Color Guide to Asphalt Asbestos & Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles
- POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about how to identify brands & types of vinyl & vinyl-asbestos floor tiles & sheet flooring & about the asbestos content of these products
Color photo guide to asphalt asbestos and vinyl asbestos floor tiles, 1900 -1986 using dominant floor tile color to identify the probable asbestos-containing floor tile brand, pattern, and age.
Here is an asbestos floor tile identification key sorted by primary flooring color: beige, black, blue, brown, tan, wood tone, gray, green, red, white, yellow, etc.
Page top photo: Armastrong's Osage Green asphalt asbestos floor tiles, probably from the 1950s or early 1960s.
This article series provides a guide to identifying asphalt-asbestos flooring (1917 - ca 1960) & vinyl asbestos floor tile (ca 1952 - 1986): identification photographs, product names, styles, colors, and vinyl-asbestos floor patterns, and colors for asbestos-containing floor tile products made between about 1930 and 1986 - flooring materials that are reported to or have been confirmed to contain asbestos in asbestos fiber or asbestos powder-filler form.
These flooring products typically contain chrysotile asbestos, and possibly other asbestos forms.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?
Asphalt or Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles Color Guide
Armstrong and other floor tile or sheet flooring manufacturers often offered several patterns with a particular dominant color that can help quickly identify the flooring brand and style. We include some examples here.
Above is the color key to Armstrong Feature solid color floor tiles & accent strips 12" x 12" x 1/8" solid color floor tiles and 1" x 24" solid color vinyl-asbestos flooring accent strips in the colors shown. These tiles were intended for accent spots, not for tiling an entire floor, because the solid color flooring would show scratches.
We've split this page into individual floor tile or sheet flooring identification guides by dominant color:
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION BEIGE BROWN TAN or WOOD TONE
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION BLACK
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION BLUE
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION GRAY
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION GREEN
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION RED
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION WHITE
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION YELLOW
- SPECKLED / SPOTTED FLOOR TILE ASBESTOS
Abestos-containing floor tile pattern number key
For Armstrong floor tiles, the three digit color or pattern numbers originated in the 1950's or 1960's while the five-digit color or pattern numbers date typically from the 1970's or 1980's.
Other manufacturers of course use their own product numbering codes and schemes as you'll find in this article series.
Avoid These Errors in Comparing Floor Tile Colours
The photographs below of red and gray Armstrong vinyl-asbestos floor tiles show the same floor under two different lighting levels.
Watch out: variations in lighting, use of flash, cleanliness, layers of wax or other coatings and even the colour of the lighting source can all affect the perceived colour of floor coverings. When looking through colour examples or pattern photographs for a match for your floor tile or sheet flooring keep this in mind.
Similarly, among some floor tile products, especially the earlier asphalt asbestos and some early vinyl asbestos flooring, flooring sold with the same pattern and hue name may vary by manufacturing batch.
Later improvements in the manufacturing process made the production of flooring more consistent in appearance.
Below I give another example using dark brown Armstrong floor tiles in a popular pattern sold over many years. Note the effect of variation in lighting or even in the camera focus - both of which can confuse floor tile color and pattern recognition.
Camera focus also varies due to lighting or other trouble., affecting the appearance of floor tile pattern details. I think the floor below is probably Cayuga Brown #715 by Armstrong.
All three of these photographs are of the very same flooring under different lighting conditions. In my third photo below you can also see the effects of dust and dirt on the floor.
...
Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above
Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.
Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs
Do early 1970's 12"x12" floor tiles contain asbestos?
House was built in 1972. These tiles are 12"x12" installed on concrete floor. Asbestos?
On 2021-12-14 by Brad
Answer by Inspectapedia Com Moderator
@Brad,
It would be prudent to treat that floor as presumed to contain asbestos.
You'll want to review ASBESTOS FLOORING LEFT IN PLACE
as well as other risk reduction options mentioned at the end of that article.
Have a sample of the flooring tested, or you can make a reasonable *guess* at whether or not the floor contains asbestos by answering the few easy questions found at:
DOES THIS FLOORING CONTAIN ASBESTOS? - 5 easy steps that can help you make a reasonable guess at whether or not the floor you ask about contains asbestos.
https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/DIY-Asbestos-Floor-Test.php
Asbestos is safe and legal to remain in homes or public buildings as long as the asbestos materials are in good condition and the asbestos can not be released into the air. - US EPA
The safest and least costly approach is to leave the flooring alone, in place, and to cover it with new material.
