Asbestos floor tiles??

[ElleOhElle]

Can anyone help please?
We were about to put down a new carpet and have found what appear to be asbestos vinyl floor tiles. We now have the following options;
Lift the old carpet and underlay and seal the tiles (risking releasing any dust particles into the room)
Get a company in to remove the tiles (and risk them not clearing up properly releasing dust particles in the room)
Lay the new carpet over the old carpet (old carpet is very, very thin)
Buy laminate flooring and lay this over the carpet (sealing it to the wall therefore encapsulating the old tiles)
Buy vinyl flooring and fit as laminate above.
Anyone had a similar problem or can anyone offer any advice. We've been told the amount of asbestos in the floor tiles is likely to be very small 2-7%

We unknowingly took up an asbestos floor- vinyl tiles

When we were told I did freak out abit. However, they were really solidly down and not dusty at all, even when we took them up. I think I'd remove the old carpet and seal them in.

You need to have professionals in to remove them, apparentely you can't just remove asbestos yourself as you risk harming other peoples health.
We were told to contact our council, they sent somebody out to assess and gave us recommended companies to call.
Ours wasn't floor covering but a huge slab that several people could have lifted, but we weren't allowed.
It was like that scene from ET, with the tunnel etc, neighbours and passers by wondered what was going on.
Please don't do it yourself it can still affect you up to 30 years later once you have been in contact with particles.

Past poster, I urge you to contact a hc professional if you have not already done so.

If the tiles are undamaged then best thing to do is cover over with a thin hardboard or floor underlay to encapsulate, as you said

It's only dangerous when particles are released by scraping/breaking/damaging the tiles so try not to.

To mitigate risk when working you can easily buy a half mask (over mouth filter thingy) from diy places. Also, do not sweep or vacuum any dust from the area. Spray the whole floor down with water and then mop if you need to clean surface before laying new covering over them.

Have you googled this? The HSE has information on just this issue available on line.

If it were me in my home, I would get a specialist company in to assess and give you a proper report with recommendations.

Undamaged tiles containing asbestos do not represent as much of a risk as cracked, chipped or torn ones (are there gripper roads nailed through any of the tiles do you know, for example?).

But you also don't know what's in the adhesive used or sealant. It's not worth the risk of disturbing them yourself and releasing asbestos into the air. I don't understand why you say 'and risk them not clearing up properly releasing dust particles in the room' because a company removing materials containing asbestos has to follow proper removal and disposal procedures by law and must also be licensed (and you should check they are licensed).

Options 1 or 2, but done by a specialist in either case would be my choice.

Laying carpet on carpet doesn't sound sensible at all and it doesn't actually solve any potential asbestos issues. Laminate is a floating floor so even with beading around the edges you could not ensure full encapsulation of the asbestos tiles. Vinyl laid on carpet would look a pig and ruck up not be able to grip the floor correctly - it needs to be laid on a flat surface.

Whoever laid the carpet originally nailed the gripper into the tiles yes.
You never know with any company that they're doing a proper job that's all I meant by that.
I have googled if so much but there is nothing that gives you proper advice on what to do in what situation - I gave hse a call but they only deal with queries in the workplace.

Morethanpotatoprints - are u a home owner - I've looked on council website and they only seem interested in helping if you're a council tenant

Elle

They are wrong and you need to complain. Yes, we are home owners and it's their responsibility to help you.
They won't pay the cost but rightly so imo if you are home owner, but they have to help you even if its just fact sheets, info and some numbers to call.
There is little publicityabout the effects of asbestos and more people need to be made aware of it as it can have such a detrimental affect on your life and not be apparent until many years after the event.

There was an article written a while ago now and a report intoteachers dying young and it being attributed to asbestos in schools.
It is ok unless disturbed and in this case they believed it was knocking pins into walls that caused the leaks.
I know many schools after this report had pros in to remove the stuff. Colleges and uni's are affected to.

OP - I used to work in commercial property management: you can find a contractor via the ARCA website and make sure you check their licences are current. IMO you should get a professional opinion - there are firms out there that do environmental surveys who will assess the asbestos and produce a report for you. They can probably recommend contractors too.

I don't know what area you are in, but you can PM me for advice/recommendations and if I can help, I will.

The local council will have a property/estates department - they should be able to tell you which firms locally they have listed as approved environmental assessors (if they don't employ such specialists themselves) and asbestos removal contractors.

Don't forget that the workers removing asbestos put themselves at risk if they don't wear the correct PPE and follow the procedures laid down.

Morethanpotatoprints - 'little publicity about the effects of asbestos'?

I'm flabbergasted - not true: 30+ years ago the devasting effects of asbestos were not widely known/appreciated, but they are now which is why there is legislation about its use, maintenance, checks on it, removal and disposal.

Wow

I have to beg to differ, just the people we have come across and mentioned our asbestos removal were surprised at the trouble we had to go to and that there are legislations.
I don't think that generally people are aware enough.

Maybe it's a generational thing then and younger people (30s and below) aren't as aware? If I mention asbestos to any of my friends and family they certainly know the dangers and that you can't just rip it out and throw it away.