Ceramic Tile Contain Asbestos

There are signs you can look for to identify asbestos tiles but the only way to be sure if your tiles contain asbestos is to test for it.

Ceramic tile contain asbestos.

Vinyl is a type of plastic that has long been a popular material for floor tiles and sheets. Photo at left from a 1950 s home shows armstrong excelon type vat courtesy of reader kim who adds that asbestos testing indicated that the white floor tiles contained 7 and the black contained 5 asbestos. A brief history of asbestos usage and asbestos regulation in the uk a documented asbestos related death in the uk occurred as early as 1906. However here are a few ways you can identify asbestos in your tiles.

The tiles may have asbestos too. Working with asbestos flooring can release toxic dust. That way no one will be endangered years from now when they start to rip up the new flooring and find asbestos tiles beneath. Examples of materials that might contain asbestos fibers asbestos may have been used in the ceiling tile tiles and in lay in ceiling tiles in suspended ceilings in the tile body or in paper facing or backing on the ceiling tiles.

However as a favor to future owners of your house make some note of the fact that asbestos tiles are under the new flooring. In addition to testing other factors indicate that your flooring tiles may contain asbestos including. Asbestos was also a common ingredient in some mastic adhesives used for glue up application of ceiling tiles. Your home was built pre 1980.

You could also cover the tiles with new vinyl flooring linoleum or even ceramic tiles. Ceramic tile grout may contain asbestos as we discuss at ceramic tile grout asbestos non ceramic floor tiles such as terrazzo floor tiles and possibly some unglazed ceramic quarry tiles produced both in. Some asbestos containing flooring products were manufactured we estimate as early as the late 1920 s. The older the tiles the more likely they are to contain asbestos.

The flooring tiles are 9 inch 12 inch or 18 inch squares. If you have loose floor tiles and see the black mastic especially if the tiles show other traits of containing asbestos don t disturb them anymore. Determine the age of your tiles. Some tiles are marked with identifying information usually on the.

The mastic itself usually has asbestos in it. The history of asbestos use and regulation in the uk could have permitted your ceramic tiles installed in the 1980 s to contain asbestos. Old vinyl products that contain asbestos remain in many buildings across the u s creating a hazard for contractors and do it yourself renovators. Asbestos was once used in many building materials so it is possible that your tiles contain asbestos especially if they were installed before 1980.