Old floor with VAT - Asbestos Tile

dag

Looking for any advice - My 1970 home has Vinyl Asbestos Tiles on the main floor slab and upstairs on the plywood sub-floor (I do not know why this was done). I would like hardwood floors.

I know floating hardwood could work - how do they hold up along the seams? Are the seams visible? I am a little worried about the product duribility.

If I went with a nail down upstairs, could I nail through the Tiles? Do you think they would break and cause problems down the line?

Main floor - could I glue over the tiles? Or do they need to be removed?

Thanks for any advice.

billinak

My experience with this is that the are VERY hard to remove completely. They crack, split, and more often than not the glue stays on the floor and the tile comes up in pieces, leaving a bigger mess than when you started. I just put laminate right over them and it worked fine. I'm not sure about hardwood, but I don't see why it wouldn't work fine also.

MD_Tile

if you nail down hardwwod over the tiles, they could loosen and/or break up leaving voids which in turn could cause your floor to develop squeaking over time. Many floors have been installed over old va tile to encapsulate and have been done so successfully but many have been unsuccessfull as well. its a hit or miss situation that could simply be avoided by removing the old tiles.
Good Luck in whatever decision you make.