Damaged Asbestos Tiling Repair HELP

[KittiKat]

I need some advice,

Have a house, built 1958. Subflooring in basement rotted, from boiler leak. Original tiling in bathroom and finished rec room lifted up, chipped, splintered in several areas. A rug from the previous owners was put down to hide this problem, we ripped it up last year, that is when damage was discovered. A relative, not knowing about asbestos tiling, chipped more tiled areas away and replaced some parts with new plywood. I vaccumed up splintered tiles a few weeks ago. Had NO clue about asbestos in tiles, or the cut back until I did a search about

50's floor tiling a week ago. So basically, now left with this HUGE problem and have no idea how to fix it. Cost is a huge issue. Abatement sounds very scarey. The areas right now are covered either with plywood, rugs or odds of vinyl flooring. I've called one contractor for an estimate, explained problem, he didn't seem to eager for the job but said he'd come in later in the week to give an estimate. I called HDepot as we were planning to not disturb it anymore and lay plywood down, and was told we could use a respirator to clean up tile and to keep us safe, but then read a respirator is NOT effective. I also realize that there are laws governing proper removal of asbestos (I'm in Ontario).

Is the best thing to do to not touch any more damage and just get new plywood laid on top of damaged tiles and then put a rug down??? Or, do we get the whole thing ripped out???? I realize the exposure to this is serious, my entire family throughout the years has been exposed to this everytime they were in the house. I understand that *most* health problems have been linked to repeated, prolonged exposure....I am also wondering if the cut back glue, which is black, once saturated with water, would release harmful odours into the air??? There has been a smell down there, that we attributed to "basement smell" for years, but now I'm wondering if it is the glue.....We would like to eventually sell the house....Please advise.

[Bob]

Have you tested the tile to see if it really is asbestos? It only costs $30-50?

Bob

[marson]

:

your exposure has been very minimal. here in mn, you can remove floor tile with the plywood subfloor attached and dispose of it with construction demo. is the contractor you called an asbestos abatement contractor? call a few of them--they'll know the rules about asbestos floor tile in your area. and yes, laying down a layer of plywood over it is a good way to go. the absolute very last place i would ask for advice would be home depot.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

No, not realy.

and have no idea how to fix it. Cost is a huge issue. Abatement

No, really simple.

Most tiles are not considered a hazard and can be readily removed. I don't know specifics of your country though. Scrape up the tile, put it in a bag and trash is is all that is required. You can cover it with plywood and then forget about it as it is covered and not a hazard.

Not to tiles, but to actual asbestos in the air. The tile encapsulates it making it safe. Really. YOur family will suffer no harm.

.I am also

I doubt the glue is releasing odors after all these years. Scrape off what you can.

>

[trader4]

First, it's very unclear exactly what kind of flooring you have, where it's located, what is rotted, how it's all held in place, etc. If you have rotted material, like a sub floor, then just covering it up is not an option.

I'd also ask the same question as the other poster. Are you sure it contains asbestos? Has it been tested?

I wouldn't get freaked out by the fact that you were living with asbestos in floor tile without knowing it. It only becomes dangerous when it's disturbed and enters the air. And all you did was chip out some of it, it's unlikely much entered the air. Now, if you start cutting it up with a saw, that's a diff matter.

I'd check the local laws regarding approved removal methods and who can do it. Since you are concerned about selling the property, I would most likely go with removing it completely as opposed to just covering it up. Generally, the procedure is to seal off the area that contains it, establish air flow that sucks air out of the area to the outside and a HEPA filter, wet it down and then remove it in as large sections as possible, using suitable protection.

[trader4]

With the disclosure laws now in place in many areas, you can't just forget about it. Most disclosure forms, if required, have questions that if truthfully answered, will disclose to the buyer that there is asbestos tile present, regardless of whether you covered it up.

[HeyBub]

Only IF you KNOW it's asbestos. That's why one should give second thoughts to having an "official" determination made.

Best thing is to scrape up the stuff and leave it in a school yard during the dark of the moon.

[F. H.]

LOL, bet we all know someone who would.

[Frank Warner]

[snippage]

Not most. *All.* And that means heavy exposure to raw, airborne asbestos fibers, such as you might find in a mining environment, eight hours a day for 20-30 years with no respirator. You and all other homeowners have nothing to worry about from asbestos floor tiles, popcorn ceilings or Transite siding. Tear it out. Take it to the landfill. Put new stuff in. That's all you have to do. You inhale more and nastier stuff on a typical day at the beach.

The lawyers have really got you all scared on this issue. And they are the only ones benefitting from it.

-Frank

[F. H.]

I'm sure you have a valid argument, up to a point. "Eight hours a day for 20-30 years with no respirator" flies in the face of common sense and common knowledge of public cases. We could ask Steve McQueen but....... he's dead.

[Frank Warner]

McQueen never worked an asbestos mine. He did, however, have a four-pack-a-day Pall-Mall habit.

My uncle worked an asbestos mine. Was later a packer. Also smoked. It's a toss-up what killed him (1970 or so). He was on pure oxygen the last five years of his life, suffering from both emphesema and asbestosis.

There was little if any common sense about asbestos mining in the 40s and 50s. Back then it was "one of the safest materials known to man," and you mined it without worry about health hazards. Concurrently, doctors touted the health benefits of smoking. What's common sense now is a bit different than it was back then.

You might be able to find an isolated case or two of a homeowner who contracted asbestosis through exposure to products used in the construction of his home, but I bet you won't be able to find very many.

-Frank

[F. H.]

McQueen had been surrounded by asbestos all of his life. As a young adult, McQueen was employed in the construction industry, where asbestos was often present at job sites. While serving as a Marine, McQueen worked at shipyards where he was responsible for stripping asbestos off the pipes used in naval ships (asbestos was used in the insulation of modern ships built before 1976). It has also been suggested that McQueen, an avid car racer, may have been exposed to asbestos when repairing the brake linings of race cars and/or wearing the protective helmets and driving suits associated with the sport.

Thats not the same as malignant mesothelioma, is it? That one person might have a high resistance to environmental toxins is not a valid argument against the impact on others.

What you posted (IMHO) is a tad beyond what would be called common sense now.

How many would be acceptable? As I understand it, malignant mesothelioma caused by inhaling asbestos particles is *extremely* slow to develop. That being the case, your "bet" is sort of a Relativist Fallacy. At any rate, once (MM) hits, you are toast. That being the case, I would treat

*any* asbestos with a great deal of respect.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Many mechanics are exposed to brake linings. That has been pretty much dismissed as a cause. McQueen would have been dead from it whether or not he had tile floors. Stripping asbestos off of pipes can be a problem as it wil release some fine particles. Asbestos is not a cause for panic. Like anything else, common sense and education, not histeria, is the way to handle the siduation.

[Kurt Ullman]

He also smoked like a chimney which has a well establish additive effect to even low levels of asbestos expsoure.