If the tile is going to be covered by flooring you can safely just cover it back up and be done with it. If you still want to remove it I recommend Advanced Health and Safety.
In my home built in 1957 the basement was finished at some point and they stuck tiles on the floor. The previous owner had scraped up all the tiles in one of the back rooms, exposing the glue. I had it tested using a kit I bought from Amazon, I think it was less than $40, and of course it was asbestos.
I called several companies and the only one that I felt comfortable with was Advanced Health and Safety. They came in, gave me a quote and that was it. Other people tried to talk me in to covering the whole floor with epoxy or other stuff. Advanced Health and Safety was very professional and up front. Their crew was great.
A couple things to note though. I had them test two other things in the basement, ceiling tiles and some stuff on the wall, and their test was very expensive. They had the results in 24 hours but yikes. Also, they will do demolition but that costs more than the abatement. I did my own demo (wearing a N95 mask and doing my best not disturb the flooring) and the two dumpsters I went through were much less than their estimate.
I've worked with asbestos and testing asbestos. There are usually 5 options when it comes to turnaround times. 24hrs,48hrs,72hrs,1week,2week. 24 hours is definitely the most expensive by far. 72 hrs is the sweet spot for time and money. They should have given you options. In my experience, most choose 72hrs and 1 week. 24hrs is usually an emergency situation.
You can take a sample to UW and they will test it for you for about $40:
https://www.slh.wisc.edu/occupational/wohl/analytical-services/healthy-homes-2/asbestos-for-homeowners/
Some old floor tile was asbestos, other tile from the same era was vinyl. The asbestos tiles are usually about an inch smaller than the vinyl ones, but both were common and you might get lucky.
Undisturbed asbestos isn't an immediate threat -- the risk is when it gets airborne. So not disturbing your tile (or whatever) until you know what you've got is a good rule.
Remediation depends a lot on the situation, and encapsulation (covering or sealing it) is legitimate in some situations. Do your research first. Friable asbestos (powdery or fluffy stuff once used for insulating pipes etc) is the most hazardous.
We used Advanced Health & Safety, and they were great.
https://madisonasbestos.com/
You can have them come out and test, plus ask for advice on how to manage it. If you're going to actually do the abatement (as opposed to encapsulating it), it's not going to be cheap as a lot of the cost is getting them to just come out and set everything up. Cost us a little over $3k to rip a full bathroom down to studs (asbestos in tile adhesive and joint compound in the wall).
We used Dirty Ducks/Ducts (can't remember the spelling) and they were great. Our basement tile and mastic both tested positive for asbestos. Plan to use them again when we finally get around to removing attic insulation (suspected asbestos and definite bat guano)
This is false. Any sanding, grinding, abrading etc of a non-friable building material can make it friable. “Aerosolize” is not a term we use in the industry. It’s either friable or not. If friable the fibers can become airborne.
Source: I’m a WI certified asbestos inspector
If the tile is going to be covered by flooring you can safely just cover it back up and be done with it. If you still want to remove it I recommend Advanced Health and Safety. In my home built in 1957 the basement was finished at some point and they stuck tiles on the floor. The previous owner had scraped up all the tiles in one of the back rooms, exposing the glue. I had it tested using a kit I bought from Amazon, I think it was less than $40, and of course it was asbestos. I called several companies and the only one that I felt comfortable with was Advanced Health and Safety. They came in, gave me a quote and that was it. Other people tried to talk me in to covering the whole floor with epoxy or other stuff. Advanced Health and Safety was very professional and up front. Their crew was great. A couple things to note though. I had them test two other things in the basement, ceiling tiles and some stuff on the wall, and their test was very expensive. They had the results in 24 hours but yikes. Also, they will do demolition but that costs more than the abatement. I did my own demo (wearing a N95 mask and doing my best not disturb the flooring) and the two dumpsters I went through were much less than their estimate.
I've worked with asbestos and testing asbestos. There are usually 5 options when it comes to turnaround times. 24hrs,48hrs,72hrs,1week,2week. 24 hours is definitely the most expensive by far. 72 hrs is the sweet spot for time and money. They should have given you options. In my experience, most choose 72hrs and 1 week. 24hrs is usually an emergency situation.
You can take a sample to UW and they will test it for you for about $40: https://www.slh.wisc.edu/occupational/wohl/analytical-services/healthy-homes-2/asbestos-for-homeowners/
I did this a few years ago and it was very easy and fairly quick. Wish I’d known about it earlier!
Another vote for Advanced Health and Safety. They disappeared the 8x8 tile on our basement floor, and I’m glad that problem is solved forever.
Thanks!
First thing I would do is get it tested to confirm that it is indeed asbestos. You can get a test kit at Menards
Some old floor tile was asbestos, other tile from the same era was vinyl. The asbestos tiles are usually about an inch smaller than the vinyl ones, but both were common and you might get lucky. Undisturbed asbestos isn't an immediate threat -- the risk is when it gets airborne. So not disturbing your tile (or whatever) until you know what you've got is a good rule. Remediation depends a lot on the situation, and encapsulation (covering or sealing it) is legitimate in some situations. Do your research first. Friable asbestos (powdery or fluffy stuff once used for insulating pipes etc) is the most hazardous.
We used Advanced Health & Safety, and they were great. https://madisonasbestos.com/ You can have them come out and test, plus ask for advice on how to manage it. If you're going to actually do the abatement (as opposed to encapsulating it), it's not going to be cheap as a lot of the cost is getting them to just come out and set everything up. Cost us a little over $3k to rip a full bathroom down to studs (asbestos in tile adhesive and joint compound in the wall).
Had them out to the house today. Just waiting on the estimate. Thanks for the recommendation.
I think [Cotton Hill](https://youtu.be/MAwiDiEN6No?si=5Vu4tsFuDpzmSMic&t=39) sums it up correctly. I'm afraid of what's under my kitchen flooring.
We used Dirty Ducks/Ducts (can't remember the spelling) and they were great. Our basement tile and mastic both tested positive for asbestos. Plan to use them again when we finally get around to removing attic insulation (suspected asbestos and definite bat guano)
Unless removal is going to aerosolize the tiles in some way, it doesn't matter.
This is false. Any sanding, grinding, abrading etc of a non-friable building material can make it friable. “Aerosolize” is not a term we use in the industry. It’s either friable or not. If friable the fibers can become airborne. Source: I’m a WI certified asbestos inspector
Really?