I'm going to be framing walls in my basement which currently has asbestos tiles for the floor. Rather than remove the tiles, I am going to put carpet over them, I wanted to drive the nails for the bottom wall plate straight through the tiles into the concrete below. What precautions should I take in order to minimize the asbestos released when I drill the hole for the nails?

Wear a resporator and wet the floor first so it has something to stick to. Also you should seal it before carpeting so there is a wear surface above the tiles if your not using 1/4" flooring as a cover base.

Don't drill, simple as that. Lay a double bead of construction adhesive along each edge of T&P 2x4, put 2x4 in place and nail with a 22 caliber Remington nail gun. I will not tell you to go out and breath asbestos fiber just for kicks but a one time slight exposure is not going to cause asbestosis. Folks who work in the asbestos mine or in naval vessels insulated with asbestos should worry but you should be fine doing what I laid out.

To add here I use a roll of plate insulation to put down the plate. This also will help encapsulate escaping particles.

What's your plans on insulating the basement if any. Many DIYers get in trouble here. Look at the site below for the best way to insulate a basement


YouTube - Install Rigid Foam Insulation in Basement Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNE1QQreOkA)

YouTube - Best way to insulate a basement 800x600 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jSuWbdJy5A&feature=related)

Don't drill, simple as that. Lay a double bead of construction adhesive along each edge of T&P 2x4, put 2x4 in place and nail with a 22 caliber Remington nail gun. I will not tell you to go out and breath asbestos fiber just for kicks but a one time slight exposure is not going to cause asbestosis. Folks who work in the asbestos mine or in naval vessels insulated with asbestos should worry but you should be fine doing what I laid out.

Also mechanics had to worry about that too until they changed the composition of brake linings to ceramic.

Thanks for your responses. As for insulation, I was going to use 3/4 inch 8x4 foam insulation board, unless you think there's a better option?

What makes you think the tiles are asbestos?

I bought the house last year. When it was inspected, the inspector told me they were asbestos. It's an older home, over 50 years old.

Thanks for your responses. As for insulation, I was going to use 3/4 inch 8x4 foam insulation board, unless you think there's a better option?

Don't know your Geo here but 3/4 a bit cheez thicker board is always better. Also saves on air conditioning the basement.

I live in the mid-altantic region, hot summers and cold winters. The basement isn't heated/airconditioned, so I'm not worried about heat loss, but more to keep moisture out. Haven't had water problems in the basement yet, but I know pretty much every basement is susceptible to mositure.

Did inspector have tiles tested by lab? You CANNOT look at anything and tell if it has asbestos in it. Nor can you distinguish asbestos tiles by size (9") as some claim. That size was popular in the 50's and 60"s. Some were made with asbestos fibers to increase wear, most were not. No real risk to you, whether you nail or drill. Only risk is if you attempt to remove, and that would be minimal.

They were not tested, I guess he just assumed they were asbestos. In any case, I'll see if I can get a nail gun and if not, I'll just wet the floor first and use a 3M mask when I drill, thanks.

That would be a power hammer, not a nail gun. Or you could use cut nails and a 4 lb. sledge hammer.
Any home inspector who assumes a house has asbestos should not be in business.

You can bet that all tiles commonly used in basements up to the early to mid 80's contains asbestos.

JazMan
What information or data do you base that statement on? Asbestos was included in tiles to resist wear. As a result asbestos tiles were usually more expensive.