Asbestos Vinyl Sheet Flooring

We include research citations on asbestos use in sheet flooring backer materials.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring.

Vinyl floor tiles are resilient and cheap making them a logical choice for floors that must. In north america if asphalt or vinyl floor tiles or sheet flooring were made or installed before 1986 treat the floor as presumed to contain asbestos. We describe sources of asbestos in older forms of sheet flooring including felt backed flooring rubber backed flooring and vinyl cushion backed resilient flooring products. Vinyl has been used in wallpaper for more than a century and today most wall coverings are either.

However you re not completely in the clear because asbestos was a common ingredient in the mastic used to hold these flooring materials to the subfloor. It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood. To identify a particular asphalt asbestos or vinyl asbestos floor tile pattern color start in the image group most likely to be the same age as your building. Vinyl sheet flooring known to contain asbestos known asbestos containing vinyl based sheet flooring.

Asbestos was used in vinyl wallpaper from the 1920s and in the vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring that rose to prominence in the 1950s. We are told that the paper layer can contain from 40 to 70 percent asbestos. Asbestos vinyl flooring was a durable and economical material that offered many aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. Dry asbestos particles are lighter than air wet ones are less prone to become air borne.

Asbestos containing vinyl based sheet flooring product photos the resilient sheet flooring shown at above left is a modern product we are using this photo as a placeholder and does not contain asbestos. What makes asbestos dangerous. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring can be more dangerous to remove than tiles if proper precautions are not practiced. While asbestos is useful as a binding agent in the manufacture of vinyl and rubber floor coverings it isn t needed to make linoleum tiles or sheet flooring.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring has two layers a top layer of vinyl and a bottom layer made from paper that contains asbestos. Asbestos removal is a hazardous process best undertaken only by a qualified professional. The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet vinyl only if. Prior to the 1980s asbestos vinyl sheet flooring was very popular in homes.

If you are removing the original vinyl floor from a home prior to 1980 you will need to locate a licensed asbestos abatement contractor to test your floor.