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we have been living at our house for 3 yrs . last winter i pulled up the carpet (because it was old and green if that says anything) any way i was delighted to find a beautiful intact well preserved checkerboard tile of some sort. so i took the carpet out to the trash and mopped and was done . i thought the floor was cool 50s . well my brother is a joker 100% . he said "thats probably asbestos",in a non serious way . i was like what ever, you are trying to scare me . well for once in his life he wasnt joking . so i called a removal and did some research . the expert says as long as the tile isnt broken or crumbly its alright for now . in my research i also found that it supposedly isnt as scary as it seems and if you wet it down and seal the room and turn off the vent and ventilate the room you can take it out yourself . has any one done that ? or have experience with dealing with this tile
So how did you know it was asbestos and not vinyl? I have removed both, am at a minute from sixty and am not health impaired. I'm not recommending being a DIY asbestos remover, but do you know for sure what the floor component was asbestos?
I've never had to deal with it, but as the removal expert told you there's no reason to worry as long as it is intact and not crumbling--it's when it breaks and crumbles that the fibers can become airborne and that's when it becomes a problem. I would hire the asbestos removal company to take it out for you if you want to get rid of it--if you take the proper precautions it might be possible to do it yourself, but asbestos causes cancer so personally I wouldn't take the chance on inhaling some when you're removing it or accidentally leaving some bits behind. The experts do the removal all the time so they know exactly what to do to make sure that there's no risk to you or your family. Or else put some other floor covering down over it, that way you don't have to worry about the removal and it's even less likely to ever start to crumble and become a problem if it's underneath something else.
well i cant be 100 % unless its tested . i did call a service and they said by my description it was . but they also want the 800 bucks they quoted me . its hard 9x9 brown speckled checkerboard tile . something told me to look it up today . we are doing some reno ourselves . my dh is pretty handy . we are preparing the kitchen floor and laundry for tile . so i start peeling the 3 layers of vinyl up . i get to this pea green swirly one . and for some reason i thought asbestos . then in my search i find that the upstairs tiles are more likely harmful . i just got done reading the epa guidelines and it says if they are in tact cover them . removal is worse than doing nothing. so now i dont know what to do .
also this house had one owner since 1956 . so everything looks as though it was just built . well it did until we (my kids ) got here . the floor i n question is pretty immaculate except tiny holes where the carpet was stapled down. here and there. i think ill see about putting something to seal it then have a carpet put in . im kind of neurotic about stuff like that and ill be feeling like we are living with poison . a good thing is that the lady who lived here raised 2 boys and she lived here till she was almost 90 . she didnt want to leave either . she drove her car into a house up the street so her kids didnt want her living alone any more.
My experience was accidental. I'd hire a removal company if I knew it's asbestos for sure. I'd also hire someone who can confirm it's an asbestos product. My experience was in removing a floor too. $800 is not a lot to pay for peace of mind. I tossed the green swirley stuff out the kitchen windows of our first house in 1975. I got it up with a paint scrapper and an iron. I'm not recommending this at all, just saying I've lived to tell about it. Good luck.
Laurel
thanks . my mom has removed many a floor . and shes ..(.shhhhh) old . he he just kidding . i defiantly dont want to remove that hard tile myself its down good . its about 600 sq ft of it .if not more .
iris28, Why not share a photo of the tiles with us? I have precisely what you're describing glued to my cement slab floor. I for one do not believe for a split second that the stuff on my floor hass asbestos. I can go the the local Home Depot and buy identical tiles for 66 cents each. If I were the betting type ... I'd bet your floor is nothing more dangerous than vinyl tiles with thread and tar.
they are the really hard kind like if i threw it it would break into a bunch of pieces . i dont have a pic at the moment . ill take one in a bit though
I'm with Claypa on the probable component of old tile. To add here, we have a rental house with central heat and air. What a surprise to discover all the duct tape used to seal the duct joints is asbestos based tape! We called in a heating and air co. and they recommended that we cut and replace the ducting between the tape joints (to avoid contact) and then dispose of it in plastic bags. How irresponsible and unethical, but this is probably done every day.
Laurel
claypa, I agree with you ... the age of the tiles is the determinant. I'm of the opinion that the tiles here on our cement slab foundation / floor are of the same "batch / composition" as the tiles currently sold at Home Depot stores around the world. I am reasonably certain this kind of tile has been made for the last 25 years ... and most definitely without asbestos in the mix. It really depends on the age of the tiles. Our tiles have broken and cracked too ... crumble is a bit too radical of a description but we have them cracking in a few spots and should replace some of them. Kelly
