely popular for many decades was the asbestos cement siding shingle. In appearance, they imitated regular wood shingles and came usually in a standardized size of 12x24 inches. There was not a huge selection of colors available, most commonly we saw gray-green, gray-pink and Dover White variations installed. However, they could vary in texture. Choices of wood-grained, grooved or smooth were available to customers. In order to make the installation process easier, the asbestos cement shingles were pre-drilled. The installation was done from the bottom up.
Alternatively to the shingles, large asbestos cement sheets were available and came in a standard size of 12 by 4 feet. Those flat sheets were typically used for industrial constructions. Later on, sheets were made with all different kind of surfaces, e. g. waxed or lacquered, and offered in a broad variety of colors for kitchen walls, tabletops, building corridors and acoustical panels. Especially in locations where the ease of cleaning was an important consideration, those sheets were often the preferred choice. Another frequently installed material for interior floor lining was the so called embossed asbestos cement sheet, which had a pattern that could be painted and therefore resembled the look of plaster, at a lower cost. Further to that, the smooth surfaced sheet in a wood-grain appearance was made available to customers, who appreciated the large variety in color and appearance, as some sheets were glazed and therefore just looking smoother and more elegant. You might have heard of Transitop. This composition board consisted of an insulating board core, covered on both sides with a thin asbestos cement board.
This made the sheet not only waterproof and but also structurally very strong with great insulation characteristics, and it was also practically maintenance free.
Since the asbestos cement corrugated sheets were manufactured, the enclosure of large buildings and industrial structures such as warehouses and train sheds became much more economical and effective. As we experienced a construction boom in the 1940s, more variations in shape and color became available. Therefore, the corrugated asbestos cement sheet found even wider use and we started to see the material being used more frequently for decoration purposes. Interestingly enough, the use of asbestos cement products in the United States continued to rise for many years until it reached its peak in popularity. And only in 1973, the success story came to a sudden death when the EPA declared an initial ban on the use of asbestos containing materials. Asbestos cement products are still being produced in a number of other countries, but now they are labeled as hazardous material. The notion of the miracle mineral had found an unexpected and abrupt end.