Asbestos floor tiles?

Bob2000

Hello.
I recently  had a water meter fitted, but within a month, the water utility  told me l have a leak. Just last week, they replaced the pipe entering  my property, which was leaking, but it looks like an internal leak as well.. Meter reading is still moving even if l turn off the internal  stop tap. Old lead pipe running through passage then under the stairs.

Anyway... the point of my post is had the engineer  to come and give me a quote but after removing  the carpet from my passage way he said looks like old asbestos  floor tiles and until l get them tested and/or removed they can't proceed with work.

Any idea of cost??

So would it be safe to pull them up myself with a paint stripper gun and scraper??

Thank you all.

Bigphil1474

Asbestos containing materials are a risk if fibres are released and you breath them in. I would guess that any asbestos surveyor would look at those and just conclude they may contain asbestos and suggest you treat them as such without ever knowing. You can buy asbestos test kits - think you collect your own sample, send it off to be tested and they send you the result. No idea whether they are any good. 

Personally, I would have a go at them tiles. Give the area a good vac first, then wet it down (use something like a bottle sprayer with water in) to prevent any new dust,  wear an FFP3 face mask, use a good scraper to lift the old tiles, bag up the rubbish and dispose of appropriately.  Keep the vac on hand just in case, and keep damping down as you go. I wouldn't start heating them up, and definitely don't use any sort of sander. Give the area a good wet clean afterwards. There is a risk, but I would suggest it's quite low - I'm in my 50's and the risks for me are probably very low. If I was in my 20's, i'd probably be less gung-ho about it. You could pay someone to remove them, but expect 'asbestos' to add quite a few £ to the cost.

Section62

Bigphil1474 said:

...
Personally, I would have a go at them tiles. Give the area a good vac first, then wet it down (use something like a bottle sprayer with water in) to prevent any new dust,  wear an FFP3 face mask, use a good scraper to lift the old tiles, bag up the rubbish and dispose of appropriately.  Keep the vac on hand just in case, and keep damping down as you go. I wouldn't start heating them up, and definitely don't use any sort of sander. Give the area a good wet clean afterwards. There is a risk, but I would suggest it's quite low - I'm in my 50's and the risks for me are probably very low. If I was in my 20's, i'd probably be less gung-ho about it. You could pay someone to remove them, but expect 'asbestos' to add quite a few £ to the cost.

Unless you use an H-class vacuum, the vacuuming itself risks making any loose fibres airborne and more of a danger.  And after the job the filters would need to be thrown away and the machine thoroughly cleaned, otherwise it will continue to spread asbestos fibres around the house each time it gets used.

This is why the DIY approach to removing asbestos is not a good idea.... unless you're been professionaly trained there's a risk of something you do (maybe thinking you are making it safer) which actually makes the situation worse.

Much safer to get a sample tested, and if it comes back positive then seek professional advice.

stuart45

I'd personally get them tested. At least then you'll know if they contain  asbestos and the % in the tiles. You are then in a better position to decide on your next move. If you decide to DIY, take advice from an expert. 

Eldi_Dos

Any sensible way of disconnecting and capping suspect pipework and running new in a way that does not involve disturbing the floor and tiles ?

danrv

Bigphil1474 said:

Personally, I would have a go at them tiles. Give the area a good vac first, then wet it down (use something like a bottle sprayer with water in) to prevent any new dust,  wear an FFP3 face mask, use a good scraper to lift the old tiles, bag up the rubbish and dispose of appropriately. 

That's what I've done with some Thermoplastic tiles except using a vac. That needs to be H-class as mentioned. 
The adhesive can also contain asbestos but can be sealed with some diluted PVA or SBR.

bjorn_toby_wilde

If there is a leak would this be covered on your household insurance?

Bob2000

Bigphil1474 said:

Asbestos containing materials are a risk if fibres are released and you breath them in. I would guess that any asbestos surveyor would look at those and just conclude they may contain asbestos and suggest you treat them as such without ever knowing. You can buy asbestos test kits - think you collect your own sample, send it off to be tested and they send you the result. No idea whether they are any good. 

Personally, I would have a go at them tiles. Give the area a good vac first, then wet it down (use something like a bottle sprayer with water in) to prevent any new dust,  wear an FFP3 face mask, use a good scraper to lift the old tiles, bag up the rubbish and dispose of appropriately.  Keep the vac on hand just in case, and keep damping down as you go. I wouldn't start heating them up, and definitely don't use any sort of sander. Give the area a good wet clean afterwards. There is a risk, but I would suggest it's quite low - I'm in my 50's and the risks for me are probably very low. If I was in my 20's, i'd probably be less gung-ho about it. You could pay someone to remove them, but expect 'asbestos' to add quite a few £ to the cost.

Thanks for replying. Yes, I was thinking of giving the area a good soak and wearing a mask and just keeping everything  really damp. My age is similar to yours, and giving my family's medical history, I'm more worried  about other stuff that's going to get me.

I'm definitely  not going to vacuum the area. Just damp sweep it, and hopefully, after the pipe is repaired, I'm going to put the pipe above ground to make life easier.  Then, cover over the floor with some kind of coating.

Still 50/50 to try it?
 Thank you.

Bob2000

Section62 said:

Bigphil1474 said:

...
Personally, I would have a go at them tiles. Give the area a good vac first, then wet it down (use something like a bottle sprayer with water in) to prevent any new dust,  wear an FFP3 face mask, use a good scraper to lift the old tiles, bag up the rubbish and dispose of appropriately.  Keep the vac on hand just in case, and keep damping down as you go. I wouldn't start heating them up, and definitely don't use any sort of sander. Give the area a good wet clean afterwards. There is a risk, but I would suggest it's quite low - I'm in my 50's and the risks for me are probably very low. If I was in my 20's, i'd probably be less gung-ho about it. You could pay someone to remove them, but expect 'asbestos' to add quite a few £ to the cost.

Unless you use an H-class vacuum, the vacuuming itself risks making any loose fibres airborne and more of a danger.  And after the job the filters would need to be thrown away and the machine thoroughly cleaned, otherwise it will continue to spread asbestos fibres around the house each time it gets used.

This is why the DIY approach to removing asbestos is not a good idea.... unless you're been professionaly trained there's a risk of something you do (maybe thinking you are making it safer) which actually makes the situation worse.

Much safer to get a sample tested, and if it comes back positive then seek professional advice.

Thank you for the sensible advice.

Bob2000

stuart45 said:

I'd personally get them tested. At least then you'll know if they contain  asbestos and the % in the tiles. You are then in a better position to decide on your next move. If you decide to DIY, take advice from an expert. 

Thank you, fair enough. 

Bob2000

Eldi_Dos said:

Any sensible way of disconnecting and capping suspect pipework and running new in a way that does not involve disturbing the floor and tiles ?

I asked the engineer why they couldn't just dig up the concrete by the door and, like you said, run the new pipe  across the ground and just cap the old buried one. But he just said he can't do any work or colleges until tested  or removed.

Hay ho.