Vinyl Asbestos Sheet Flooring

This article describes sheet flooring products known to contain significant levels of asbestos.

Vinyl asbestos sheet flooring.

Asbestos was used in vinyl wallpaper from the 1920s and in the vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring that rose to prominence in the 1950s. While asbestos is useful as a binding agent in the manufacture of vinyl and rubber floor coverings it isn t needed to make linoleum tiles or sheet flooring. Highly resistant to grease and alkalies. Sheet vinyl flooring should be removed to avoid or minimize disturbance of the asbestos containing backing.

Easy to keep clean. In north america if asphalt or vinyl floor tiles or sheet flooring were made or installed before 1986 treat the floor as presumed to contain asbestos. Asbestos vinyl flooring was a durable and economical material that offered many aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. If you are removing the original vinyl floor from a home prior to 1980 you will need to locate a licensed asbestos abatement contractor to test your floor.

However you re not completely in the clear because asbestos was a common ingredient in the mastic used to hold these flooring materials to the subfloor. To identify a particular asphalt asbestos or vinyl asbestos floor tile pattern color start in the image group most likely to be the same age as your building. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring has two layers a top layer of vinyl and a bottom layer made from paper that contains asbestos.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring can be more dangerous to remove than tiles if proper precautions are not practiced. The asbestos floor tile identification articles in this series illustrate that with the combination of design appearance and an idea of floor tile age many asbestos containing floor tiles or sheet flooring products can be reliably identified even before confirmation by a test by a certified asbestos testing laboratory. Prior to the 1980s asbestos vinyl sheet flooring was very popular in homes. Asbestos containing sheet flooring or resilient flooring product identification.

Many colors and designs. Vinyl resin sheet flooring asbestos backed medium or heavy gauge. Like floor tiles vinyl sheet flooring is a long lasting and economical material and it also offers more aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. Asbestos removal is a hazardous process best undertaken only by a qualified professional.

We are told that the paper layer can contain from 40 to 70 percent asbestos.