Covering Asbestos Tile With Laminate

Mastic that is black is also a tell tale sign.

Covering asbestos tile with laminate.

If asbestos tiles are covered with carpeting or a floating floor made of wood bamboo cork linoleum or vinyl along with the appropriate vapor. One of the best ways to deal with asbestos tile is to leave it in place and cover it with new flooring. If the floor is true linoleum damage does not present a danger of asbestos inhalation. While those are the most common asbestos containing floor tiles many other tiles and floor coverings can be positive as well.

Many tiles in older homes do contain asbestos and there is no way to tell just by looking. If the existing floor is in good shape the cheapest easiest solution is to cover it. If you aren t removing the old floor you may be creating a new floor that is too thick for doors to open and shut or for thresholds to have clearance. What most people tend to do with asbestos tile is cover it and forget it partly because professional abatement is so expensive and partly because the risks with tiles in good condition are low.

If possible cover it with another layer of flooring. Many older resilient floors have cracks cuts and other damage. If the tiles in question are crumbling torn drilled sawn or sanded you ll definitely want to consult with a professional who can help gauge risk and offer recommendations for reducing asbestos exposure the epa is among the best resources available to help educate on risks and abatement techniques. So after much reading on asbestos tile and due to my limited budget i ve decided to just cover them with traffic master floating laminate flooring but everyone i ve talked to has said they won t install the flooring with the asbestos tiles.

You want to avoid cutting drilling sanding or doing anything that abrades the old tile. Flooring over asbestos tile hello. One of the biggest factors of installing a new floor over the old is thickness. Laminate flooring or luxury vinyl tiles are two good options because they float on the existing floor and don t need to be glued or nailed.

The most common tiles that are positive are ones that measure 9 x 9. If your tiles are in perfect condition it s true that they could be removed but doing. With any voids filled a glued laminate will prevent any problems with asbestos. In many homes the fiber insulation is painted to encapsulate the asbestos as long as it is left intact and covered to will be safe.

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. You would need to level the floor for laminate. The old tiles are relatively thin around 1 8 inch thick so installing new flooring on top.