Vinyl Tile Flooring Asbestos

Tiles that are disintegrating should be.

Vinyl tile flooring asbestos.

Unlike many asbestos containing materials vinyl asbestos flooring is generally safe to be around. 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. Asbestos was used in vinyl wallpaper from the 1920s and in the vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring that rose to prominence in the 1950s. Vinyl tile is an excellent option for sealing in asbestos tiles.

One of the biggest factors of installing a new floor over the old is thickness. Vinyl tiles with asbestos are all 12 12 or 9 9 tiles with asbestos. What are asbestos floor tiles. 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.

Whether your tiles are 12 12 9 9 or any other size they are all equally likely to contain asbestos. But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable. Vinyl floor tiles can self adhere to asbestos. Vinyl is a type of plastic that has long been a popular material for floor tiles and sheets.

Above we show a 9 x 9 cork patterned vinyl asbestos floor tile found in a 1960 s ranch style home in new york. You can assume this floor tile contains asbestos. If you aren t removing the old floor you may be creating a new floor that is too thick for doors to open and shut or for thresholds to have clearance. For about 35 years flooring companies included asbestos when they manufactured the vinyl tiles.

Asbestos vinyl flooring was a durable and economical material that offered many aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. New vinyl laminate flooring hardwood engineered. Asbestos found in the vinyl floor tiles at the toh tv project house means a state licensed and well protected abatement crew must do the removal. Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with.

Examine the condition of the 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. But that changes as soon as you decide to remove it. 9 9 vinyl tile and mastic.

Photo by russell kaye i m told that the old vinyl floor tiles in the basement of our 1950 house contain asbestos and that i should not try to remove the tiles but cover them with wall to wall. Manufacturers have been using asbestos for decades so asbestos containing tiles come in a vast array of colours styles and sizes. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed.