Asbestos Backing On Vinyl Flooring

Identifying asbestos tile flooring by date.

Asbestos backing on vinyl flooring.

If the flooring was installed between 1952 and 1986 your vinyl flooring might contain asbestos. 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. Asbestos tiles were popular widely advertised products found in all parts of the u s. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring poses a significantly greater asbestos exposure risk than floor tiles or wallpaper.

Asbestos backed sheet vinyl flooring was commonly installed in many ways including over hardwood softwood and concrete floors. The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet vinyl only if. We are told that the paper layer can contain from 40 to 70 percent asbestos. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed.

Unlike many asbestos containing materials vinyl asbestos flooring is generally safe to be around. But that changes as soon as you decide to remove it. Asbestos vinyl floor tiles were far from rare. Like floor tiles vinyl sheet flooring is a long lasting and economical material and it also offers more aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste.

It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood. 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. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring can be more dangerous to remove than tiles if proper precautions are not practiced. Asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring is where the backing the side attached to the floor see figure 1 contains friable easily broken asbestos material.

Vinyl is a type of plastic that has long been a popular material for floor tiles and sheets. Figure 1 asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring. The vinyl sheeting itself does not contain asbestos. Our photo left shows armstrong excelon 12x12 vinyl asbestos flooring made in 1972 identified in our floor tile photo guide asbestos floor tile identification photos 1949 1959 detailed photo guide to asphalt asbestos and vinyl asbestos floor tiles and resilient flooring produced in 1900 1980.

If the vinyl resilient sheet flooring backing material were dry sanded or scraped during building demolition for example or if the sheet flooring is worn through so that foot traffic continues to damage the backing material it is possible for unsafe levels of asbestos fibers to be released in a building.