Vinyl Flooring Over Asbestos

In many cases installing a new floor over the tiles encapsulates the asbestos fibers and is an acceptable way to manage the material.

Vinyl flooring over 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. That means it is safe to walk on but not safe to scrape sand or use power tools on. Our photo left shows armstrong excelon 12x12 vinyl asbestos flooring made in 1972 identified in our floor tile photo guide asbestos floor tile identification photos 1949 1959 detailed photo guide to asphalt asbestos and vinyl asbestos floor tiles and resilient flooring produced in 1900 1980. What are asbestos floor tiles.

You could also seal it with a coat of epoxy floor paint. That said it can be difficult to get a level surface for the new floor especially if the old tiles have chipped away. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed. Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with.

But when vinyl asbestos flooring is in good condition it is considered nonfriable. In many cases the best thing to do about vinyl asbestos flooring is put a new layer of flooring on top of it. 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. 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 the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable. For about 35 years flooring companies included asbestos when they manufactured the vinyl tiles. So after much reading on asbestos tile and due to my limited budget i ve decided to just cover them with traffic master floating laminate flooring but everyone i ve talked to has said they won t install the flooring with the asbestos tiles. 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.

One of the biggest factors of installing a new floor over the old is thickness. 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. Asbestos vinyl flooring was a durable and economical material that offered many aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste.

Over time asphalt which was a main ingredient in asbestos tiles can degrade and cause the tiles to look grimy or discolored in spots.