Montgomery Ward Asbestos Floor Tiles:

How to identify Montgomery Ward floor tiles that do or may contain asbestos. Montgomery Ward asbestos floor tile identification photos, packaging, history, documentation.

Here we provide a photo guide to Wards or Montgomery Ward asphalt-asbestos flooring &Wards or Montgomery Ward vinyl asbestos floor tile identification photographs, a list of product names, styles, colors, and vinyl-asbestos floor patterns, and colors for asbestos-containing floor tile products - flooring materials that are reported to or have been confirmed to contain asbestos in asbestos fiber or asbestos powder-filler form.

Montgomery Ward Asbestos-Containing Floor Tiles, Photo Guide

Asphalt asbestos floor tiles ranging in size from 6x6" to 12x12" were popularized in North America, the U.K. and possibly Australia & New Zealand in the 1950's. Asphalt -asbestos tiles manufactured early in their life (1920's) were either black, near black, brown, or a gray-brown tone.

Our photo, provided by a reader, illustrates asphalt based spatter-pattern floor tiles from the 1950's. Labelled "Pace Setter Plastic Asphalt" and pattern B154 (36) 2256, this flooring was described as a Montgomery Ward product.

The key ingredients in this Wards floor tile were asphalt, asbestos (up to 70% asbestos in form of fibers and powdered form), and dyes.

Lighter resilient flooring such as shown in our page top photo used a different base material: vinyl, but asbestos continued as an ingredient that could comprise as much as 70% by weight of the flooring product.

Do you need to remove asbestos-containing flooring?

The answer is "it depends" - on the condition and location of the material. Soft, friable (which is not flooring) or damaged material or material that is to be removed by demolition and that contains asbestos is at least potentially hazardous, while a residential floor in good condition may be of little or no measurable asbestos risk.

See ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE

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.

Article Contents

• MONTGOMERY WARD ASBESTOS Floor Tiles
• TYPICAL MONTGOMERY WARD VINYL ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE
• MAGNIFIED VIEW OF EDGE OF VINYL-ASBESTOS FLOOR TILES
• MONTGOMERY WARD FLOOR TILE PACKAGING
• MONTGOMERY WARD FLOOR of UNCERTAIN ASBESTOS CONTENT
• FLOOR TILE ID FINDER

Vintage Montgomery Ward Floor Tile Photos

Our Montgomery Ward floor 1960's vintage tile photos below include images of the original packaging and information it provided about this product.

By the 1960's most resilient tile flooring production had shifted to vinyl-asbestos as had sheet flooring. Most of these resilient floor tiles were produced containing asbestos as both filler and a fiber strengthener - a formula that continued in production as late as the early 1980's.

At least some self-stick thinner and more flexible floor tiles sold into the early 1980's also used similar ingredients including asbestos.

For a detailed photo guide to individual vinyl-asbestos floor tile patterns, brands, sizes, and years of manufacture,

see ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION PHOTOS 1949-1959.

At left is our photo of an asbestos-containing floor tile sold by Montgomery Wards®.

In additional photographs below we show the examination of this "asbestos floor tile in the lab" as well as photos of the original labeling on the package in which these tiles were distributed.

We discuss the history of vinyl-asbestos floor tiles in our Age of House articles at FLOORING MATERIALS.

We discuss the inspection and diagnosis of various flooring defects, including vinyl asbestos tiles,

at FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS.

According to Rosato, even when vinyl or other synthetic organic resins were used as the binder to produce light colored floor tiles, asbestos fibers continued to be the main ingredient in these floor tile products, and may be present at levels as much as 70% by weight.

Above: photographs of Montgomery Ward Style-House Vinyl-Asbestos floor tiles and floor tile packaging, ca 1965.

Our photograph of a similar floor tile that may also be a Montgomery Ward vinyl-asbestos floor tile (left) was provided by reader Marc Daniels. Mr. Daniels reports (4/28/11) that lab tests of this floor tile did not find evidence of asbestos.

Reader comments & questions are invited. CONTACT us.

Additional photographs of Montgomery Wards asbestos containing floor tiles are also described and photographs of these (and other brands of floor tiles and sheet flooring containing asbestos) are provided

at ASBESTOS FLOORING IDENTIFICATION

Magnified View of Edge of Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tiles

This stereo-microscopic view of the edge of this asbestos-floor tile shows the combination of binder and other silicate materials.

At ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE LAB PROCEDURES we describe preparing a lab-test sample of this Montgomery Ward floor tile for microscopic examination by using procedures recommended by Walter McCrone, McCrone Research.

