Some of the old vinyl 9 x9 tiles in the basement afixed to the concrete are coming up. How do I prepare this floor for a product called Nature Stone. The water proofing that I had done 2 years ago failed this winter - so that problem needs to be address first. Meanwhile before that happened I signed a contract with the above company and was told they would glue the loose tiles. However I have since been told that tile plus glue will not adhere to the remaining asbestos glue on cement. Suggestions, please. Pat

Asbestos glue? Why would anyone put asbestos in a glue? Asbestos was put in products to give strength from breaking or cracking. Why would anyone put asbestos fibers in a glue. Maybe so. Never heard that one.

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

Asbestos glue? Why would anyone put asbestos in a glue? Asbestos was put in products to give strength from breaking or cracking. Why would anyone put asbestos fibers in a glue. Maybe so. Never heard that one.

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I forgot to add that the OLD vinyl tiles were afixed to the concrete with asbestos gunk - when a tile comes up some of the asbestos gunk remains on the floor in a thin layer - this house was built in 1948 when asbestos problems were unknown. I can't glue the old tiles back as new glue won't adhere to the asbestos afixative remaining on the floor. I don't want asbestos floating through the house by removing the afixative - so my question is how to prepare the floor for Nature Stone as they won't put down their product over asbestos. Thanks, Pat

Maybe some one more knowledgeable will come in here but what I am saying is that I doubt that the adhesive it self was made with asbestos in it. You may have or had asbestos tiles but asbestos in the adhesive doesn't sound logical. Is the adhesive a black tar looking stuff. What the tile guy is probably saying is that the new tile cannot be installed unless the present tiles are securely stuck to the floor. Apparently you don't want to remove the existing tiles. Who told you they were asbestos. Just because they are old doesn't mean they are asbestos. It takes a very knowledgeable person to recognize by sight whether tiles are asbestos. I certainly couldn't. I doubt that most tile installers could. They are just not old enough.

If you want to re-stick the existing tiles, get a heat gun, looks like a hair dryer, put the tile back in place , heat and press back down. Replace missing tiles with any tile of same thickness. Let tile man tile over that.

If the adhesive that the tile installer uses is mixed with the black stuff that is already there the whole mess will soften and not dry. That's probably what the tile installer is saying and he is not going to scrap the entire floor. He could have said that, he didn't have to say asbestos.

Thanks Harold, yes the adhesive is black tar looking - a thin coating part of which is adhering to the tile when it "lifts" and part to the cement floor. The tile man at Home Depot said that the adhesive was asbestos and that is why they make a distinction between 9" sq. tiles (asbestos is used to adhere) and 12" sq - no asbestos and the afixitive. 9" vinylI guess hasn't been used for years because of the above.
Thanks, again - but now that you know the "glue" looks like think black tar - does that change your thoughts? Pat

No, I stand by my assessment. I think that I can safely add that anyone that stands in Home Depot and makes that statement is not to be taken seriously. Asbestos was put in rubber floor tile to enhance durability. The kitchen tiles in my mother home, which was built in 1955, in the South, where everyone comes and goes through the kitchen door, shows almost no wear to this day. They are probably asbestos. The black adhesive is just the petroleum based adhesive used at the time. As stated that adhesive and the ones used today are just not compatible. That means that you must repair the existing floor by re-sticking the old tiles as described and replacing any missing tiles so you can tile over them, or remove every thing. The current adhesive will stick to the tiles, it just won't mix with the old adhesive.
Many different flooring products were used in the past, the wear resistance of asbestos was something you paid extra for. Size is not relevant. Nine and twelve inch tiles were available then and are today. Check you receipt, the Home Depot guy's adding skills might be any better.

You will probably have to shop around to find the black "tar like" adhevise if you need some to repair. I don't know but it should be available but will be hard to find. You may want to try a test of roofing cement. They are basically the same thing, a bituminious product.

Thank you, Harold, I appreciate the thought and time you put into answering my question. At this point I'm not going to worry about it as the chances of there being asbestos in the adhesive is very remote. Thanks again for relieving my anxiety. Pat:)

I'm removing all of the tiles: preping floor laying self stick tiles