I do agree - lots and lots of prying. One would think the staples would pull up with the underlayment. Noooooo, not these. The staples stay firmly planted into the wood floors while the underlayment pulls right up. Fabulous! ;) Hmmmm, poplar wood. I hadn't thought of that! I doubt they're anything spectacular by today's standards since the house itself was built during the second expansion of a cotton mill village in NC. The village very pretty in its day, but parts of it have taken a different turn since the houses became available for public purchase in the 1950's. It is now considered a National Historic District, but I don't think that matters much to most people around here. Great idea concerning the wallpaper steamer. Thank you! Fortunately, the mastic for both layers of vinyl tested negative for asbestos, so hopefully we'll be "in the clear" once we get the vinyl up. We've not had a chance to acquire the proper gear so we've not been back in the house. Thank you all for the suggestions and especially for not "flaming me" for even considering doing this ourselves.

The material is vinyl asbestos tile. The danger will be to your child. You can cover it up or have it professionally removed. I find it odd that the floor cannot be saved but I doubt it is worth saving unless it is quarter sawn oak ... It is probably clear fir and too soft for the surface to not be damaged.

I'm a retired floorman for over 40 years experience and went to a union school to learn the trade. Installers were told to take up asbestos tile and sheet vinyl with asbestos back years ago because they did not know of any danger so I sanded it down with a drum sander or took up 9 x 9 tile but in the 80's we were told it was dangerous so by law we could not do it. Wetting it down is part of the process to remove with masks and proper disposal. As far as danger in your house even if the tile glue which is black cut back had asbestos in it, if overlay-ed with plywood and new flooring is okay because it is then concealed and there is no harm to you. Years ago FHA required asbestos had to be used because it was fire retardant would not burn but melt. I sanded it for years and still not developed Mesothelioma Cancer.

This level of asbestos exposure has been discussed many, many, many times on Houzz. The little bit of exposure you have experienced would be considered negligible. It is so intensely low that no one in the medical industry would worry about it/you. The carpet is fine at this point. Leaving the broken tiles as they are is, at this point, full acceptable and probably the best option until you decide to deal with the ENTIRE basement. Leaving slightly damaged 9" x 9" tiles in place under carpet is fine. That's why they did it. The carpet is there for two reasons: 1. as a flooring surface in a basement; 2. something to protect the tiles from any further damage/deterioration. So long as you leave these tiles in place and undisturbed (like under the carpet) you are fine. If you like, you can send samples of both the tile AND the mastic to a lab ($100 per sample) and have it tested. Once you know, you can then make decisions on how to proceed in the FUTURE. Until then...leave the carpet and live your life. This is intensely low exposure. I wouldn't worry too much about it until you decide what to do with the basement renovation (that's when you have to budget for remediation).