How To Assess Sheet Vinyl Flooring For Asbestos

However if the asbestos backing tears away as you peel which is what usually happens it means your asbestos backed sheet vinyl flooring is tightly adhered and will have to be removed in sections with the underlayment attached.

How to assess sheet vinyl flooring for asbestos.

In many cases the best thing to do about vinyl asbestos flooring is put a new layer of flooring on top of it. Use a utility knife or a chisel to cut off a small piece of flooring. Where asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring is to be removed it must only be removed by an a class. Place the sample into the bag close it and label the bag with a permanent marker.

You will only need a piece the size of a dime. Look under carpets in basement or by lifting a floor vent and inspecting how many subfloors exist and if any contain vinyl. Historical information about the dates of flooring installation may also be sufficient to rule in or out the possibility that flooring in a building contains asbestos. In order to reduce the analysis cost you may instruct the lab to test the samples only until they find the first positive sample for asbestos.

The peeling method to remove the remainder of the floor. Place the sample into a bag and seal it. This is generally not a problem if they are not disturbed. You could also seal it with a coat of epoxy floor paint.

But when vinyl asbestos flooring is in good condition it is considered nonfriable. Take the samples in random areas throughout the sheet vinyl floor. Take the samples to an asbestos testing lab. Flooring glue mastic underlay down to plywood or concrete.

Most often people will not remove asbestos materials due to cost and encapsulate them my adding additional layers. The vinyl asbestos floor tile package label information combined with a simple comparison of tiles in the package with tiles installed in the building may be sound confirmation of asbestos containing materials. In cases where vinyl sheet flooring has been damaged to the extent where the asbestos containing material on the underside is disturbed a hazard assessment must be undertaken by a competent person to assess what control measures any risk. Unfortunately vinyl tiles and sheet flooring that contain asbestos pose a potential exposure risk.

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. See vinyl asbestos floor tile packaging. It is important to take samples of all layers that you will be removing. 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.