Does anyone have a specific product recommendation for encapsulating 9×9 asbestos tiles on concrete basement floor, either an epoxy paint or self leveling concrete?
Before anyone asks – yes they are asbestos, 7% according to the lab. Majority of the tiles are in good shape, a few cracked and one near a sloped cleanout very cracked. Plan is to encapsulate with one of the two options above for piece of mind then a floating floor above or possibly carpet.
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I recently had a conversation with an epoxy rep about coating asbestos floors. His recommendation was to not coat asbestos tiles with anything that might be less breathable than the tile. Basically your concrete is releasing water vapor into the house constantly and the tile is letting it pass through. If you trap the water in the tile the adhesive will fail causing the floor to come loose. If that happens your only option is full remediation.
I have seen glue down carpet over asbestos tiles with good results but like any other option this isn't a permanent solution. Anything you do is making the inevitable remediation more difficult and costly.
For what it's worth asbestos tiles are not friable. Even if they crack the asbestos isn't released. If you use a sander or grinder on the floor it is dangerous, but other than that it is one of the easier to handle asbestos materials.
It seems like the best solution is to remove the tile to the concrete now. A good remediation company could remove the tiles and glue so that you would have a clean base to put in whatever floor you want.