Old Laminate Flooring Underlay Asbestos

Asbestos flooring felt is one of the few asbestos products completely banned in the u s and regulations now require other products to contain less than one percent asbestos.

Old laminate flooring underlay asbestos. So it may have been made with and later without asbestos. Laminate floor boards can snap into one another rather than to the floor making them an excellent alternative to wood which would require piercing the old asbestos. On 2019 12 01 by jp. Some very old types of flooring that you may find in buildings that date back to the early 1900s have an attached rubber underlayment and this underlayment may contain asbestos.

If the tiles are glued to a layer of underlayment then the underlayment should also be removed. The underlayment should be wet with water before removal. Consider floating a floor of laminate over the old asbestos if there is room for its thickness. On 2019 12 01 by mod asbestos in 1991 flooring is unlikely.

And either engineered hardwood or a laminate floor are going to lock together and have a soft underlayment underneath which takes up any imperfections in the floor. It would be unusual to fine asbestos containing flooring in a 1991 home but not impossible if new old stock flooring has been used. However old asbestos felt remains in the floors and roofs of millions of american buildings constructed between 1900 and 1980. Removing large sections of the underlayment will reduce the amount of asbestos released.

It s the old thick type with dark brown backing. Resilient sheet flooring containing asbestos was also produced finding wide use as early as 1968. The laundry room in my 1901 house has two layers of laminate flooring over dark brown paper that was confirmed to contain asbestos. Engineered hardwood is made up of different layers much like plywood except it looks like it is hardwood on the top surface.

The floor had been covered by carpet up till about two years ago when the laundry room flooded and the carpet had to be taken up. This type of flooring is dangerous because old underlayment tends to become flaky and crumbly and fibers can become airborne every time you sweep or vacuum with a non hepa vacuum cleaner. Maybe 40 s or 50 s. Dry asbestos particles are lighter than air wet ones are less prone to become air borne.

More than likely you will have asbestos in any linoleum or vinyl product up to the late 70 s and an old floor in a house as old as yours is a near sure thing. I m not sure how old the laminate flooring is but it s pretty old. Once you have confirmed that you do in fact have asbestos floor tiles it is helpful to understand a little more about the threat they present. That pattern was popular as early as the 1970s and extends to present.