Is There Asbestos In Linoleum Flooring

If the flooring requires removal the minnesota department of health recommends hiring a licensed asbestos removal contractor to complete the job.

Is there asbestos in linoleum flooring.

Rosato engineering consultant newton ma reinhold publishing 1959 library of congress catalog card no. Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on asbestos its industrial applications rosato 1959 d v. Linoleum is an all natural floor covering composed of dried linseed oil wood dust cork and jute and it doesn t contain asbestos. Even in the mid 90 s when i got started in the flooring business there were some vinyl products in circulation that had asbestos.

If you have a wood underlayment you could simply install hardibacker board on top of the vinyl and have a nice clean and prepared substrate to install on to. 59 12535 out of print text and. Click here to read more. Unless the owner is planning to restore the wood flooring underneath the linoleum placing new materials over the asbestos containing materials safely seals the asbestos fibers in place.

The jute backed sheet flooring below is a linoleum floor product not normally containing asbestos though some of that older flooring when it uses an asphalt saturated felt tar paper backing may sport asbestos in the backer. Vinyl asbestos flooring comes in two types tiles and sheeting. While there are some 12x12 vinyl tiles that don t contain asbestos we ve certainly had asbestos test lab reports back that did find asbestos in 12x12 vinyl flooring so in my opinion it makes sense to treat your 1970s flooring as containing asbestos or to have a sample tested before removal. We recommend encasing the asbestos floor tiles in self leveling cement as a fail proof method of ensuring the material will no longer be an issue in your home.

There is another path to your new floor other than paying for proper asbestos abatement. Tiles are safer to remove than the sheeting because the asbestos is held together by the vinyl which is not hazardous.