was the padding attached to the carpet, rather than a separate pad?
They came out with what was called rubber backed carpeting at one time.
A few years later that was changed to a whitish color foam backed
carpet, because of the black causing problems like you have. Both types
were cheaper and were usually diy so saved on installation costs.

Test it and find out. Never assume. Especially in an older house. It’s the black that’s more suspicious. Cutback generally does have low levels.

I believe it’s too thick and comes off too easily to be cutback.

I don’t remember if it was stuck to the carpet. My husband removed the carpet and I just started scraping.

We had that problem when we bought this house. It was outdoor carpet that was glued down to the wood floors. Lots of work scraping.

Kathyg, did you get it tested? How long did it take you? Any tips?

Our contractor will be here tonight and I am going to ask him too but he never seems that concerned about asbestos. I started scraping it up to save cost but now am wondering if we should just pay the 1200

It's probably just old carpet padding that's degraded and stuck to the concrete floor. I wouldn't worry about it. I've scraped off the same kind of stuff that was stuck to linoleum that was on a concrete slab. Is it scraping off fairly easily?

Party_music. Yes it’s coming off easily in some spots then harder in others but nothing like the stuff under the old linoleum. That is like concreted on

That is the cushion from old cushion back carpet. It manages to glue itself to the floor. Lucky that you have concrete; it's relatively easy to scrape off concrete...with the right tool. A long handled razor floor scraper is what you need; be sure to get one that uses replaceable razor blades.

Awesome, thanks ci_lantro for the feedback!

Colleen, No we did not get it tested, the house was built in 1970. DH knows a lot about asbestos, he was an engineer for the Detroit Schools and saw a lot of asbestos there, plus he went for some training certification for hazardous materials. He was not worried about it.

Colleen, It is the stuff under the linoleum that you might want to get tested. What you are scraping now, looks very much like the carpet backing I have scraped a time or two.

Thanks kathyg for the response!

Cat_ky, I am not doing linoleum. Contractor suggested leaving it because he is laying a subfloor and the linoleum is fully intact. Pretty sure it’s been covered by carpet since the 70’s or 80’s. House was built in 1970

The mastic (adhesive) used to stick down linoleum or vinyl tiles can have asbestos in it, but I agree what you seem to have here is carpet backing.

I have a similar issue in my basement. Are the white spots on the concrete like a powdery coating? Ours was carpet, black padding and then a white powdery substance that I assumed was old dried up carpet glue that dried out and gotten ground into powder after years of being walked on 🤷‍♂️