Removing Old Vinyl Floor Tiles Asbestos

Intact asbestos tiles are not a major risk and can in fact be left in place and covered with other materials such as carpet vinyl linoleum or concrete.

Removing old vinyl floor tiles asbestos.

Asbestos in floor tiles. An example would be old asbestos pipe insulation. A majority of the vinyl. Nonfriable materials are durable.

When you remove that floor covering to make way for new flooring you may encounter the mastic and wonder whether it is safe to remove the main concern surrounding this question is that black mastic often contains asbestos. New vinyl laminate flooring hardwood engineered. Armstrong produced the excelon tile series beginning with a plastic asbestos floor tile series in 1954 referring to the product as vinyl plastic asbestos floor tiles beginning in 1955 and vinyl asbestos tiles from 1957 to 1980. Asbestos removal is a hazardous process best undertaken only by a qualified professional.

After uncovering potentially asbestos vinyl tiles under old carpeting we researched our options and this is how we. Vinyl tiles with asbestos are all 12 12 or 9 9 tiles with asbestos. An example would be a floor slab made from asbestos cement. Common in homes built in the 20th century black mastic was used as an adhesive for ceramic tile linoleum and other flooring materials.

Removing old vinyl flooring techniques. What are asbestos floor tiles. But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable. Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with.

When vinyl asbestos flooring is crumbling or damaged it is considered friable. In floor tiles asbestos is used primarily for its insulation properties and its ability to resist fire. Asbestos floor tiles were manufactured in three sizes. If you are removing the original vinyl floor from a home prior to 1980 you will need to locate a licensed asbestos abatement contractor to test your floor.

Tiles that are disintegrating should be. In addition to the tiles themselves a layer of mastic a type of adhesive below the tiles is also likely to contain asbestos. Prior to the 1980s asbestos vinyl sheet flooring was very popular in homes. Examine the condition of the tiles.

For about 35 years flooring companies included asbestos when they manufactured the vinyl tiles. Resilient sheet flooring containing asbestos was also produced finding wide use as early as 1968. These products keep asbestos fibers safely contained as long as the materials are not damaged. The old tiles are relatively thin around 1 8 inch thick so installing new flooring on top will not appreciably raise the height of the floor.