Asbestos tiles...

We are in the process of purchasing a house, it has some of these tiles in the basement and the closets, maybe even under the rugs in the bedrooms.

Do I have a professional come take them up? Do I just put new flooring over them? My husband says just put new flooring over them, but I would feel more comfortable if they weren't in the house at all!!

Anyone have them, and had them removed, how?

Re: Asbestos tiles...

If the tiles are intact, I would leave them and just lay new flooring over them.

It's very common for older homes to have these tiles, esp. in basements. I've heard many home inspectors advise buyers that they are only a health hazard when they become "friable" (i.e., fibers become dry and crumbly and can become airborne and be inahled). Unless they are disintegrating already, they should be fine if left alone. (For what it's worth, I have asbestos in my attached garage, but the inspector advised us to just let it be when we bought the house, so we did.) I know asbestos is one of those scary buzzwords, but sometimes it is not really a problem and removal would pose more of a danger.

When you remove them, that is when you risk making them friable. If you go that route, you definitely need a professional to remove them. There are special asbestos disposal services that know how to handle them properly.

It's a risk/benefit analysis - Why don't you contact your home inspector and ask what he would recommend? After all, you paid him to inspect the house and make recommendations... the inspectors I know always welcome and invite follow up questions.

Asbestos tiles...

They are only dangerous if they start deteriorating. Its very expensive to have that removed. You can put new flooring right over it. We think we have it our basement but we never had them test it. Anyway we just picked up any that were loose and had new flooring put right over it

Asbestos tiles...

I removed the ones in my house myself. The tiles have such a small amount of asbestos in them it didn't worry me.