If the floor is in poor condition or must be removed then see the asbestos floor removal and asbestos hazard reduction articles found in the ARTICLE INDEX at the end of any of these pages.
Are these 1979 white flooring fragments an asbestos product?
Maybe not? House built 1979. Tile on cement basement floor.
On 2021-11-11 by Amber
Advice by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - asbestos in older shattered stone pattern floor tiles
@Amber,
See ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION WHITE and in particluar the shattered stone floor tile patterns on that such as
- CUSTOM SHALESTONE (shown in color Bushkill white # 57000) 12" x 12" x 1/16" floor tile images from 1969 - shown above
- SHATTERED STONE WHITE 51173
Then take a look at
DOES THIS FLOOR CONTAIN ASBESTOS? - 5 easy questions to tell if your FLOOR probably contains asbestos
in the RECOMMENDED ARTICLES list on this page
Identify green linoleum sheet flooring with black adhesicce
Hello. We purchased our home and under the carpet going upstairs we found tiles underneath.
Now I do not now if these tiles more like a carpet one piece covers the whole step. The color is green and the glue underneath is black.
On 2021-08-28 by Giovanni
by inspectapedia.com.moderator
@Giovanni,
That looks like
LINOLEUM SHEET FLOORING GUIDE - see https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Linoleum_Flooring.php
Maybe an Armstrong or Congoleum or similar product.
Should these 1946 green and white floor tile be presumed to contain asbestos
Please help. House build 1946 - would these floor tiles be asbestos? And if so, how likely other floors covered by carpet would also have asbestos floor tiles under them. Thank you.
On 2021-08-03 by Lois
by inspectapedia.com.moderator -
@Lois,
Yes, and Highly likely.
Does linoleum sheet flooring like this contain asbestos?
I am trying to figure out if this flooring maybe asbestos. Any help appreciated. n 2021-03-12 by kerry
by (mod) - Identifying linoleum and other sheet flooring
@kerry,
Your photo shows a linoleum rug that you will find in our articles found in the page bottom ARTICLE INDEX under "Linoleum"
Or go directly to LINOLEUM & SHEET FLOORING
Some of those products contain asbestos in the asphalt paper backer.
...
Continue reading at ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
Or see ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION COLOR KEY FAQs - questions and answers posted originally on this page
Or see these
Recommended Articles
- ASBESTOS FLOORING IDENTIFICATION GUIDE INDEX - all brands, all years
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE - home
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION COLOR KEY
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION BEIGE BROWN TAN or WOOD TONE
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION BLACK
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION BLUE
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION GRAY
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION GREEN
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION RED
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION WHITE
- ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION YELLOW
- SPECKLED / SPOTTED FLOOR TILE ASBESTOS
- ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD LEVEL ASSESSMENT
- ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION
- ASBESTOS FLOORING LEFT IN PLACE
- ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE
- DOES THIS FLOOR CONTAIN ASBESTOS? - 5 easy questions to tell if your FLOOR probably contains asbestos -
- FLOOR TILE / SHEET FLOORING PHOTO GUIDES - photo guides, all brands, all years
Suggested citation for this web page
ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION COLOR KEY at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
Or see this
INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to ASBESTOS HAZARDS
Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia
Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia
Share this article:Search the InspectApedia website
Need to make a private comment? Email editor@inspectApedia.com. We welcome email with your website content critique, corrections, suggestions or questions. Email is monitored daily but our workload may prevent an immediate reply. For immediate results, we hope you'll first try asking your question using the search box just above.
Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- [1] Armstrong ® Residential Flooring - Website 05/15/2010 https://www.armstrongflooring.com/ lists current flooring products provided by the Armstrong Corporation, including Armstrong's current vinyl floor tile products at https://www.armstrongflooring.com/flooring/products/vinyl-floors
- [2] Armstrong Corporation, Corporate History - https://www.armstrongflooring.com/corporate/corporate-history.html - Web Search 05/19/2010
- [3] Armstrong vinyl asbestos floor tiles: photos of asbestos-vinyl floor tiles as catalog pages (PDF form) are at www.asbestosresource.com/asbestos/tile.html
- [5] "Asbestos in your home or at work," Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department, Winston-Salem NC 12/08
- [6] "Asbestos Floor Tile Removal", the University of Minnesota's advice on removing VAT (vinyl asbestos or asphalt asbestos floor tile) can be read in detail at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/asbestos/floortile/index.html
- [7] Copy on file as ASBESTOS IN YOUR HOME - U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- [8] Resilient Floor Covering Institute, 1030 15th St. NW, suite 350, Washington D.C.
