Marmoleum Click over possibly asbestos-containing vinyl tile?

9 years ago

I suspect the tile in my powder room contains asbestos, so I don't want to remove it. I want to put Marmoleum Click over it. But there are three layers of vinyl tile on the floor now: brown stick on tiles (no asbestos, I had it tested), white 12" stone-patterned tile (might contain asbestos), black and white 6" tile and black mastic (probably contains asbestos) stuck to a plywood subfloor. You can see all the layers here:

That gap in the bottom of the photo is where my carpenter cut out the kitchen floor when I thought I was going to tile the powder room floor. But now I don't want to spend $$$ on this tiny powder room floor, so am wondering if I can just take up the top layer of brown tile and DIY Marmoleum Click over the two bottom layers of tile.

There are two problems with this plan:

#1) the Click will be about 1/4" higher than the wood floor of the kitchen, so I can't figure out how to make the transition. My carpenter can fill the gap with hardwood wood, but it won't match the kitchen floor and might look strange. He could put plywood down in the gap, and I could put Click over that, but what would I use to cover the uneven level between the Click and the hardwood floor? Am I correct in assuming I can't put the Click and the hardwood right next to each other because there has to be a 1/8" expansion gap? (sorry if I'm not using the right terminology here, I'm a novice at this)

#2) as you can see from the photo, the white vinyl tile is breaking up. Pieces of it broke off when I pulled up one brown tile, so I'm assuming there will be more breakage so the floor will be uneven. How will I level out the floor? The Marmoleum installation guide says the floor needs to be smooth, even for Click. Can I use Ardex Feather Finish or something like that to patch the places where the white vinyl tile broke off?

Or am I better off just removing the entire floor? I'm very fearful of cutting through a possibly asbestos-containing material, even though my carpenter did it once already when he cut the kitchen floor out next to the powder room, unbeknownst to me.

This is a 4' x 4' powder room -- if he wets down the floor before sawing through it will that make it safer to remove the floor? He'd likely only make one cut and pull out the floor in two halves.

If I used glue-down Marmoleum (sheet or tile), the powder room floor would be even with the adjoining kitchen floor, so the transition strip could be flat, which I'd prefer. But would it be possible to level the floor enough for glue-down Marmoleum? According the Farbo website, the answer is "NO!"

I've spent hours and days and weeks trying to figure out what to do about this tiny floor! Any and all advice most appreciated!

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Comments (3)

leavemeout
Original Author
9 years ago
One more question: How hard is it to cut a hole in Marmoleum Click for the toilet? I can handle straight cuts (I've looked at a zillion videos online and read through all the Marmoleum instruction manuals), but cutting a round hole sounds challenging. I couldn't find a video that showed how to do it. I have minimal DIY skills, but I'm pretty sure I can do this!
PRO
Carpet One Columbia
9 years ago
You may want to talk to your state's Dept. of Natural Resources and ask about their regulations on asbestos removal practices. You might be surprised, depending on where you live, at how seemingly simple it is to comply with asbestos removal regulations, methods of removal and disposal as a homeowner. For a 4x4 area, I would try to remove the existing underlayment and all layers of tile at once and not cut into the potential asbestos containing tile and adhesive. This should be able to be done if there are no walls or built-ins on top of the existing floor. Once you get down to the sub-floor, install a nice, clean piece of underlayment grade underlayment and install your Marmoleum sheet or Click product. Plan it so that the new floor and the existing hardwood are the same height and use a custom made transition or one that Marmoleum produces for use with their floors (yes, respect expansion). This is my quick, knee jerk answer to this flooring dilemma. Follow the Marmoleum instructions to the letter. The sheet goods especially have some special instructions that should not be overlooked or minimized. Cutting the hole for the toilet: drill a hole in the click plank, set your jigsaw in it and cut to and around the traced line you have marked to indicate the size and location of where the toilet will be in relation to the tile.
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leavemeout
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you, Carpet One! I checked, and homeowners can remove non-friable asbestos tile under 100 square feet. It's perfectly legal in my state.

The black and white tile is glued with black mastic right to the plywood subfloor, so I'd have to remove the plywood subfloor with the tile stuck to it all in once piece. Is it likely I can do this without cutting through the plywood? My house was built in 1952. I'm going to take out the sink, toilet and shoe molding and baseboard, and then see if I can pry it up in once piece. If that works, then I'm golden! If not, I'll leave it in place and put Marmoleum Click on top of it.

Has anyone gone over an uneven vinyl floor with Click? Will my floor be all lumpy if I don't fill in the places where the white vinyl tiles came up? Or will the underlayment (whisper wool?) level that out?

Marmoleum doesn't make transition pieces any more. I did check this. Why, I don't know. So I guess I'm stuck with wood or metal, which I don't want.

Would a custom-made transition be made of wood? Would my carpenter make it? I'm trying to save money here, but I have no carpentry skills. I think I can install Click, but that's about it.

But a jigsaw?? Ha ha. I think I'll have to call in my carpenter to cut the hole for the toilet.

Marmoleum Click over possibly asbestos-containing vinyl tile?

Comments (3)

leavemeout
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Carpet One Columbia

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Marmoleum Click over possibly asbestos-containing vinyl tile?

Comments (3)

leavemeoutOriginal Author

Carpet One Columbia

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leavemeout
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