Need new floors but may have asbestos tile

First, many people get vinyl and linoleum mixed up. I have a hunch that you are actually talking about vinyl and then it depends what type of vinyl. If it’s sheet vinyl or vinyl that is flexible, chances are it’s okay. If it’s a rigid 9″x9″ tile, then there is an excellent change it’s VAT (vinyl asbestos tile). And, yes, as mentioned above, you can send it out to be test, but chances are (with those measurements)oil that is is VAT (prob 90% chance). If it is, you can either pay an abatement company to remove/abate it (which can be costly), or as mentioned above you can encapsulate it and go over it. could be done w/ some plywood or cement – pending on what you are installing on top (e.g. a solid nailed in floor or a floating floor. This may depend on the heights you have, wood you like and budget. BTW, if you do unfinished hardwood and refinish it on site, my reco would be to do oil based poly over water. But, there are pros and cons to each. you can read more about it here: http://theflooringgirl.com/featured/oil-vs-water-based-polyurethane-which-is-bes-for-refinishing-hardwood-floors.html Debbie Gartner aka The Flooring Girl Westchester County NY

theflooringgirl

in Flooring 11 years and 8 months ago

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jgrando | 11 years and 9 months ago

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We just bought a house and need to replace hideous carpet–we’d like wood. We were hoping there was wood under the carpet but nope–linoleum. Looks old (house is over 100 years old). A floor guy chipped some up with difficulty (I didn’t even think of asbestos at the time) and found wood under it, but he said it was probably a subfloor. So we’re looking at new wood. The guy we talked to said it would be better to take up the tile before laying new floors because the tile could crack and shift when you nail new wood down, causing problems with the floor down the road. But he didn’t mention the possibility of asbestos. Is the best thing to do just to lay new floor on top of the linoleum to avoid asbestos, or will the fact that you have to nail thru it disturb any possible asbestos anyway? And is the possibility of causing floor problems by laying it over the linoleum really serious, or is it unlikely? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Arkady | 11 years and 9 months ago

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It somewhat depends on what condition your current floor is in but I think a flooring guy would tell you to leave the tile, possibly put down a 1/4″ ply underlayment & then go ahead w/ wood flooring. Get a few estimates & see what flooring guys such as Verrazano say.

cate | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Lots of these old houses have pine subfloors that were meant to be covered by carpet. We refinished ours and love the results. Everyone comments on the beauty of the floors. Most linoleum does not have asbestos in it (watch out for the hard tiles — those usually do). You can put a piece in a ziplock baggie and take it to a place in Long Island City to be tested. It’s $20 a sample. If you want to put down new floors, you should remove the linoleum first. Most floor guys will remove linoleum without a thought. You may have to pay them for disposal or rent your own dumpster. If you refinish, I recommend using a sealer and four coats of satin water-based poly. I’d stay away from oil because it changes the color of the pine. We stained ours with Minwax with good results, but you need an experienced floor guy because pine is tricky and will turn funny colors and streak because it absorbs stain and poly unevenly.

jgrando | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Thanks guys. We had thought about trying to do the subfloors, but ultimately felt that it was too risky to pull up all the tile just to see what was under there–no guarantee they would not be patched or damaged, etc. We’re going to lay wood over the tile after talking to a floorer.