Backing Asbestos Vinyl Sheet Flooring

Asbestos backed sheet vinyl flooring was commonly installed in many ways including over hardwood softwood and concrete floors.

Backing asbestos vinyl sheet flooring.

During removal pulling the vinyl layer away from its paper backing must be avoided as much as possible. Adding confusion to flooring terminology sheet vinyl flooring referred to in some product literature and other mateirals as vinyl flooring or sheet vinyl flooring contained asbestos containing backers that may have been solid vinyl sometimes containing asbestos that is typically white or cream colored or asphalt impregnated felt sometimes containing asbestos that is virtually always black in color but that may have been coated on its underside with red material possibly rubber. What is asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring. Vinyl sheet flooring comes in large pieces and is usually cut to the size of the room and laid down in one piece.

Manufacturers often made this type of flooring with a friable asbestos backing which means mineral fibers are easily released into the air if the sheet flooring is disturbed or damaged. On wood floors the vinyl sheet flooring should be removed in large sections with a pry bar removing the underlayment while the flooring is still affixed to it. This article series describes sheet flooring products known to contain significant levels of asbestos. The backing of the vinyl sheet didn t crumble or anything like that but it did separate when i ripped the sheet off the floor.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring poses a significantly greater asbestos exposure risk than floor tiles or wallpaper. Asbestos vinyl sheet backing. Details for identifying asbestos or asbestos suspect sheet flooring products are at resilient sheet flooring id guide. Asbestos was widely used as a filler in both asphalt based and some vinyl based floor tiles of varying thicknesses and extending to some thin flexible self adhesive backed tiles as well as some sheet flooring.

The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet vinyl only if. I unknowingly tore up some. Asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring is where the backing the side attached to the floor see figure 1 contains friable easily broken asbestos material. Manufacturers often made this type of flooring with a friable asbestos backing which means asbestos fibres are easily released into the air if the sheet flooring is disturbed or damaged.

Figure 1 asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring. Separating the two layers could possibly release a dangerous level of asbestos into the air. But before about 1978 in products that looked like this same material asbestos fibers were used as a strengthen material on vinyl sheet flooring backing. If the vinyl resilient sheet flooring backing material were dry sanded or scraped during building demolition for example or if the sheet flooring is worn through so that foot traffic continues to damage the backing material it is possible for unsafe levels of asbestos fibers to be released in a building.