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Home Repair Flooring

sealing or covering old asbestos vinyl flooring?

4 years ago

I have asbestos tile flooring and glue under my current carpet which I plan to replace with vinyl planks or laminate. I am wondering about having to seal the old flooring/asbestos first or put 4x8 sheets of underlayment plywood over top of it. Some rooms have old tile and some don't but I would like to match the flooring from 1 room to another without having reducers. Any help or advice??

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Comments (3)

SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
OK...here we go. If you are thinking of adding plywood to what you have (which is entirely acceptable) I'm going to assume you have a WOODEN subfloor sitting on wood joists? Is that correct?

Now here's the fun part. A FLOATING vinyl or laminate floor MUST HAVE transition strips through door ways. I'll say that again: Must. Have.

So now things get a little easier. It is entirely possible you can install over top of the existing tile without doing ANYTHING. Yep...so long as the asbestos tile is smooth and flat (ahhhh....there's the rub!) you can lay down rigid flooring.

But...and this is a big one...if the tiles look all bumpy and rough (like there are little stones underneath) or the subfloor sags towards a corner or the middle of a room, you have to do something to level it. And that's where the plywood comes in.

If you can manage an install WITHOUT laying new plywood, simply use the t-mouldings in the doorways and keep going. The small height variance (1/16") isn't going to make a difference through a doorway. That's what the T-moulding is for.

If you do NOT want the transition strips through doorways then you MUST glue down the vinyl. Laminate always needs T-mouldings whether you use plywood or not. It is the nature of a floating floor.
Kendall Fugere thanked SJ McCarthy
kudzu9
4 years ago
Kendall-

You do not need to seal the tile or put plywood on top of it. As long as you don’t disturb the tile by breaking it up or sanding it there is no issue with fiber release.
Kendall Fugere thanked kudzu9
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Kendall Fugere
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks guys! Yes I do have a 2 layer 3/4inch plywood sub-floor. I was thinking about doing the 1/8 inch plywood/underlayment from homedepot. The flooring is pretty level for a 60's home nothing I need to repair. I will probably end up leaving the old tile alone and just floating the laminate or new vinyl over top. I will know more when it comes time to rip the carpet completely out and see how it looks. Thanks again.

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