"KittiKat" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.


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

Bob