Asbestos Floor Tiles And Children

This article describes sheet flooring products known to contain significant levels of asbestos.

Asbestos floor tiles and children. Take care to choose a tile whose thickness is not going to create a problem and choose a tile that is rated for floor use. That way no one will be endangered years from now when they start to rip up the new flooring and find asbestos tiles beneath. Vinyl is a type of plastic that has long been a popular material for floor tiles and sheets. Unlike many asbestos containing materials vinyl asbestos flooring is generally safe to be around.

Asbestos in floor tiles in floor tiles asbestos is used primarily for its insulation properties and its ability to resist fire. In addition to the tiles themselves a layer of mastic a type of adhesive below the tiles is also likely to contain asbestos. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed. 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. If materials such as insulation tiling and flooring are in good condition and out of the reach of children there is no need to worry. The asbestos floor tile identification articles in this series illustrate that with the combination of design appearance and an idea of floor tile age many asbestos containing floor tiles or sheet flooring products can be reliably identified even before confirmation by a test by a certified asbestos testing laboratory. Vinyl tiles with asbestos.

Asbestos floor tiles will not release toxic fibers and pose a health risk unless they are disturbed. Use a portland cement based adhesive to adhere the new tiles to the old. You can tile directly over asbestos with new tile including ceramic tile. However if materials containing asbestos are deteriorating or if you are planning renovations and the materials will be disturbed it is best to find out whether the materials contain asbestos before renovations begin and if necessary have the materials properly removed.

Sanding sawing drilling or tearing the tiles out however can release fibers into the air. We also include photographs for identification of known asbestos containing resilient sheet flooring as well as unknown flooring submitted for identification. When encased in floor tiles that are in good condition asbestos is not in a friable state and can t become airborne but that isn t true if the tiles are cracked or damaged. You could also cover the tiles with new vinyl flooring linoleum or even ceramic tiles.

However as a favor to future owners of your house make some note of the fact that asbestos tiles are under the new flooring.