Hi, sorry if this is a repost, but here is my problem, i have a room there once i removed old carpet, i found concrete and 9x9 linoleum time. there are a bunch of cracks in the concrete and the floor is wavy. see pic.

http://www.settoflames.com/floor.jpg

The problem is that when i had a floor guy come in and do the rest of the house, he said that the 9x9 linoleum tiles are asbestos. i dont know how true that is, but i really dont know any better. so assuing i cannot remove those tiles, can someone suggest the best approach to evening out the floor.

i picked up engineered floor (not laminate) that i would like to install.

thanks alot. any suggestions are appreciated.

9x9 is a dead give-away that they are in fact VAT tiles (Vinyl Asbestos Tile)

Pop up all loose tiles without breaking then too much. Put a wet towel over the tiles as you remove the loose tiles. Clean/strip the floor well, of all wax that has been applied in the past life of the tiles.

Then use a product like ARDEX SD-F or MAPEI PlaniPatch. to flatten the substrate and encapsulate the asbestos tiles.


Or use the towel method above and a 6" putty knife and remove all the tiles and then wet scrape the black cutback adhesive residue, making sure to keep it wet. Then use the ARDEX or MAPEI as stated above.


Keeping things wet eliminates the dust, which is the problem with asbestos.



Then install your wood, once that has dried for a week or so, to get the moisture out. A ceiling fan running and a cross vent fan running, will speed up the moisture vapor release from the cement compound applied.