Hello,
Downstairs we have a concrete floor on top of which are some thin but rigid "plastic" tiles. Unfortunately many are cracked, e.g. from carpet fitters hammering grips into them, uneven concrete underneath, etc.
I was hoping to remove them, in fact I did lift a few from around the edge of the room. They are glued on by some black bitumen like adhesive but they came up quite easily.
I have now read that asbestos was widely used in floor tiles. The house was built in the mid 1970s. I am wondering whether it is safe to remove the tiles?
I have read some websites and if I understand correctly, floor tiles can be removed by yourself and do not require notifying or professional removal. The danger seems to be if they are broken; some are already broken which is why I want to remove them and there is a danger (or even likelihood) they will snap in half when removed.
I did wonder about sending a tile for testing but one web site said if you had any tiles from before 1980 they would almost certainly contain asbestos and not to waste money having them tested. Is that so?
Does anyone recognise these tiles as being asbestos containing? I tried flickr but it wouldn't let me register, I couldn't work out why, so I uploaded them here instead:
Thanks in advance.