I would strip it down to the sub floor and lay a new layer of plywood. Then install your new flooring. If your state does not require a sub contrator for asbestos abatement I would remove it myself. The asbestos in floor tile is encapsulated. As long you are not grinding it to fine fibers it will be safe in my opinion.

I agree w/ Joed. Asbestos can be extremely hazardous, but if it's not completely chipped (friable), you can remove it safely (imo). Buy yourself a mask and a HEPA vac (investments of $400 or so that you'll use elsewhere), isolate the kitchen as you work and take it out down to the subfloor.

When you say HEPA vac, you don't mean the dirt devil that says HEPA that I already use, right? Where do I get one? I think the floor is actually a real floor, ie, what we have in most of the rest of the house. The asbestos is not touching it, the bottom layer is the very old, non-asbestos linoleum.

If you can use water to spray on it also that will help keep the particles from going into the air.

Send the family out for the weekend, and get to work. Keep it moist, isolate the room from any others, get some good masks, cover the counters, get a hepa vacuum.

Correct, the HEPA filter you have in your regular vacuum doesn't make it a HEPA vacuum. The vacuum is also airtight. If you use your regular vac, you'll be spewing dust particles all over the house.

Kudzu is right, you should weigh the risks very carefully.

Warning: Personal Philosophy Statement Ahead

As a culture we revel in taking great risks (extreme sports, are a good example, there are others) because in our everyday lives we are overly risk averse.

That is not to say that DIY asbestos removal is not risky, but that given the right amount of education and caution, there is no reason why you couldn't do this work, imo.

How many of us are much more capable of doing more than we do because we've been lead to believe that we're NOT capable?

PullmanHolt makes a small HEPA vac that's about $450 or so. It's what our housing rehab program recommends for lead and should work for asbestos as well (double check this, though).

If you do a search for asbestos respirator, you'll come up w/ a ton of links. Here's one: http://www.websoft-solutions.net/asbestos_respirator_asbestos_respirator_p/3m-2091.htm

Commercial/Industrial supply houses should carry both of these or get them.

Good luck, with whatever you do. That's the great thing about this forum, you should get enough opinions to completely confuse you and then you can go off and make the best decision for yourself.

Here is a link that might be useful: PullmanHolt

> Correct, the HEPA filter you have in your regular vacuum doesn't make it a HEPA vacuum. The vacuum is also airtight. If you use your regular vac, you'll be spewing dust particles all over the house.

Could you explain this? First, I have trouble imagining an airtight vacuum, where lots of air goes in and none comes out.
I have a regular household (Kenmore) vacuum, that says HEPA, and I have a shop vac from HD with a HEPA filter. Why are these vacuums not suitable? Isn't HEPA some sort of standart that garantees to hold back particles down to a certain size?

HEPA = High Effiency Particulate Air
The filter might be HEPA but if the seals around it aren't then it's not really HEPA.

JOED said it. Sorry, I can see where I added to the confusion. Ever look behind you after you've used your shop vac? If it's a dusty job, you can see all the particles in the air.

Here are a couple of online sources that say it better than me:

"HEPA VACUUMS
Whether conducting lead abatement activities or lead
safe work practices, contractors should only use a
"TRUE HEPA" vacuum cleaner. A true HEPA
vacuum has a few features that most vacuum cleaners
do not have, including:
(1) A HEPA filter that is individually tested and rated
as 99.97 % effective and capable of collecting lead
dust down to 0.3 microns in size;
(2) "O" rings or seals to prevent leakage around
connecting points; and
(3) Manufacturer specifications stating that the HEPA
vacuum is designed to collect lead dust."""

From http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/lead/pdf/LeadUpdate2002.pdf

And a much longer explanation at the link below, but one that's very worth following and reading.

Here is a link that might be useful: definition of HEPA

Asbestos fibres are incredibly small and essentialy invisible to the naked eye. The reason they can be dangerous is that they are like microscopic needles that lodge in you lungs and don't get expelled like larger particles. One of the best ways to contaminate your house after an asbestos removal is to vacuum with a non-HEPA vacuum: you think you're cleaning up, but you're really using the vacuum to very efficiently spew asbestos fibres into the air.

I've been making myself sick thinking about this and I think that we are going to start by covering everything with a plywood floor. Does anyone have any ideas about leveling the section that is just wood (bringing it up to where the tiles are) ? Also, will it be safe to drive screws through the plywood into the linoleum? If not, how do we lay the foor?
The funny thing is that SO many people have told me that they have peeled old floors and that they didn't know and still don't think that there was asbestos in them. My sister-in-law, who restored houses around Penn in Philadelphia, told me that she peeled 30-50 layers of the stuff. Without a mask. Without even thinking that there could be a problem. I am a huge hypochondriac though and would drive myself crazy worrying about the potential fibers lodged in my lungs and the lungs of my husband and kids.

Then best to do as you're planning. Sorry can't comment about your next question. It might be worth a separate post, as you'll likely get folks who are interested in flooring, rather than asbestos. Best of Luck!!! I'm sure it will be beautiful either way when all is said and done.

Gosh - I guess I live near your sister-in-law and I must admit that when my folks were in town last spring we removed about four levels of floor materials that are akin to what you're tackling. And about 2 weeks ago we tackled another room! I couldn't believe the patters of the linseed linoleum. Trying to find vintage NIB stock of it is impossible!

You may not be the best person to do it if you're a bit nervous but you could find some people who wouldn't mind doing a bit of "homestyle remediation" as we call it in my neighborhood. We have about 3 different face masks at this point in time and between using really good eye covering and body suits, we feel pretty comfortable tearing out fiberglass insulation and removing most-probably-lead-paint. I'd look on craigslist.

Oh yeah - and let me tell you about marmoleum tiles! I just ordered a huge array of samples from the manufacturer! I don't know if you figured out what you're going to replace it with but you may want to do a little research on the Forbo web site.

Hi all I have a question, could someone point me to a resource or if you know even better. I had my home siding tile tested and the Lab report came back saying out tile is "10-15 CHRYSOTILE" and as note they put "Granular mins" Now I have done some googling and while I know that my tile contains some Asbestos, I'm not sure how much. My overarching question is what is the highest percentage of Asbestos that siding can have before you have to have a special company come in and remove it? I'm in Sacramento CA and I know that if siding has Asbestos in it that you have to get a Certified company in to remove it per it is Hazardous. But is there a way a homeowner can remove it with all the proper protections if it has low level of Asbestos? ***also just uploaded a pic of my lab report if that might help.***

yes hepa filters help