Is It Safe To Cut An Asbestos Vinyl Floor

I don t recognize that exact flooring pattern jack and am guessing it s an early 1980s vinyl sheet flooring.

Is it safe to cut an asbestos vinyl floor.

In many cases the best thing to do about vinyl asbestos flooring is put a new layer of flooring on top of it. Stain proof fireproof stylish and affordable vinyl products strengthened through the inclusion asbestos in their manufacture were a very popular choice in many new zealand houses. Asbestos backed sheet vinyl flooring was commonly installed in many ways including over hardwood softwood and concrete floors. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed.

But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable. But when vinyl asbestos flooring is in good condition it is considered nonfriable. To be safe if you can t identify whether the vinyl flooring in your home contains asbestos follow the work practice. It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood.

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. Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with. Is it safe to remove the floor. 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.

Safe demolition of asbestos floor tiles should require you to. That means it is safe to walk on but not safe to scrape sand or use power tools on. 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.

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. What are asbestos floor tiles. The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet. 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.