Asbestos Vinyl Sheet Flooring

Asbestos vinyl flooring was a durable and economical material that offered many aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring.

What makes asbestos dangerous. 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. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring has two layers a top layer of vinyl and a bottom layer made from paper that contains asbestos. 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.

Asbestos removal is a hazardous process best undertaken only by a qualified professional. It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood. Vinyl has been used in wallpaper for more than a century and today most wall coverings are either. We include research citations on asbestos use in sheet flooring backer materials.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring can be more dangerous to remove than tiles if proper precautions are not practiced. Vinyl sheet flooring known to contain asbestos known asbestos containing vinyl based sheet flooring. 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. 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.

We are told that the paper layer can contain from 40 to 70 percent asbestos. 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. 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. 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.

Product photos both branded and un known sheet flooring brands. Asbestos backed sheet vinyl flooring was commonly installed in many ways including over hardwood softwood and concrete floors. Dry asbestos particles are lighter than air wet ones are less prone to become air borne. 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.

The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet vinyl only if.