Living With Asbestos Floor Tiles

Vinyl is a type of plastic that has long been a popular material for floor tiles and sheets.

Living with asbestos floor tiles.

Like floor tiles vinyl sheet flooring is a long lasting and economical material and it also offers more aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. Examine the condition of the tiles. Asbestos was a popular material for most of the twentieth century mainly because of its ability to insulate and act as a fire retardant. The asbestos floor tile identification articles in this series illustrate that with the combination of design appearance and an idea of floor tile age many asbestos containing floor tiles or sheet flooring products can be reliably identified even before confirmation by a test by a certified asbestos testing laboratory.

Unlike many asbestos containing materials vinyl asbestos flooring is generally safe to be around. But that changes as soon as you decide to remove it. This type of adhesive was asphalt based and most likely contains asbestos whether or not the tiles themselves contain 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.

On no account should you remove asbestos tiles yourself if you wish to remove asbestos cement glue from the bottom of the floor tile it s safer to use licensed asbestos removal team in your local area to prevent serious consequences arising should you breathe in the deadly material. That way no one will be endangered years from now when they start to rip up the new flooring and find asbestos tiles beneath. In floor tiles asbestos is used primarily for its insulation properties and its ability to resist fire. Peel and stick adhesive vinyl tiles are particularly good when the floor is already fairly thick because they require no additional layer of adhesive to work.

Vinyl tiles with asbestos are all 12 12 or 9 9 tiles with asbestos. The best way to deal with asbestos floor tiles is to use a licensed asbestos removal contractor. Vinyl tile can be adhered directly to asbestos tiles that are not loose or peeling and many vinyl tiles are thin enough that they will only slightly raise the height of the floor. Living with asbestos tile.

However as a favor to future owners of your house make some note of the fact that asbestos tiles are under the new flooring. Asbestos floor tiles were manufactured in three sizes. Asbestos in floor tiles. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed.

9 x9 12 x12 and 18 x18. You could also cover the tiles with new vinyl flooring linoleum or even ceramic tiles. In fact it s still used heavily in some parts of the world such as india and china.