Does mastic used for VAT also contain asbestos?

[jadedacres]

Thanks to everyone who responded last summer about the 9" VAT tiles. I painted over them with a gloss paint and then lay a nice looking laminate flooring on top. (photo attached)

And now it's summer again and I've gotten the bug to go a step further and put in bamboo flooring. The laminate looks good, but bamboo will take it to a whole new level. I took the laminate floor up this morning in preparation for the bamboo and it looks like the VAT can be very easily pried up with very little breakage.

Getting rid of the VAT once and for all would definitely be a relief and shed a few unnecessary pounds in the process to counteract the weight of the bamboo but I'm worried that the mastic used to hold down the original tile also contains asbestos. The mastic looks very much dried out and has a white-ish cast to it.

Does anyone know if the mastic definitely contains asbestos? Should I just assume that it does?

(This is a 1963 Avion Holiday 24 btw)

thanks!!!

[Wayne&Sam]

In buildings it is assumed that 9" VAT tiles do contain asbestos. I don't think the adhesive is the issue, it's the tile. However, we assume it has asbestos rather than test for it because it is difficult to release fibers from a tile- it's bound up with the other components. As long as you don't drill, grind or break up the tile to create dust (and therefore friable asbestos) it's pretty safe to remove the tiles. Throwing them away is another issue - they will most likely be treated as hazardous waste. This is why, whenever possible, new floors are laid over old VAT.

[bibbs]

I would get rid of them , less dead weight, use a mask if you need to chip them up,mop it down and vacume when your done.Paint the glue if your still worried about it.

Doug