There you can see both asbestos fibers and very fine granular particles of asbestos filler material that make up much of the white "paste" you can make out in our floor tile edge photograph above.

Typical Packaging & Labels for Montgomery Ward Vinyl Asbestos or Asphalt Asbestos Floor Tile

Above: photographs of Montgomery Ward Style-House Vinyl-Asbestos floor tiles and floor tile packaging, ca 1965

I came across boxes of these Montgomery Wards floor tiles. The packaging does not say VAT (Vinyl Asbestos Tile) but instead Plastic Asphalt. These are Mongomery Ward Pace Setter Series floor tiles. - Keith Daenzer 11/17/12

These look like 1/8" thick tiles; I can't tell from the photos but I'm guessing they're 12"x12" and based on age and labeling most likely are asbestos-containing. Many of the early vinyl based flooring products used the word "plastic" rather than vinyl - it was considered a modern space-age material. More details are pending - Ed.

Montgomery Ward Floor Tile of uncertain asbestos content, advice

Reader Question:

10 April 2015 [Anonymous] said:
My husband and I bought our 1st home in March and just got hit with a lot of rain which ended with some water seepage into our basement.

The tile is warping and can now be lifted up with no effort I am worried that it might contain asbestos and even more concerned because we have 3 toddlers

. I was lucky enough to find left over tile still in its package but have had no luck finding out if it contains asbestos.

Please take a look at the picture I attached and let me know if it does contain asbestos and if so any advice on what to do next. Thank you! - M.

Reply:

What a beautiful Sage Green #81 12x12-inch Montgomery Ward tile. Too bad it's coming up. How old is the home? Do we have an idea when the floor could have been installed?

[Click to enlarge any image]

I am not sure I can correctly decode a date from the packaging (that 1963 looks a bit early) but I think it's reasonable to treat the flooring as presumed to contain asbestos unless we have other data.

If it is not breaking up, ground, or otherwise disturbed to make a dusty mess the asbestos hazard from the tile is rather low, but there may also be asbestos used in the mastic which on occasion can become a bit dusty and brittle with age (like me).

1. Do not panic. Doing so invites being gouged.
2. Do not run a household vacuum cleaner to clean up as you'll aerate any dust.
3. Do find and fix the source of water entry.
4. Do bag up for disposal loose tiles that can simply be picked-up.
5. Do not let an inexperienced contractor come in and make a dusty mess.
6. When we know the extent of floor damage and how much loose tile there is we can decide a reasonable course of action. Usually the best approach is to leave secure flooring in place and install new flooring over it.

Reader Question: can you identify this floor tile from a 1963 house?

I have attached a photo of the tile in a 1963 built house in Las Vegas, NV. I looked through the tiles in your guide, but didn't see the exact same time - although there were a few that were perhaps in the same family. Can you tell me if you can identify these tiles?

They are in remarkably good shape and show no wear and tear, however, if we remodel this house we will most likely remove this tile and replace it with ceramic tile or cement flooring. - D.M. 2/25/2013

Reply:

D.M.

I can only GUESS but your flooring looks so much like the Montgomery Wards tiles shown in the article above that I've posted it here - perhaps other readers will also have comment.

If you take a look at ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION you'll see that you may not have to and may not want to remove presumed-asbestos-containing flooring.

(Additional Montgomery Ward vinyl asbestos tile floor covering photos wanted - CONTACT US)

How to Find Your Floor Tile or Sheet Flooring in this Flooring Reference Photo Guide

Asphalt asbestos and vinyl-asbestos floor tiles were produced in 9" x 9", 12" x 12", and even 18" x 18" as well as in decorative strips, and in thicknesses of 1/16", 3/32", and 1/8", also in 0.08 gauge. Some sheet flooring or resilient flooring also contained asbestos, as did floor tile mastics.

This photo guide to asphalt asbestos & vinyl asbestos floor tiles for each year shows at least one color photo of each floor tile style or pattern in an example color. A list below each group of photos includes the names of and links to additional photos for other colors of these styles.

For a detailed photo guide to all brands of vinyl-asbestos floor tile patterns, sizes, and years of manufacture, start

at ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION PHOTOS 1949-1959.

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.

To identify a particular asphalt-asbestos or vinyl-asbestos floor tile pattern & color, start in the image group most likely to be the same age as your building.

If you don't find your floor tile or sheet flooring by looking forward from that that year, you should also look backwards in the earlier years as your specific flooring pattern & color may have first appeared in an earlier year. For other tile brands than Armstrong, see the brand name floor tile links included in this list.

