On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:09:43 -0800 (PST), RicodJour
wrote:

On Jan 31, 12:21Â*pm, Frank wrote:
On 1/31/2011 12:02 PM, woods wrote:

I have the 9x9" asbestos tile in my basement, and I wonder if it would
be ok to just remove the loose tiles, and then glue linoleum on top of
them? Â*Also smooth out the removed tiles with floor cement compound.

I can't give construction specifics but as far as asbestos exposure, it
is OK. Â*I'd be more concerned about filling voids with cement that may
sag. Â*The asbestos is not going any where.

It's OK for the OP to be exposed to asbestos? How do you feel about
him wearing seat belts? Is that unnecessary as well? Sheesh.

If he does not break opr remove the tiles he will NOT be "exposed" to
asbestos. He is best to just reglue the loose ones and cover it up
with a solid vinyl floor covering.

OP: Asbestos is only a problem when the fibers get airborne, which
they do quite readily. It's your home and your health, and
technically you're supposed to call to have the guys in the moon suits
in to do it, but that's overkill for floor tile in my opinion.

It is a vinyl asbestos tile, with the asbestos encapsulated very well.
As long as it is not broken up/removed there will be NO fibres loose -
and even if removing the tile, unless you need to break them up badly,
very little exposure.

The following recomendations are likely gross overkill, but would
definitely be a safe way to go about removing the tile

I can't tell you what you should do, but I would definitely suit up,
wear a N95 dust mask or respirator, and wet everything down prior to
starting. If I saw any dust at all I'd know I haven't wet things down
enough, and I'd have plenty of lighting so I'd be sure to notice the
dust. I'd use plastic and tape off the area, tape doors closed, and
have one window in the basement open with a fan blowing out. That
would create negative air pressure in the work space, and any minor
amount of dust that did manage to get airborne wouldn't escape into
the rest of the house.

I'd put everything in a doubled up contractor trash bags inside a
trash can with some newspaper on the bottom to prevent the corners of
the tile from cutting through the bags, and I wouldn't let the trash
can get too heavy. I'd spray down the stuff inside the bag just
before tying it up - can you tell I think wetting the stuff down is
the critical step, yet? I'd move slowly when tying up the bags as
squeezing them quickly tends to puff out some air, and that could
carry dust. And I'd pass the bags out through another basement window
so I wouldn't be traipsing through the house with the stuff. I'd work
in smaller sections where I could keep the tile and everything else
wet without drenching the basement, and I'd pick up the wet slurry
with a wet dry vacuum with a HEPA filter that I'd be prepared to toss
when I'm done (the filter, not the vacuum!). I wouldn't be sucking up
standing puddles, but more like wet slurry to prevent clogging the
vaccum filter.

At the end of everything it should be wiped down with wet rags and
they would be tossed in the trash when done. I wouldn't want to be
going back and forth from a bucket of water, wringing out the rags
like I'd normally do when wiping things down, as that would inevitably
leave some asbestos fibers behind.

I think you get the idea of how I'd go about it - I'd be fastidious
about it. You're only going to do it once, and no matter how you look
at it it's going to take a full day to do it safely, and it's no big
deal.

R