Asbestos Vinyl Sheet Flooring

We include research citations on asbestos use in sheet flooring backer materials.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring.

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. 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. Asbestos vinyl flooring was a durable and economical material that offered many aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. Asbestos removal is a hazardous process best undertaken only by a qualified professional.

The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet vinyl only if. Vinyl floor tiles are resilient and cheap making them a logical choice for floors that must. 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. Product photos both branded and un known sheet flooring brands.

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. Vinyl has been used in wallpaper for more than a century and today most wall coverings are either. Vinyl sheet flooring known to contain asbestos known asbestos containing vinyl based sheet flooring. It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood.

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. Common vinyl products that often contained asbestos include. Asbestos backed sheet vinyl flooring was commonly installed in many ways including over hardwood softwood and concrete floors. Prior to the 1980s asbestos vinyl sheet flooring was very popular in homes.

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. Dry asbestos particles are lighter than air wet ones are less prone to become air borne. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring has two layers a top layer of vinyl and a bottom layer made from paper that contains asbestos. We are told that the paper layer can contain from 40 to 70 percent asbestos.

What makes asbestos dangerous.