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stangn99_gw

Asbestos tiles (multiple layers), black mastic Q's

stangn99
10 years ago

Hi all,
We recently purchased our first home with intentions of doing some renos to turn the basement into income property.

upon removal of carpet, I noticed some old vinyl tiles...3 layers in total, with the first layer being the newest.

I got curious and had an inspection report done (lab and all), and as it turns out, the 2nd and 3rd later tiles do contain chrysotile asbestos 5-10%, and the black mastic all the way on the bottom (sitting on concrete) also contains 10% chrysotile asbestos.

I just got off the phone with a professional asbestos tile removal company, and we're looking at around $2000 or more to remove all tiles in our basement. The house is about 1100-1200 sqft, and 85% of the basement has these tiles. The company will not remove the black stuff as they say it will actually do more harm to remove it. He said I could tile/floor over top of it safely.

I've been thinking of ways to avoid the $2000 hit (because we simply don't have the money on hand), and thought of pouring levelling concrete over the vinyl tiles - to level out the basement floor at the same time as covering the vinyl tiles.

I read up on this and while it is possible, it's apparently not recommended and a solution.

After googling for a few days, i decided to finally join this forum and ask.

Do we have any other option around this? without having to pay $2000? We'll spend the money if it means its the best option health-wise, but would like to know if there is a more affordable alternative.

Thanks!

Comments (4)

  • _sophiewheeler
    10 years ago

    Put carpet back down.

  • stangn99
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Is there a more elegant solution?

    We ripped out the carpet in hopes to lay some nice, light coloured laminate. We really want it to look and feel spacious. Carpet is also prone to getting dirty and generally harder to maintain.

    The more I research, the more I feel like our best option is to pay the $2000 - even though (from what i've read) the chrysotile asbestos isn't really as bad as other types.

  • glennsfc
    10 years ago

    1. You can leave it alone...it's not going to hurt you. It won't be any kind of a hazard unless it's pulverized.

    2. In some jurisdictions and circumstances removal of asbestos-containing floor tile is not an asbestos removal job and requires no permits or special disposal requirements. Check with your state and municipality, but remember federal regulations always trump state and local ones.

    3.The price you got for removal and disposal is a good one. For about $2 per square foot the stuff will be up and out of your house and you won't have had to lift a finger.

    4. As a homeowner you can remove the stuff yourself and you won't be violating regulations...read them. Disposal of the trash is a different question however, and that is why you would have to discover the sanitation regulations and requirements for your jurisdiction.

    Good luck.

  • weedyacres
    10 years ago

    If your intent is to put laminate down, can't you just put it down directly over the existing tile? Why do you need to remove it?

    BTW, if you use the search function on this forum, type in "asbestos" you'll see a few threads explaining how you can DIY remove them. You could also steam off the adhesive instead of sanding, thus avoid the pulverization that makes it dangerous.