Anyone know about tile?

I want to put some tile in my basement. It will be going over some asbestos tile. Anyone know the best type to look for (porcelain, ceramic…) and do I need an underlayment?
Thanks,
Dream’n

I’ve directly tiled over concrete floors…no underlayment / no problem. Porceline vs ceramic? I chose tile based on appearance rather than type. Never worried about the difference between the types.

Now tiling over asbestos? There you should get an expert opinion. If it were my home, I wouldn’t want that stuff in there period and would look for ways to get it out of there. But thats just my opinion.

you will need to install some sort of underlayment if you plan to put it over the asbestos tile. Those old tiles are famous for popping up due to moisture below them. I would not recomend installing over the top of this without a cement style underlayment.

Do you know the tiles are asbestos? Many times the 9″x9″ tiles are asbestos, but anything 12″x12″ are not, but I would pull a sample and have it tested by an abatement company to be sure. The mastic (glue) is often hot also, so have that double checked. Technically, removal of the tile without breaking them does not release asbestos fibers into the air, but I am not telling you to do it yourself. It has been known to cause cancer in lab rats in California

If it were me, I would have the tile removed and start with a good substrate. I know it costs more, but is the right way to do it.

I assume you are talking glued down old style square tiles. Yes alot of them contained asbestos. Are you guessing or do you know for sure? The big issue with the old tiles is the bond to the concrete. I had some in my basement that popped up so easy it was scary. Have you tried to remove them at all? Sometimes a heat gun can help loosen the adhesive and they come up pretty nice. Legal disposal is your only issue. If they are stuck well and it involves lots of chipping and destruction it can be grief. But if that is the case using a good latex flex mortar your new tile should stick just fine. Type of new tile is up to you. Or in my case the FW. LOL

You beat me too it Farmboy but we are saying the same thing.

I am 99% sure they are asbestos-9×9 along with a 5 gallon bucket of asbestos cement he left in the attic. They are firmly in place, only lost 2 where the floor was uneven by the toilet.
thanks

You have received a lot of good information in the previous posts. The main thing you don’t want the fibers in the tile or adhesive to become airborne. The way I did it years ago when I installed floor coverings was mentioned, I would use a heat gun. You can get a good commercial quality heat gun at a rental store, a commercial quality gun will save you a lot of time.

Another method is to smack the tile on the edge with a dull spud hoe. A quick solid smack sometimes will dislodge the tile from the adhesive and this method will save you tons of time if it works. But you don’t want to do it this way if you get excessive breakage and you want to keep the floor wet to minimize the asbestos fibers becoming airborne.

Read the adhesive can you have in the attic and make sure weather it is has asbestos or not. If it does, I would recommend using a different type of floor covering. Armstrong made a very nice vinyl floor covering years ago that you just glued around the edges and at the seams. After it was installed it would shrink tight to get the wrinkles out and it will not allow the seams in the 9×9 tiles transpose through it like a full adhesive spread vinyl installation will.

That is just my $0.02 worth.

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has been known to cause cancer in lab rats in California

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Thats an understatement…asbestos is banned from construction use because of a lot of good people dying from many forms of Lung and respiratory cancer, Mesothelioma etc…etc… Get those out of there by hiring the guys with the special equipment and knowledge. Just my 2 cents worth…

Google “Armstrong or Mannington floor tile”. They will have info on asbestos tile/adhesive handling procedures. You want the correct info on dealing with the stuff! It’s been a few years since I’ve been in the business. I don’t (or anybody else) sure do not want to give you wrong info.