Covering Asbestos Floor Tiles Uk
Chrysotile asbestos was widely used both in small powder particle form as a filler and in longer fibrous form as a strength reinforcement in both asphalt and.
Covering asbestos floor tiles uk. Chrysotile white asbestos was the predominant form of asbestos used in uk floor tiles with less common use of tremolite and actinolite in uk asphalt asbestos or vinyl asbestos flooring. Peel and stick adhesive vinyl tiles are particularly good when the floor is already fairly thick because they require no additional layer of adhesive to work. Vinyl tile can be adhered directly to asbestos tiles that are not loose or peeling and many vinyl tiles are thin enough that they will only slightly raise the height of the floor. Unlike many asbestos containing materials vinyl asbestos flooring is generally safe to be around.
You could also cover the tiles with new vinyl flooring linoleum or even ceramic tiles. Asbestos floor tiles were manufactured in three sizes. Resilient sheet flooring containing asbestos was also produced finding wide use as early as 1968. That way no one will be endangered years from now when they start to rip up the new flooring and find asbestos tiles beneath.
Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with. However as a favor to future owners of your house make some note of the fact that asbestos tiles are under the new flooring. Tiles that are disintegrating should be. On no account should you remove asbestos tiles yourself if you wish to remove asbestos cement glue from the bottom of the floor tile it s safer to use licensed asbestos removal team in your local area to prevent serious consequences arising should you breathe in the deadly material.
9 x9 12 x12 and 18 x18. But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable. The old tiles are relatively thin around 1 8 inch. Identifying asbestos floor tiles.
For about 35 years flooring companies included asbestos when they manufactured the vinyl tiles. Examine the condition of the tiles. One of the best ways to deal with asbestos tile is to leave it in place and cover it with new flooring. Armstrong produced the excelon tile series beginning with a plastic asbestos floor tile series in 1954 referring to the product as vinyl plastic asbestos floor tiles beginning in 1955 and vinyl asbestos tiles from 1957 to 1980.
Intact asbestos tiles are not a major risk and can in fact be left in place and covered with other materials such as carpet vinyl linoleum or concrete. But that changes as soon as you decide to remove it.