Question from Anne
We are planning to remove Armstrong Solarian that was installed in 1980 in our kitchen and dining room. It has been tested and contains asbestos. We purchased it from a store that is no longer in business and supposedly in 1980 asbestos in linoleum was already banned but it was still sold to us.
Not only is the pattern and color “dated,” we noticed in front of the sliding glass door that it was discolored, dark and rugs stuck to it. I didn’t catch on at first but then wondered why the rest of the floor was smoothe and not discolored. I looked at it with a magnifying glass and found that it had been melted by the sun through the glass door only on one side. Then we noticed the dining table legs were stuck to the floor and when we moved them, the top layer of floor covering was removed.
We want to remove this flooring completedly and have researched and found out that we can remove it ourselves but cannot hire anyone to remove it unless they are certified asbestos removal experts. Has anyone had experience with removal of this type of flooring and what was your experience? I am concerned about air monitoring for particulate in the air. I’ve heard if the subfloor is removed with the linoleum (with a skill saw, using water to wet it and keep particulate down), that is the best way instead of pealing it up.
We don’t want to encapsulate it because it will raise the floor level from one room to another and there may be a tripping/falling hazard. We are in our 60s and want to be safe. We are planning to replace the floor with hardwood.
Help! What was your experience and do you have any tips or advice before we start this process.
We were also told by a contractor friend that even though EPA seems to be strict about removal and disposal, he was told to drop it at the dump just like any other debris which was surprising.
