Kitchen Vinyl Flooring Asbestos

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.

Kitchen vinyl flooring asbestos.

Prior to the 1980s asbestos vinyl sheet flooring was very popular in homes. 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. The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet vinyl only if.

For about 35 years flooring companies included asbestos when they manufactured the vinyl tiles. In many cases the best thing to do about vinyl asbestos flooring is put a new layer of flooring on top of it. Even some of the early peel and stick tiles used asbestos as the main ingredient. That means it is safe to walk on but not safe to scrape sand or use power tools on.

What are asbestos floor tiles. 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 floor tiles were manufactured in three sizes. But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable.

It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood. A majority of the vinyl flooring made before 1986 contained asbestos in the tiles or in the backing materials. 9 x9 12 x12 and 18 x18. Asbestos vinyl flooring was a durable and economical material that offered many aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste.

Examine the condition of the tiles. Tiles that are disintegrating should be. 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. But when vinyl asbestos flooring is in good condition it is considered nonfriable.

You could also seal it with a coat of epoxy floor paint. Asbestos removal is a hazardous process best undertaken only by a qualified professional. 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. 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.