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remodelingdc

should I remove the asbestos?

remodelingdc
12 years ago

I am looking to purchase a house which has asbestos floor tiles. The tiles are in bad condition in parts, and I plan on having a professional remove them before I move in.

I'm wondering *how much* asbestos should be removed at this point. Should I remove all the asbestos tile at this time, or leave the in tact ones...in tact? Also, the ceiling tiles (which are in fine shape for safety, but ugly as sin) may contain asbestos--should I remove these at the same time? The benefit would be to have all the asbestos removed at once while no one is living there, but I don't know if it would be safer to just leave them the way they are.

Any suggestions for what would be the safest way to reduce the risk of asbestos would help. I'm worried that by removing the in tact asbestos, I would release asbestos into the air and have the particles attach to walls and pipes and be actually more dangerous.

Comments (14)

  • User
    12 years ago

    You should remove it or encapsulate it. What is the cost of each?

  • Billl
    12 years ago

    Removing asbestos certainly does run the risk of sending some airborne. However, if you have pro's do the removal, they will account for that. Everything will be cordoned off.

    Since the dangers of asbestos are all associated with long term, continued exposure, a 1 time removal poses virtually no danger. You only end up with issues when something is repeatedly repeatedly releasing asbestos into your environment.

    FYI - all you need to remove any fibers from a hard surface (like a wall or pipe) is a damp cloth. That type of cleanup is surprisingly low tech.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    "Removing asbestos certainly does run the risk of sending some airborne."

    Asbestos containing floor tiles will not release anything unless you grind them up.

    They are not considered friable (capable of being broken up with bare hands).

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    12 years ago

    Water to keep down any possible dust is a good safety measure if you're concerned. Then double-bag it, and off to the landfill! The adhesive is also a possible asbestos-bearing material.

  • kudzu9
    12 years ago

    If you want to understand a little better what you are dealing with, and your options, take a look at this link...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Floor tile removal

  • Billl
    12 years ago

    "Asbestos containing floor tiles will not release anything unless you grind them up. "

    Not true. They won't release anything if you leave them alone. If you start trying to remove them with a scraper, they certainly will be sending particles into the air.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    "If you start trying to remove them with a scraper, they certainly will be sending particles into the air. "

    Not unless you break them up in to very small pieces,

    The asbestos is trapped very tightly into the resin.

    It is not coming out without a lot of effort.

  • Billl
    12 years ago

    "It is not coming out without a lot of effort. "

    Which is exactly what you will be applying when you try to scrape 50 year old adhesive off a floor. The tiles will crack and break. The fact that they are breaking WILL send particles into the air. The number of breaks will determine the quantity of those particles, but ANY break will be putting asbestos airborne. The number of particles will be proportional to the surface area uncovered by the break.

    Again, this is not a long term issue though. If you contain the area properly and then wipe everything down with a damp cloth, you are in no real danger.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    "when you try to scrape 50 year old adhesive off a floor. "

    They are talking about removing tiles, not cleaning adhesive.

  • Billl
    12 years ago

    Are you being purposely obtuse? Of course you are talking about adhesive. What you do you think is holding the tiles down, gravity? You've got some deteriorating tiles that have been there for several decades. You are going to crack and chip and otherwise destroy them while trying to break that adhesive bond. That process is going to send a certain amount of material airborne. There really is no debating that.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    "Should I remove all the asbestos tile at this time, or leave the in tact ones...in tact?"

    Sure sounds like tile.

    Any asbestos in cut back is also going to be firmly embedded in the material and is not friable.

    Some places have even eased the rules on removing asbestos containing asphalt tile.

    The mastic can be left under almost any new flooring material, but hot water often softens it enough you can remove and ridges without releasing anything.

    Cracking and chipping is not the same as grinding up (or sanding).

    Asphalt saturated roof shingles with asbestos are not a significant hazard either. Imagine that.

    While asbestos can be a hazard under certain conditions, the demonetizing of anything containing any asbestos is way overblown.

  • Billl
    12 years ago

    "Cracking and chipping is not the same as grinding up"

    Uh, yes it is. The only difference is scale. There is no magical line that you cross when between breaking a tile into 3 pieces and grinding it into 1000 pieces. It isn't that 500 breaks releases zero particles into the air and 501 breaks suddenly releases everything. The amount of particles released into the air will be proportional to the surface area uncovered by those breaks. 1 break = minimal release. Finely sanding it to nothing = maximal release. Everything else falls somewhere between those 2 on the spectrum.

    And of course we aren't talking about just tile. If it was just a pile of tiles, the OP would pick them up and take them out of the room. We're talking about old tile that has been stuck to the floor for decades and is going to require some physical force to get up. The OP's question was about what the contamination risk was and how to minimize it. There certainly will be some level of contamination, but as long as the removers are following the basic safety rules and cleaning up after themselves, the contamination risk is small and the health risks are miniscule.

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    12 years ago

    " but as long as the removers are following the basic safety rules and cleaning up after themselves, the contamination risk is small and the health risks are miniscule."

    I think that statement says it all

  • HIWTHI
    12 years ago

    If you can leave them in place then do so. If not, call in the professionals by all means. Actually in my city you need to call in professionals by law if you want to remove asbestos.