- [9] Inspiring Interiors from Armstrong 1950s from Armstrong, [Paperback], Schiffer Publishing (March 1998), ISBN-10: 0764304585, ISBN-13: 978-0764304583
- [1] Interior Solutions from Armstrong the 1960s from Armstrong, [Paperback], Schiffer Publishing (March 1999), ISBN-10: 0764307002, ISBN-13: 978-0764307003
- [10] Mechanix Illustrated How-to-do-it Encyclopedia Vol 2. -1961
- [11] Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on ASBESTOS, ITS INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS, ROSATO 1959, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
- [12] Congoleum Corporation, "Company History", Congoleum Corporation, Department C, P.O. Box 3127, Mercerville, NJ 08619-0127 1-609-584-3601, web-search 03/14/2011, original source: http://www.congoleum.com/history.html
- [13] David Grudzinski, Advantage Home Inspections, is a professional home inspector in Cranston, RI. 02910. He can be reached at 401-935-6547, fax- 401-490-0607 or by email to contact/us@advantagehomeinspections.us 04/26/2009
- [14] EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- [15] EPA ASBESTOS MATERIALS BAN: CLARIFICATION 1999
- [16] EVER WEAR TILE CO is currently (2009) in the Terrazzo, Tile, Marble, and Mosaic Work industry in Fallon, NV. 775) 423-6221. [We do not know the company history nor whether there is an association with EverWear vinyl asbestos floor tiles discussed in this article.]
- [17] Kentile KenFlex flooring photographs:Flickr web search 5/15/2010 - see original material and other asbestos product photos
- [18] "Plastic Flooring Spreads Through the House", Jackson Hand, Guide to Home-Improvement Materials, Popular Science, April 1969, p. 154-158
- [19] Thomas Hauswirth, Managing Member of Beacon Fine Home Inspections, LLC and (in 2007) Vice President, Connecticut Association of Home Inspectors Ph. 860-526-3355 Fax 860-526-2942 beaconinspections@sbcglobal.net 06/07: thanks for photographs of transite asbestos heating ducts
- [20] Gary Randolph, Ounce of Prevention Home Inspection, LLC Buffalo, NY, for attentive reading and editing suggestions. Mr. Randolph can be reached in Buffalo, NY, at (716) 636-3865 or email: gary@ouncehome.com 3/07
- [21] Thanks to reader Matt Abel, Design Services Department, Strongwood Log Home Company, 711 Shadow Road, Waupaca WI 54981, Office (715) 258-4818, Toll Free (866) 258-4818, www.gostrongwood.com "Begin your journey home.." for vinyl asbestos floor photos, October 2010.
- [22] Thanks to reader Meryl Silvers for hexagonal floor tile photos showing a possilbe Kentile product that contained asbestos. October 2010.
- [23] Thanks to reader N.H. for providing a photo of 1970's era vinyl asbestos floor tile that we identify as most likely Armstrong Solarian Devonport white.
- [24] M.B. provided photographs of Congoleum linoleum flooring from a 1960's Tampa Florida home.
- [25] L.R. provided photographs of Armstrong Palimino Beige and Pecan Beige asphalt asbestos floor tiles, floor tile packaging and identification details, along with asbestos test lab results. Personal correspondence with DF, 10/22/2012
- [26] Window Putty - OSHA case cites contractor for asbestos exposure during removal of window putty http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=1091 June 1997 -
- Asbestos Identification and Testing References
- [27] Asbestos Identification, Walter C. McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
- [28] Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
- [20] Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
- Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on ASBESTOS, ITS INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS, ROSATO 1959, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print, text and images available at InspectAPedia.com).
- [31] "Handling Asbestos-Containing roofing material - an update", Carl Good, NRCA Associate Executive Director, Professional Roofing, February 1992, p. 38-43
- [32] EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
CONTINUE READING or RECOMMENDED ARTICLES.
- Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: info@carsondunlop.com. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The HOME REFERENCE BOOK - the Encyclopedia of Homes and to use illustrations from The ILLUSTRATED HOME .
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.
 |
HOME | ABOUT | ASK a QUESTION | CONTACT | CONTENT USE POLICY | DESCRIPTION | POLICIES | PRIVACY | |
| © 2026 - 1985 Publisher InspectApedia.com - Daniel Friedman | |||||||||