Asbestos insulating board, almost always written AIB, is the material that decides whether a job is ordinary or licensable. It is a soft, low density board used as ceiling and wall lining, as fire protection around structure, in service risers and behind heaters. Because it is soft it gives up fibres readily, and because it gives up fibres readily most work on it may only be done by a contractor HSE has licensed.
What AIB looks like and what it is not
AIB is a light, fibrous board that can usually be marked with a fingernail, unlike asbestos cement, which is hard, dense and brittle. That is a useful distinction and not a reliable one: the two were used in similar places and painted the same colour. The difference matters so much that it is decided by analysis rather than by eye, and every price after that depends on the answer.
Why the work is licensable
Licensable work may only be done by a contractor holding a licence from HSE's Asbestos Licensing Unit, has to be notified to the enforcing authority before it starts, is carried out inside a sealed enclosure under negative pressure, and ends with a four stage clearance by an independent accredited analyst. Each of those is a real cost and a real protection, and together they are why AIB removal is a different price from cement sheet removal.
Where it is found
Ceiling and wall linings, soffits and eaves, panels around and beneath windows, boxing to columns and beams, fire breaks in ceiling voids, panels behind electric heaters and inside airing cupboards, and lift shaft linings. In a building of the right age, AIB is the material most likely to be met unexpectedly during a strip out.
Managing it instead
AIB in good condition, undisturbed and sealed, is frequently managed rather than removed. It goes in the register, it gets a risk assessment and a re-inspection interval, and anyone working nearby is told where it is. Removal becomes the answer when the board is damaged or when the work planned around it cannot avoid it.
Questions people ask about asbestos insulating board
What is AIB?
Asbestos insulating board, a soft low density board used for linings, fire protection and panelling, and the most common licensable material in ordinary buildings.
Is all AIB work licensable?
Most of it is. A very small number of short duration tasks fall into notifiable non-licensed work, which HSE defines narrowly; the safe assumption is licensable until a competent contractor argues otherwise on the record.
How do I tell AIB from asbestos cement?
Density and hardness are the trade's rule of thumb, but the two were used in the same places and only analysis settles it. Since the answer decides who may legally do the work, it is worth the sample.