Is It Safe To Cut An Asbestos Vinyl Floor

To be safe if you can t identify whether the vinyl flooring in your home contains asbestos follow the work practice.

Is it safe to cut an asbestos vinyl floor. What are asbestos floor tiles. Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with. 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 backed sheet vinyl flooring was commonly installed in many ways including over hardwood softwood and concrete floors.

Safe demolition of asbestos floor tiles should require you to. 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. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed. While asbestos is useful as a binding agent in the manufacture of vinyl and rubber floor coverings it isn t needed to make linoleum tiles or sheet flooring.

Wear a respirator mask goggles that form a seal around your eyes a hat and old clothing you will dispose of when the job is done. For about 35 years flooring companies included asbestos when they manufactured the vinyl tiles. But when vinyl asbestos flooring is in good condition it is considered nonfriable. Vinyl floor tiles or sheet flooring were made or installed before 1986 should be treated as a floor covering presumed to contain asbestos or else have a sample tested and report the results here please.

In many cases the best thing to do about vinyl asbestos flooring is put a new layer of flooring on top of it. Asbestos was also found in the adhesives used to secure the flooring. 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. Is it safe to remove the floor.

However you re not completely in the clear because asbestos was a common ingredient in the mastic used to hold these flooring materials to the subfloor. It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood. 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. The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet.