Vinyl and Cork Underlay - Asbestos or not? Pictures

Hi all,

I'm renovating a house in a commission area and the house originally had timber floors and has had a few layers of vinyl floor tiles. The latest ones are the stick on variety with a timber vaneer print so i'm not too woried about those.

However there are 3 layers over the kitchen floor and i've had floor people out and they're not too concerned and are happy to rip it up however i still am concerned so i thought i'd ask these 2 questions

1. Looking at the photo there are 2 layers of 4-5mm sheet which say "vinyl and cork underlay on them" - is this an issue - it looks pretty new with that dotted printing like on the modern sheets like this Cork & Vinyl Underlay - James Hardie | Products? Are the tiles themselves an issue you think?
2. If they rip it all up what should i do after the fact to clean up to the best of my ability to prevent and future issues?Attachment 279093

Yes is is possible for Vinyl tiles to contain Asbestos.

I am not expert; but if you have concerns have your materials tested for Asbestos that way you will know exactly where you stand.

Those tiles look like strong candidates for asbestos to me.

Are the floors going to be sanded or walked on afterwards?

Either one will spread lots of fine asbestos dust spread right through your house the dust will hang in the air for days and settle every where becoming a constant source of this dust for months. Far more fine dust may be made this way than just during the physics ripping up process.

The key here is constraining the dust during the ripping up process and collecting all of the dust and as much of the tiles up immediately after the ripping up process.

Here is what I would do - bear in mid this is just my opinion - if you have any concerns seek professional advice.

Before ripping up the tiles seal the gaps around all internal doors to other rooms with masking tape etc This minimizes the transfer of dust to other rooms

Wear a dust mask during the entire clean up process and emptying and cleaning of the vacuum cleaner - a lightweight P2 type mask will be enough for this job. Change the mask every couple of hours - just handling it will make it dirty.
When you have finished the whole job immediately wash your clothes and take a shower - don't hang around in the same clothes for hours afterwards.
If the job goes over two days wear fresh clothes on the second day.

After the ripping up the tiles you will need to make sure that no pieces of tile are jammed down into the adhesive or between cracks etc. Anything remaining behind embedded in the floor will be ground into dust by the sander and their filters will not catch asbestos fibres.

Before sanding use an industrial strength HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner (not a cheap discount store jobbie but a serious unit - you can hire these) and vacuum the whole area that has been exposed including the pathway used to transport the tiles out of the house. Then get down on your hands and knees in the kitchen and look over the whole floor and look for the bits the vacuum cleaner has not picked up. Repeat this until you cannot see anything.

I would follow this up with a wet mopping wiping down of the whole kitchen, let it dry and then inspect the floor and vacuum the whole area (including transport path) again. If it extends outside to drive way or paving then a wash down with a hose may be worth doing.
Doing the entire transport path is VERY important. The last thing you want is people tracking fragments of tile back into the kitchen for the sander to grind up

Then if required let the sanding guy do his stuff and then vacuum clean and wet wipe and mop up again. Maybe twice for good measure

Then unseal the doors etc.

Then vacuum clean the whole house.

The vacuum cleaner should be emptied and cleaned outside and if you need to bring it inside then wipe it down inside and out all over before hand.

Am I serious - Yep.

Like I said - if you are worried seek professional advice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BobL

Those tiles look like strong candidates for asbestos to me.

Are the floors going to be sanded or walked on afterwards?

Either one will spread lots of fine asbestos dust spread right through your house the dust will hang in the air for days and settle every where becoming a constant source of this dust for months. Far more fine dust may be made this way than just during the physics ripping up process.

The key here is constraining the dust during the ripping up process and collecting all of the dust and as much of the tiles up immediately after the ripping up process.

Here is what I would do - bear in mid this is just my opinion - if you have any concerns seek professional advice.

Before ripping up the tiles seal the gaps around all internal doors to other rooms with masking tape etc This minimizes the transfer of dust to other rooms

Wear a dust mask during the entire clean up process and emptying and cleaning of the vacuum cleaner - a lightweight P2 type mask will be enough for this job. Change the mask every couple of hours - just handling it will make it dirty.
When you have finished the whole job immediately wash your clothes and take a shower - don't hang around in the same clothes for hours afterwards.
If the job goes over two days wear fresh clothes on the second day.

After the ripping up the tiles you will need to make sure that no pieces of tile are jammed down into the adhesive or between cracks etc. Anything remaining behind embedded in the floor will be ground into dust by the sander and their filters will not catch asbestos fibres.

Before sanding use an industrial strength HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner (not a cheap discount store jobbie but a serious unit - you can hire these) and vacuum the whole area that has been exposed including the pathway used to transport the tiles out of the house. Then get down on your hands and knees in the kitchen and look over the whole floor and look for the bits the vacuum cleaner has not picked up. Repeat this until you cannot see anything.

I would follow this up with a wet mopping wiping down of the whole kitchen, let it dry and then inspect the floor and vacuum the whole area (including transport path) again. If it extends outside to drive way or paving then a wash down with a hose may be worth doing.
Doing the entire transport path is VERY important. The last thing you want is people tracking fragments of tile back into the kitchen for the sander to grind up

Then if required let the sanding guy do his stuff and then vacuum clean and wet wipe and mop up again. Maybe twice for good measure

Then unseal the doors etc.

Then vacuum clean the whole house.

The vacuum cleaner should be emptied and cleaned outside and if you need to bring it inside then wipe it down inside and out all over before hand.

Am I serious - Yep.

Like I said - if you are worried seek professional advice.

---

thanks for all the advice. I Just might take it! can you link to a photo of the respirator you're talking about and perhaps do you know where to hire the vacuum cleaners from?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sleeprequired

thanks for all the advice. I Just might take it! can you link to a photo of the respirator you're talking about and perhaps do you know where to hire the vacuum cleaners from?

---

It's not a respirator - It's just a a standard nose and mouth face mask, Bunnings have them P2 or P3 rated.

RE: HEPA Vacuum cleaner hire
Start here HEPA Vac Hire

Hi sleeprequired,
I do a lots of inspections/testing and supervise removal.
Lots of tiles, vinyl and some carpet underlay contain asbestos.
You may contact me if you like for advice.
cheers
conwood

I don't know what city your in but if it might be have it tested, any local asbestos removal company can have the test done for you. Here in Adelaide costs $88 and they can't fudge it because the report details the type colour etc of the product tested plus if they got caught the penalties are fierce. Looking at your photos though, get out the old feet and inches ruler, if the vinyl tiles are 9 inches x 9 inches they are asbestos. If the glue holding them down is black that itself probably contains asbestos. The main vinyl manufacturer (I have been told) stopped putting asbestos in their products in 1982, with stock holdings etc we in the trade figure that anything pre 1985 is suspect so we have it tested often at our own cost.