If you can identify your floor tile collection name or model number, or if you recognize it in the extensive library of flooring color and pattern photographs provided in these pages, laboratory testing of the sample to screen the flooring for asbestos may be unnecessary.

To send us photographs of possible asbestos-containing flooring that you are trying to identify, use the page bottom Comments box (and the picture frame icon).

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2021-11-19 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator (mod) - 1950s or 1960s Wards Asphalt-Asbestos floor tile

@Elan,

I would treat those floor tiles as presumed to contain asbestos.

On 2021-11-18 by Elan

my basement has about 600 square feet of these tiles, I just found 2 boxes and wonder if they are asbestos or not.

Photo: Wards (Montgomery Ward) Style House Plastic Asphalt Floor Tile as llisted on the box as from AM. B.R. Co., PO Box 2151, Trenton NJ. AM. B.R. possibly American B.R. appears to have been a producer of asphalt-based floor tile for Montgomery Ward. It's also possible that the company has a modern (2021) successor, B&R FLooring America.

On 2016-02-29 by (mod)

Larry

Indeed while most references cite 9x9" and later 12x12" floor tiles, readers have reported other sizes including 6x6" as well as 8X8" tiles. If your flooring is self-adhesive press-and-stick then it would be from a much later era than 1940, perhaps in the 1970's. That flooring may still contain asbestos.

Please use our page bottom CONTACT link to send me some photos of your flooring for further comment and also to let me know what your test lab finds. What we learn will certainly help other readers.

Daniel

On 2016-02-28 by Larry Travis

Regarding Keith's submission about the Montgomery Ward plastic asphalt Pace Setter tiles: I pulled up carpet in our 1940's house and found tiles colored exactly like those. However, mine measure 8"x8" and are around 1/16" inch thick. A piece that came up looked to have a black layer for the bottom half of the thickness. I don't know if that was a press and stick layer or what.

There is also oily dark brown residue coming up from the seams of the tiles, which aren't in the greatest shape. There was also a chemical solvent smell in the room which I have smelled before but can't identify. The strangest thing, though, is the 8"x8" size. I found old newspaper ads for this particular brand of tile on Google but they all say 9x9, not 8x8.

Very confusing since I can't find verifiable references to 8x8 floor tile anywhere. Anyway, I have sent a piece out for testing.

On 2016-02-18 by (mod)

Because vinyl-asbestos floor tiles change in color after installation due to wear, sunlight, traffic, coatings, I doubt you'll obtain a precise match.

Please read the article above about asbestos warnings; if you plan to repair and keep the floor in place, I suggest a hard clear coating that will withstand foot traffic to reduce the risk of an asbestos "scare" or perhaps even an actual hazard.

See ASBESTOS FLOORING LEFT IN PLACE

On 2016-02-18 by N.J. Smith

Our church, built in 1959, has 9X9 vinyl tiles on the floor in the downstairs Sunday School area, and a small area of the same tiles are in the Sanctuary area. Part of the downstairs tiles have suffered water damage and need to be replaced. A smaller portion of the Sanctuary tiles have broken up because heavy equipment being moved over the tiles. I believe these tiles are original with the building.

We have been looking for discontinued tiles of the same size and thickness, and hopefully the same color. We recently bought some tiles that we found on eBay that appeared to be the same, and almost are, except for slight differences in color. The eBay tiles are a slightly warmer-tan, with streaks of cream, yellow, aqua and brown.

The old damaged church tiles are a cooler-tan with streaks of cranberry-red and blackish-grayish. The eBay tiles are close enough in color that we might use them, but first we would like to see if we can get any closer to the color of the original tiles.

The eBay tiles are Montgomery Ward PaceSetters, 9x9, 1/8 inch thick, Plastic Asphalt, Article #72R4206. We bought two boxes, 40 tiles in each box. We have no idea where our broken and damaged tiles in the church came from originally or what company made or sold them but they are probably from 1959.

We are looking for companies that sell discontinued tiles, preferable in the Central Ohio area. Maybe someone on your site knows of such a source and give us that contact information.

We will appreciate any help you can give.
nina.j.s@wowway.com

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Continue reading  at SEARS ROEBUCK VINYL ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE RECOGNITION or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• ASBESTOS FLOORING IDENTIFICATION - home
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• ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION
• ASBESTOS FLOORING LEFT IN PLACE
• FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS
• KIT HOMES, Aladdin, Sears, Wards, Others - including Montgomery Ward kit homes.
• SEARS ROEBUCK VINYL ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE RECOGNITION

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