Asbestos Tile Cemented To Hardwood Floors

We have justb ought a beautiful brownstone in Bay Ridge. Sometime in the past, the owners cemented 6″ x 6″ tiles over the hallway and kitchen hardwood floors. Now, we want to pull the tiles up in order to sand and varnish the floors, but have no idea how to remove the tiles without damaging the hardwood underneath. Chipping away at the very brittle tiles with a hammer and chisel, or prying them up with a prybar is not an option as they break into small 1 cm pieces. Are there any other options? Perhaps a heatgun? Chemical cement remover? Thanx.

jjq

in Facade and Brownstone Repair 11 years and 11 months ago

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anotherposter | 11 years and 11 months ago

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I don’t know about tiles having asbestos, but at some point in time (maybe the 70s), the adhesive used in putting down things like tiles contained asbestos. If there’s a chance of asbestos, get it tested and do removal properly if asbestos is present. You could end up with a lot of trouble if you improperly remove asbestos (it’s fine until you start removing it and sending it into the air) and someone reports you to the DOB.

thetinkerswagon | 11 years and 11 months ago

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get about 25 lbs of dry ice. have them slice it into 2″ thick slabs. take three of them out at a go. get a tool used for removing roofing shingles (go gently with it). lay the three pieces of dry ice down for a minute. the ice will harden and contract and crack the glue. push a piece along and lift a tile and so on and so on. you will get the hand of how many slabs you can efficiently work at a time. took me an afternoon to lift approx 1,000 sq ft some years ago. as far as the asbestos, the stuff in tiles had not been considered friable (and was not controlled) when I did the floor I did. but something tells me they may have changed the classification for non-friable floor tile. better be careful and be careful with disposal (maybe read up on this). the laws for a lot of things are changing very fast. Steve