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removing old basement tiles, no vis glue holding down??

9K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  Nestor_Kelebay 
#1 ·
Hi all, I just registered but have been searching this site many times and it has helped me with many answers.

I have a 1958 ranch home. In the basement there are tiles, the ones along the edges where some moisture is due to bad downspouts, just pop right off. Some of the others im using a paint scraper to just pry em off. There breaking, into 5 or 10 little pieces, not crumbling into dust.

Anyways, you think these are asbestos?

It doesnt seem like they are glued down, could they be self stick? Underneath the floor is red which I think looks like just basement floor paint.

I dont see any black glue or whatever. Its not even sticky where im taking it up. Could these be somewhat newer self stick tiles without asbestos?

Ill see if I can get a pic posted. But just wondering if I can safely take these out, or just take out the loose ones and fill in with new selfstick tiles before using carpet tile.

Love the site!! plan to frequent here quite a bit now on!
 
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#3 ·
what if there is some still crumbling up into chunks, not dust. when i slide the scraper under some will just pop then crack into a 1-2 sq INCH piece. as i said i dont see any glue, its like they are self stick....did they make self stick asbestos tiles?
 
#6 ·
No need to spend money renting anything.

I have a 1958 ranch home. In the basement there are tiles, the ones along the edges where some moisture is due to bad downspouts, just pop right off. Some of the others im using a paint scraper to just pry em off. There breaking, into 5 or 10 little pieces, not crumbling into dust.
Looks like regular old fashion VAT tile that the wrong adhesive was used to originally install. Peel them up and be done with it. The crumbles don't mean anything. As long as the tiles are coming up non-friable your OK.:yes:
 
#7 ·
so when im hacking at em with paint scraper to pop them loose, should be ok?

my original plan was to take off the bad ones and retrofit new tile in the even floor than do the carpet tile over the top, but if i can safely take it down to all concrete and then clean it with some tsp and just lay the carpet tile right on the slab ill just do that then and get the old tile out of there all together.


could you help me with the non friable? what exactly that mean? some are coming off easy as a whole, others coming up breaking as i pry, into little chunks.

should i have em tested, or just keep pullin up how i am?
 
#9 ·
Mkarps:

I would just keep doing what you're doing. Asbestos fibers are only dangerous if you inhale them. If you're hacking away at these tiles with your paint scraper, even the smallest pieces of tile to come off are too big to float like dust in the air and be inhaled. They simply fall to the floor and remain there.

Also, asbestos related lung diseases are "dose dependant". The higher the airborne fiber count you are exposed to and the longer the period of time you're exposed to it determines the "dose" you get. Since asbestos is one of the most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust, we are ALL exposed to small doses of it every time we go outside. Removing asbestos tile will expose you to a small dose as well. It's primarily where you're regularily exposed to high doses of the stuff (like working at a job where you remove sprayed on asbestos insulation that forms airborne dust when removed) that you're likely to get lung diseases as a result unless you wear protective clothing. Back before the dangers of asbestos were known, people used to replace asbestos lined brake shoes on cars all the time, but there was never any correlation noticed between garage mechanics and asbestos related lung diseases. And, garage mechanics were exposed to much higher levels of airborne asbestos dust as you will be removing your floor.

Until lately, carpet tiles have only been produced in commercial grade. My understanding is that by the end of this year, there will be residential carpet tiles on the market which should cost less.
 
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