Lew,
We have attended your seminars several times over the years and read your articles every issue of Floor Covering News. Thank you for your valuable information.
We need information concerning vinyl asbestos tile. Can you answer the following questions for us please?
History…..we bid on a job where the company wants tile removed and new tile put down. We told them we must know if it is asbestos or not before we can go on to the next step. We told them we could go over it but that is not their preference.
Answer: If the existing tile is down tight, with no compromise in the installation or no indication of a moisture issue, then you can go over the exiting tile which would be the easiest and least troublesome route to take. If the tile is on or above grade however you must assume there is some moisture present and covering the tile with a new tile can cause a complete failure unless you use an installation system such as EnviroStix which won’t be affected by moisture.
Is there some place that we can print out info to back us up, on what year we must assume that a 12 X 12 tile had asbestos in it?
Answer: If you Google Vinyl asbestos tile removal there is a lot of very good information available. Vinyl Asbestos Tiles (VAT) were produced as late as 1980 in 12×12 sizes. VAT was popular from about 1940 to 1980 and some even later than that.
Can you tell us about disposing of questionable tile? (Questionable here, meaning if we don’t know for sure that it contains asbestos.)
Answer: First you must definitely know if the tile is VAT or not. If it has to be removed and disposed of it will have to be done by experts who actually are licensed to do this type of work and its expensive and an involved undertaking.
If we went over the existing tile, there are places where there are corners peaking…………what would be the safest way to handle that?
Answer: If corners are peaked you could carefully break them off, patch the space and install over the tile. If there is black adhesive beneath the tiles, which is known as cut back, it too could contain asbestos. It would be best to hire an expert familiar with VAT to inspect the material and installation so they can advise you. This would be for your benefit and the end users. This is something you don’t want to fool around with and get wrong because the consequences can put you out of business. As the saying goes; “better safe than sorry.”
Also, in some of the areas, there is glue down carpet over the existing tile………that would have to be taken up and the glue scraped off of the existing tile underneath the carpet.
Answer: This is true. Glued down carpet can be removed, the old adhesive holding it down scraped up and a new carpet with a high quality adhesive used to install it. Since carpet with a woven backing is permeable it will allow any moisture vapor emission to pass through the carpet without consequence. If it was down tight before it should be able to be that way again. New adhesives are available that are much better than in the past.
Vinyl Asbestos Tile is not something you should get involved with unless you take the necessary precautions and call in an expert to give you advice. Not doing anything can get you into trouble you’d rather have no part of and it can jeopardize your business. The answers here are brief because of space constraints. If you need help or have questions on any flooring or substrate issue, contact us, we can help and we’ll get you answers.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts