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Congoleum Gold Seal linoleum flooring, Life Magazine 14 Feb 1955Non-Asbestos Sheet Flooring FAQs

Q&A on how to Identify Resilient Flooring or Sheet Flooring that Does Not Contain Asbestos

Frequently-asked questions about non-asbestos sheet flooring or resilient flooring product identification:

FAQs about how to recognize several sheet flooring or resilient flooring products that do not contain asbestos.

This article series describes sheet flooring products known to contain significant levels of asbestos. We also include photographs for identification of known asbestos-containing resilient sheet flooring as well as unknown flooring submitted for identification. The article gives safety and asbestos testing advice for sheet flooring products.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

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Examples of older sheet flooring that Does Not or is Unlikely to Contain Asbestos

Amarican manor carpet identification data tag (C) InspectApedia.com AllisonOn 2018-08-20 by (mod) - don't confuse carpeting and sheet flooring or resilient flooring

Forgive the confusion but the label in your photosays that the material is American Manor Carpets, nylon. This isn't a floor tile.

[Click to enlarge any image]

If there is flooring that you need tested for asbestos, see ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos_Test_Lab_Lists.php

On 2018-08-20 by Allison

Hello! I’m hopimg you may be able to help determine if this flooring has asbestos in it.

Our home was built in 1950. I’m not sure when this floor was installed. It is not glued down.

We would like to carpet the room, however, the company will not do so unless we remove the flooring or have it tested. We would like to utilize the room as a bedroom. Thank so much for your help!

On 2018-07-09 by (mod) - Any ideas as to weather it looks like a known asbestos or non-asbestos floor?

Sheet flooring may be asbestos free (C) InspectApedia.com Naomi

If the flooring could have been installed before the mid-1980s it would be prudent to treat it as assumed to contain asbestos.

On 2018-07-09 by Naomi

Just purchased our first home (yay!) and we’re dismayed to find this underneath a newer floor.

The newer sheet vinyl was almost certainly from 2000 or after, but the older one is anytime between 200 and 1963, when the House was built. It is overtop a hardwood floor.

Any ideas as to weather it looks like a known asbestos or non-asbestos floor? It was coming up in sheets...not tiles.

On 2017-12-10 by Tina

I will try emailing the photos to you :)

I have photos if that is helpful...

Thank you for the very informative website. My husband and I just started tearing up our kitchen floor when a friend warned us about asbestos.

I feel the vinyl/cushion flooring I top is probably safe as it is after 1980’s but under this is layer of mdf wafer board which covers up some sort of sheet flooring. I’m guessing 1930’s as it looks very similar to the image in the above article.

It has a dark red back and is very thin. It is not glued down but has. Ails here and there. I know you can’t guarantee anything from just a message description but I am wondering how likely it is to contain asbestos. We have stopped but now our kitchen is at an unusable standstill.

Can you give me any advice?

The house is probably Circa 1900-1930’s. It’s located in Nova Scotia Canada.

On 2016-11-23 by (mod) -

It would be prudent to treat the material as if it contained asbestos

On 2016-11-22 by Jeff

Our California house was built about 1948; we bought it in 1996. We just started pulling up the old linoleum floor in the kitchen and found that it was laid over a 1/16" thick floor that seems to be in sheets about 4' wide, but with a 9"x9" pattern on them to make it look like tiles.

That layer is bendable. It has a creamy white color and you can barely make out the pattern. Possibly the pattern and colors dissolved from the linoleum adhesive? I could not find a pattern match in any of your photos. I have photos I could send

. Do you think this layer is likely to have asbestos? Thank you very much.

On 2016-09-24 by Jim

We have 3 layers of flooring in our kitchen. Top layer is ceramic tile and the middle and bottom layer both linoleum. We've had both the linoleum layers tested and the middle layer does contain asbestos.

We were wondering if it would be safe for us to remove the ceramic tile (top layer) and then loosen the bottom layer, free of asbestos, and roll the bottom and middle layer together. We would not be disturbing the asbestos containing middle layer. Thank you for your help

On 2016-09-20 by Keith

Just checking on a date asbestos flooring was banned in California. We have what appears to be sheet vinyl or linoleum that was installed during a remodeling in 1983.

The above article mentions that a home built in 1986 is unlikely to have it as it was about 10 years after it was banned. I was just wondering about how long old stock was still sold after being banned. If there was a way to submit a photo, I would. Thanks for your help.

On 2016-05-15 by (mod) -

So Rebecca: did any of your sheet flooring tests of what seems to be linoleum report finding asbestos? Seems unlikely.

On 2016-05-15 by Rebecca

We are renovating a 1915 farmhouse. We've found several backing a with black rubber my style backing to a brown paper backing.

There are 4 layers of Linolium. We've tested it like asbestos... But the bottom most layer is the coolest.

Question: The manufacturer said if it wasn't black mastic, we are probably fine

(July 8, 2015) Ros said:
Hi. we recently purchased a home built in about 1965. It had multiple layers of flooring. We removed top layer of old hardwood, then a layer of cushion floor and layer of plywood and beneath that were tiles I am fairly certain are asbestos. Tiles were intact so we left it and covered with plywood again as we plan to tile. Then I got to worrying whether the vinyl contained asbestos too. It came up generally intact but some pieces ripped and a bit of the backing remained behind.

I scrapped it up after wetting down with water. The adhesive was a light colour. The vinyl was imprinted with Domco Series 46. I called the manufacturer and they can't tell me if it has asbestos or not. I would guess it was installed in the early 80's given the age of cabinets which sat on top of the vinyl. Any idea about this product?

The manufacturer said if it wasn't black mastic, we are probably fine. however, my internet search yields articles where this is a full on biohazard to don't worry about it, IF there is asbestos, the exposure is minimal. (unlike my grade school which allowed us to freely handle asbestos rocks in the classroom).

Anyways, I may try and get this tested but since it is already up, there's not much to be done about it, I am more curious to know in case this stuff is also in other parts of the house which we have yet to renovate...like bathrooms.

Reply:

Ros

I don't know what has happened to Domcor flooring but their website, as of the moment, is DOA. I'd appreciate any contact information you have for the company, by post here or by email found at our page bottom CONTACT link. Use that email also to send me some photos of your flooring for further identification research.

In my OPINION if a company won't give a yes or now answer to asbestos in their products then something has made them nervous. Or put another way if I knew that my flooring never contained asbestos I'd be a dope not to say so.

ADVICE: For buildings with floor tiles or sheet flooring that can be assumed to have been installed in North America before 1986 it would be prudent to treat the flooring as "PACM" or "Presumed Asbestos Containing Material".

That does not mean we should panic nor undertake an expensive and dangerous asbestos removal project.

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.

Generally the safest approach is to leave such flooring alone and to cover it over with a coating or with another layer of flooring.

 


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