Q&A: Asbestos in floor ????????????????????
Question by Laura: Asbestos in floor ????????????????????
I went to homedepot for new flooring. they said they won’t remove the lenolium in the?
kitchen or bathroom unless it is tested for Asbestos. since the rest of the house is carpet it is ok. they said this is a law and law is one yr old. if i had it done last yr I didn’t have to find an specialist to do it. and if it has asbestos it will be very costly.
has any body done the asbestos test? what company? i live in california. last yr I removed half of the lenolium sheet in my bathroom and replaced it with vinyl tiles. if it had asbestos were I dead by now? thanks.
Best answer:
Answer by Peltier
First of all, if Home Depot is anything like Lowe’s, do not get them to install anything in your house. They charge you a ridiculous fee for hiring a company that you can find yourself in your yellow pages because they’re not happy just selling you the material. Call a local flooring company and you’ll save a lot of money.
Ask friends for referrals so that get a decent one.
As far as the asbestos is concerned you only have two choices. Do it right and pay dearly or do it like last year. Your decision.
Give your answer to this question below!

I think it would only really hurt you only if you ate it! I cant believe they will not remove it. Do you have to remove it or can you put new tile right over the old tile?
I’m a licensed Asbestos inspector in Indiana.
No form of Linoleum has ever contained asbestos.
Only ‘old’ square floor tiles could have it, and even then, so long as you pull them up by hand (no grinder or abrading) they are not regulated.
Also, there is no regulation concerning residential removal by the owner.
Wet it down with water, and tear it out yourself. The water will kill anything resembling asbestos (even though there isn’t any).
By the way: An asbestos test costs about $ 40. Just call any environmental sampling company in the phone book.
Many types of linoleum contained asbestos in the backing, which can not be separated. The law (NESHAPS) requiring the testing is more than a year old and applys if anyone other than the homeowner does the removal. OSHA regulations also require it in most cases. Go to your yellow pages and find a local lab that does the testing for instructions in California. You can take the sample or have the lab send someone (it may be a different company they recommend). If you take the sample (linoleum and backing) to the lab it will be <$ 50 to test. If they come out it will be several hundred dollars. If it is asbestos, you want to have it professionally removed since linoleum backing is tricky to do as a homeowner.
There are many ways to test for the presence of asbestos in a home. To test for asbestos, use a mist bottle to spray the area to be tested lightly with water.This dampens the surface so the fibers are less likely to become airborne. Gently break off a piece of the material while wearing gloves and a face mask. Place the sample into a resealable plastic bag and close it securely. The sample should be packaged up and sent to an asbestos testing lab. You can find a federally accredited lab, by searching the internet. If the results come back positive after you test for asbestos and you’ll be renovating and remodeling, it’ll be important to bring in the experts to eliminate the asbestos fiber. Renovating an old house can be rewarding but don’t take any chances when it comes to your health. Always test for asbestos first.