Identify Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles

For about 35 years flooring companies included asbestos when they manufactured the vinyl tiles.

Identify vinyl asbestos floor tiles.

9 9 vinyl tile and mastic. However here are a few ways you can identify asbestos in your tiles. Asbestos mastic will also always be black in color. Intact asbestos tiles are not a major risk and can in fact be left in place and covered with other materials such as carpet vinyl linoleum or concrete.

Mastic is a type of glue used to adhere tiles and vinyl flooring to the subfloor. The asbestos containing tiles could be thick stone like tiles or they could be thin vinyl tiles. For all these reasons it is very difficult to determine for sure whether or not ceiling or floor tiles contain asbestos. The vinyl acts as a binder that holds the asbestos fibres within a solid matrix.

Wallpaper was one of the earliest vinyl products to include asbestos. Unfortunately vinyl tiles and sheet flooring that contain asbestos pose a potential exposure risk. Whether your tiles are 12 12 9 9 or any other size they are all equally likely to contain asbestos. Vinyl floor tiles are resilient and cheap making them a logical choice for floors that must withstand constant wear and tear such as in businesses schools and hospitals.

9 x9 12 x12 and 18 x18. What are asbestos floor tiles. Vinyl or asphalt tiles that have these colors in it have a high likelihood of asbestos fibers. Mixing asbestos into vinyl floor tiles made them more insulating and resistant to damage.

Asbestos floor tiles were manufactured in three sizes. 2 find out if any of the tiles were installed before 1980. Vinyl asbestos floor tiles were produced by a number of manufacturers and the decorative tile patterns were varied often annually as styles and tastes changed. Check for any discoloration check for areas that are grayish brown dark gray dark brown or black.

Possible signs of asbestos mastic include discoloration and an oily texture. Asbestos tiles can be difficult to identify because you can t see the asbestos in the tile. If your building was built before 1980 mastic mixed with asbestos may have been used to seal your tiles to the floor. Vinyl or asphalt tiles that have these colors in it have a high likelihood of asbestos fibers.

One of the main ingredients used in old asbestos tiles was asphalt so they were primarily made in dark colors only. If the material is in good condition it normally does not pose a threat because the asbestos is enclosed in vinyl preventing the fibres from escaping. But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable. It is possible to make a tentative identification of floor tiles based on the individual tile pattern color and thickness.