Covering Over Asbestos Flooring

Some of the flooring tiles have come off and you see.

Covering over asbestos flooring.

If you aren t removing the old floor you may be creating a new floor that is too thick for doors to open and shut or for thresholds to have clearance. In many cases installing a new floor over the tiles encapsulates the asbestos fibers and is an acceptable way to manage the material. One of the biggest factors of installing a new floor over the old is thickness. That said it can be difficult to get a level surface for the new floor especially if the old tiles have chipped away.

Flooring over asbestos tile. Laminate is a cheap fast flooring solution that easily goes right over ceramic tile. Laminate flooring goes very well over ceramic tiles. If you must remove the 9x9 asbestos suspect flooring.

Pouring concrete over tiles is the best way to seal them. However as a favor to future owners of your house make some note of the fact that asbestos tiles are under the new flooring. If the tile is damaged or breaking apart then that should be addressed because of the potential health hazard. It is a thin solid flooring system that doesn t require adhesive and comes with a padded underlayment that helps smooth out any contour from the ceramic.

You ve got two options for handling asbestos flooring tiles. Over time asphalt which was a main ingredient in asbestos tiles can degrade and cause the tiles to look grimy or discolored in spots. Just like tom hd116 stated encapsulation and enclosure is really the best thing a homeowner can get sort of a professional abatement company to remove the tiles. That way no one will be endangered years from now when they start to rip up the new flooring and find asbestos tiles beneath.

If the tile is in good shape then covering it is one way of dealing with the issue. Vinyl and linoleum are also used effective. If when you remove the rest of the current covering over the floor you find a significant number of loose poorly adhered or broken floor tiles or if for other reasons you are compelled to remove the floor not the recommended option see asbestos flooring removal guide. You could also cover the tiles with new vinyl flooring linoleum or even ceramic tiles.

If you don t want that expense a rubber backed carpet is a good choice. As noted above they can be covered with new flooring if the tiles are not disintegrating.