Chrysotile (White) Asbestos on Vinyl Tiles in Flat

Barx

Following on from my previous post about poor sound insulation in the flooring of my new flat, I am looking at the possibility of soundproofing the living room and bedroom floor. However, a June 2017 asbestos report for my property states that there is chrysotile (white) asbestos on the floor tiles which have since been laminated over.

In order to achieve effective soundproofing (which should get rid of 60-70% of the noise from downstairs), the laminate flooring will need to be removed in order for the soundproofing company to examine the floorboards and install their materials. I originally suggested to soundproofing companies that they place their materials on top of the laminate to avoid coming into contact with the asbestos but they claim this will not be as effective and will also reduce the length of my room.

Soundproofing is going to cost me a lot of cash already and I am concerned that I will encounter further costs because of the asbestos. Can the sound proofing company I choose proceed with the installation if they are aware of the asbestos and take the necessary steps to prevent coming into contact with it? Or will I need to hire a team who are specialised in dealing with asbestos to carry out this work (which I'm sure will be infinitely more expensive)?

Any feedback greatly appreciated.

HampshireH

It depends. Coming into contact isn't an issue if all intact.

Is putting insulation on top of tiles going to be effective? I assume they are concrete floors so shouldn't be a problem.

Depending on your contractor will depend on whether they are trained to work with low level non notifiable asbestos. Some will some wont.

Like I say unless it's damaged most won't be too concerned.

Encapsulating isn't always a good idea as you have found as you hide a possible problem.

May be easier to remove to resolve any further problems

Barx

HampshireH wrote: »

Encapsulating isn't always a good idea as you have found as you hide a possible problem.

May be easier to remove to resolve any further problems

Thanks for your helpful response. Do you how much it would cost to remove these items?

Norman_Castle

In order to achieve effective soundproofing (which should get rid of 60-70% of the noise from downstairs), the laminate flooring will need to be removed in order for the soundproofing company to examine the floorboards and install their materials.

What are they planning to do?

Barx

One company e-mailed me stating:

Our recommended solution to treat floors for airborne noise transfer would be a standard underfloor solution to treat airborne noise and if impact noise reduction is also a requirements the addition of optional joist strips can be added to absorb impact noise caused by footfall.

Cost for supply and fit of the strand underfloor solution is £80 p/m² (Excl VAT), so based on the dimensions your provided for the lounge and bedroom (31.83m²), total cost will be £3,055.68 (Incl VAT)

Please se below a full breakdown of the standard underfloor solution with details of optional extras that can be added to increase performance.

Under Floor System
This floor system is the most popular and best performing system for airborne noise reduction. With the addition of Acoustic joist strips, flanking bands and 22mm T&G chipboard, this system is converted to a customised floating floor solution that effectively combats impact and airborne sound through floors.

Installation
We remove carpets and all floor boards
Compact fit RW3 100mm thick Rockwool in between the timber joist.
Fit batons to floor joist for acoustic plasterboards support
Fit 1st layer of 19mm acoustic sound plank on top of batons.
Fit 2nd layer of 12.5mm acoustic sound shield plasterboards on top of 19mm sound plank
All joints, gaps and perimeter sealed with acoustic mastic sealant.
Floor boards replaced and screwed down.
Floor sealed with acoustic mastic
Floor ready for Carpets to be refitted

Space impact
No increase in floor height. If optional extras are selected then 5mm to 15mm increase in height (depending on additional upgrades)

Improvement in sound
Up to 50% to 70% improvement in noise reduction
or
up to 17db+ to 22db+ improvement in noise reduction

Upgrades and Extras available for this system
Rockwool upgrade (£7) - Upgrade from RW3 60kg/m² to RW5 100kg/m²
*New* VL-65 (£15) – This is a high mass viscoelastic acoustic damping membrane with added advantage of improved low frequency performance over other acoustic membranes. Soundproofing airborne noise in walls, floors and ceilings when used in conjunction with other low surface density materials i.e. Rockwool. This superb material has a rating of 28dB on the MSRI (mean sound reduction index) & will improve the overall averaged Rw of a stud partition by 6dB
Conversion to Floating Floor (£24) – Convert the standard Under floor solution as above to full floating floor by removing and disposing of existing floor boards and fitting impact reduction strips directly to the joist and acoustic flanking bands on all perimeter walls (to minimise contact) then float 22mm P5 moisture resistant T&G Chipboard on top. This will now effectively reduce impact noise and improve airborne noise reduction of the standard underfloor solution as well
Impact reduction joist strips (£9) – Where existing floorboards needs to be retained, fit resilient strips on top Joists before refitting existing floor to reduce impact caused by heavy footfall
Disposal (£10) – Disposal of existing floorboards at dedicated sites. (Conversion to floating floor only)
Please note that we have a lead-time of around 12 weeks for installations so now taking bookings for January 2018. If you would like a free site assessment, please confirm full address and contact details & I will check our next available slots in your area.


Hope that helps?