Possible Asbestos Tile

rservices

I have an old home 110 yr +/-
I'm not exactly sure but the vinyl floor in the dinning room mite have Asbestos, I know I should have it tested but I not going to, it wouldnt change the fact that it has to go.
theres a wonderfull hardwood floor under it.
I plan on wearing a dust mask, and protective clothing,

Heres the question.
It apperars to be layed on tar-paper seams to thick for it to be glue, I've removed a small section, most comes up in small sections.
for the stuff that dosent come up easy, or sticks to the floor. what can I put on it to loosen it. I dont want to gouge up the floor, or make sanding more work than it needs to be
.
thanks

dkillianjr

Are they individual tiles or is it a sheet? I've heard that most of the 9"x9" tiles are asbestos.

Dave

rservices

Thisis a single sheet. no Idea how old, exect that the pattern is old and ugly, the floor below is maple I think.

mdshunk

Are you frikkin nuts?? Mesthelioma is nothing to screw around with. I so sad to hear this from a contractor.

Teetorbilt

There is a good article on just this thing in the new TOH mag. You can pick up a copy cheap or try their site. As I remember, there is not a great amount of risk with the tiles. I'd still be careful and different states have different laws as to disposal.

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Super

If you insist on taking up the tiles use a heat gun and 8" putty-knife.
This will end up causing some vapors. You should get a CHARCOAL mask and wear some sort of eye protection because you eyes absorb alot of whats in the air.

Shanklesbuilder

I actually just read about this last week. Some of asbestos tiles were 9x9 but many were not. I found out that they made 12x12 asbestos tiles till 1980. The fibers are the really dangerous b/c they are so small and they get in your lungs. Your lungs try to filter them out and this causes scaring in the lungs making it harder and harder to breeth. The scarring also many times leads to cancer. So yea as long as you dont get the fibers in the air you will be ok. The asbestos is not cancerous but what it does in your lungs can lead to cancer. Be safe and check local laws.

Brushslingers

Your ok. The black gunk that holds it down can be scraped and sanded, but the sheet flooring isn't abestos.

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Benn