tile dilemma
We plan to run gray VCT (like this) throughout our home. No problem in the carpeted bedrooms, where the concrete slab is easily exposed. Also straightforward in the living area, where we can remove or lay over existing beige VCT (pictured). Only real problem is the office.
This is carpeted, but beneath is some old, presumably asbestos-laden, tile. It’s almost identical height to the adjacent VCT, so we’re leaning towards avoiding a world of pain and laying over both surfaces. One problem –we’d need to manage a transition to slab height elsewhere.
The alternative is an asbestos test, likely followed by costly removal of this tile, plus the living area VCT. We’d have a flat surface to work with, eventually, but would the cost/hassle be worth it? My heart (and OCD) says strip it out, no matter the cost. My head (and Karen) says it’s not worth it.
Edit: we uncovered more of this flooring and realized it’s linoleum. There may still be asbestos in the adhesive, so we’ll likely play it safe and install right over it.
Olivia
If you want to do it yourselves, removing asbestos tile safely is not that difficult and the room seems small enough to be manageable. In our last home (we have renters in it now) we removed asbestos tile in the basement after the water heater burst. Well, my husband did. He did some research on appropriate methods, donned a hazmat suit and a respirator, and went to town making sure to keep the tiles/mastic wet and well contained during and after removal. That space was easily cordoned off from the rest of the house though — not in the middle of the house like yours seems to be. That said, I can definitely see the benefits of hiring it out too (we’ve been leaning more and more that way recently). Good luck with whatever you decide!
fogmodern
Thanks for the info Olivia! Hadn’t considered DIY asbestos removal, but encouraged that you had success –though a burst water heater doesn’t sound like much fun! The room is fairly small (16×14′) so I’m sure we could manage it. My concern is releasing particles into the air. Working from home, we spend a lot of time in this room. It also has no internal door (just an opening to the living area and sliders to the patio) so not easily cordoned-off. We don’t know for sure whether it’s asbestos tile, but it looks pre-1980 to me, so it likely is. Our other concern goes beyond safety, to practicality. We could spend a LOT of time removing this tile and the other VCT, and all the adhesive, when we currently have a perfectly flat surface to lay over. Doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. We will continue to ponder…
Zann
I’d lay VCT right over it. We had 2 rooms in our old house with asbestos tile, and I personally worked the electric drill that drove the screws into the hardibacker board over the asbestos tile, which in a 1920 house was abso-positively asbestos! I haven’t died of anything yet 🙂 Just my two cents as a counterpoint to Olivia, who is probably much more handy than we are!
fogmodern
Thanks for your input Zann! I’m sure you’ll be okay having drilled into it. The worry in scraping it all up is disturbing both the tile and the adhesive. Obviously we wouldn’t do that without getting it tested first. Hmmm. We’ll see.
Lucas Valley Scott
When we bought our house from the original owner, I suspected that we may have asbestos tile (12 x 12 linoleum like tiles), much like the ones in your picture. There was no mention in the disclosures, but I had my realtor pull up the carpet at one corner, and voila, there they were. We have little kids with tender lungs and couldn’t really consider DIY. We had them professionally removed, complete with negative pressure sealed room. For the living dining room maybe 600 sq feet, it was about $1,500. Not nearly as bad as I would have thought, and certainly worth the piece of mind.
fogmodern
Thanks for the info Scott –I agree, that’s much less than I’d expect. That said, our current thinking is to just lay VCT over these tiles and seal everything in. The level is almost the same as the beige VCT in our living space, so there won’t be a noticeable transition. Thanks for stopping by.
Lucas Valley Scott
If anyone is interested, these are the guys we used for asbestos abatement : http://cvalleyenvironmental.com/
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