Covering Asbestos Floor Tiles With Carpet

If your floor can be thicker without causing problems install a porcelain floor over the old asbestos.

Covering asbestos floor tiles with carpet.

The old tiles are relatively thin around 1 8 inch. Some types like carpet or hardwood aren t ideal for every space family situation. One of the best ways to deal with asbestos tile is to leave it in place and cover it with new flooring. If the carpet glue is negative for asbestos but floor tile and or mastic are positive conduct a test pull to determine the likelihood of the floor tile remaining intact or being disturbed during the actual carpet removal.

To choose flooring it s best to start by determining what you need. In many cases installing a new floor over the tiles encapsulates the asbestos fibers and is an acceptable way to manage the material. Nothing is abrading the old asbestos containing floor tiles and they re covered by a membrane of one or. Plan and budget for an asbestos abatement to remove the carpet and asbestos flooring materials.

How to choose flooring. In a basement i d suggest a rubber based carpet pad rather than a fiber pad. You have lot of options when it comes to covering asbestos tiles and it only is a health risk when the floors asbestos particles come airborne. If the floor is to be covered with a new layer of flooring such as sheet vinyl or vinyl tiles or even carpet padding and carpeting there is essentially no risk that asbestos particles can move up from the old floor into the occupied space.

However as a favor to future owners of your house make some note of the fact that asbestos tiles are under the new flooring. That said it can be difficult to get a level surface for the new floor especially if the old tiles have chipped away. Armstrong produced the excelon tile series beginning with a plastic asbestos floor tile series in 1954 referring to the product as vinyl plastic asbestos floor tiles beginning in 1955 and vinyl asbestos tiles from 1957 to 1980. Resilient sheet flooring containing asbestos was also produced finding wide use as early as 1968.

Just like tom hd116 stated encapsulation and enclosure is really the best thing a homeowner can get sort of a professional abatement company to remove the tiles. Carpeting and a suitable pad will do the trick. Porcelain floors are extremely versatile and durable with tile sizes up to 24 inches available for a clean modern look with fewer grout lines. Identifying asbestos floor tiles.

You could also cover the tiles with new vinyl flooring linoleum or even ceramic tiles.