Weekend project time. I know what you’re thinking, It’s Tuesday, but I swear I did this last weekend. (Some might say your faithful author is a bit absent minded.)
The floor in my entry foyer is deep solid black and gleaming gold sparkle tiles. Laid out in a beautiful checker board pattern, it catches your eye the moment you walk in. On a sunny day the gold sparkles are almost blinding. Mostly in incredible shape, only a few trouble spots exist. A few of the tiles had corners coming unglued. They haven’t been tested but they are most likely asbestos based. Between a mild fear of living in a house full of broken vinyl asbestos tiles and my desire to keep them in beautiful shape, I decided they needed repair, sooner rather then later.
Not much to this DIY, a few dollops of Liquid Nails under the trouble spots, stacks of old college books to keep the tile corners down and wah-la you’re done. Just be careful not to use to much and quickly wipe way any excess that may squeeze out when pushing the tile down.
This tile here - is it 9 inch or 12 inch tile? BTW that other tile you found under the linoleum is awesome. I have some very similar in my foyer.
ReplyDeleteAll the tile in my house is 9" which is why, one day, I assume it will be the death of me. Thankfully it is all in great shape. I don't think I have made any posts yet about it but my basement is covered in a tile just like the stuff I found under the linoleum, only in a brown/tan color combination. Glad to meet a fellow old tile enthusiast.
DeleteAhh - 9 inch is possibly asbestos, but not guaranteed. If it's 12 inch it's definitely not (and wouldn't be original.) I have a post coming sometime soon here about the asbestos tile floor I took up from my downstairs. It wasn't salvageable because of the carpeting on top of it.
DeleteAsbestos tile really isn't that dangerous to take up - just wear a mask and get a tile scraper from Lowe's. I think the EPA just tells you to wet it down "just in case" as you take it up. Asbestos is dangerous when it is "friable" - meaning you've done something to release the asbestos fibers from the medium they are in. In a vinyl asbestos tile, you would more or less have to take a sander the tile (or the adhesive if it is black cutback style) to break the asbestos fibers free from the matrix of the tile. When you scrape the tile up, it will often just pop off the floor and maybe break into a few chunks. When that happens you (generally) haven't released asbestos fibers from the tile into the air. It definitely won't hurt you sitting on the floor, and if the tile comes up easily it won't hurt you taking it up and disposing of it. If it is breaks it isn't dangerous. The asbestos that I fear the most is pipe insulation - THAT is crazy dangerous because when you take it off it creates a cloud of dust...100% asbestos dust. That stuff you have to take a lot of precautions with.
Where did you get the gold tile from ? I would love to have that please let me know ASAP thank you ars15inc@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's actually original to the house.
DeleteWe hear about asbestos testing and wonder why it is so important? You will even find some writers and bloggers try to convince you there are no dangers related to asbestos exposure Asbestos testing
ReplyDeleteThere are absolutely dangers involved in asbestos. There are reasons they stopped using it in products. With tile anyway, you just don't have to freak out as long as its in good condition. If its cracked and dusty its not safe thought.
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