In the 1970s I did a lot of painting and repair work on houses that had been resided with the cement shingles referred to as asbestos siding. The material held paint exceptionally well and seemed like it would last forever, but because it was brittle, it cracked and shattered easily. Because the material had been discontinued, my partner and I always kept our eyes open for extra shingles stashed in basements and garages. Often, we had to remove good pieces from the back of the building to replace broken pieces in front. Fiber-Cement Update This earlier type of fiber-cement siding fell out of favor because it was full of asbestos, hard
