Good evening,
About three years ago, I removed the carpet with foam backing and the kitchen floor, which was a type of vinyl, in my apartment built in 1982/83. A floating hardwood floor was then installed on top, and the baseboards were taped off.
At the time, I did not consider that the carpet, adhesive, or vinyl might contain asbestos. Now, three years later, I realize that I handled the removal rather carelessly, pulling everything up and scraping it out.
I would like to find out if I released asbestos back then or if asbestos is still coming up from under the new floor into the indoor air.
I still have one piece of carpet remnant with adhesive. However, several different carpets had been installed.
From my research online, I learned that dust sampling (stamping) or material testing can be done. However, I would prefer not to remove the newly installed flooring again. My main concern is whether there is an immediate health risk in the current situation. Therefore, I would appreciate your opinion on how you would proceed to clarify the situation.
Thank you very much.
About three years ago, I removed the carpet with foam backing and the kitchen floor, which was a type of vinyl, in my apartment built in 1982/83. A floating hardwood floor was then installed on top, and the baseboards were taped off.
At the time, I did not consider that the carpet, adhesive, or vinyl might contain asbestos. Now, three years later, I realize that I handled the removal rather carelessly, pulling everything up and scraping it out.
I would like to find out if I released asbestos back then or if asbestos is still coming up from under the new floor into the indoor air.
I still have one piece of carpet remnant with adhesive. However, several different carpets had been installed.
From my research online, I learned that dust sampling (stamping) or material testing can be done. However, I would prefer not to remove the newly installed flooring again. My main concern is whether there is an immediate health risk in the current situation. Therefore, I would appreciate your opinion on how you would proceed to clarify the situation.
Thank you very much.
Sure, these were all people who could potentially profit from this... That's why I’m researching this here at the same time and hoping for well-informed opinions and assessments. I am fully aware that anyone who can make money from this will want to sell their product...
Therefore, I am naturally skeptical, and unfortunately, there are few reliable sources you can trust. (Or do you know any?)
The reason I want to investigate at all is the concern that something might still be in the air or could be disturbed after 4 years, which is driving me crazy. Not a pleasant thought... and even worse when you are expecting a child...
Since I am not an expert and have no background knowledge about asbestos, and all you find on Google are horror stories, you end up not knowing how to properly assess the situation.
For example, a building biologist suggests that walking on the parquet flooring might continuously release fibers into the air—(all in the subjunctive). The gap is even sealed with acrylic...
The costs for testing are huge (quickly around 200 euros per room without travel or labor costs. You can easily end up with total costs of 2,000 euros)...
A frustrating situation!
Therefore, I am naturally skeptical, and unfortunately, there are few reliable sources you can trust. (Or do you know any?)
The reason I want to investigate at all is the concern that something might still be in the air or could be disturbed after 4 years, which is driving me crazy. Not a pleasant thought... and even worse when you are expecting a child...
Since I am not an expert and have no background knowledge about asbestos, and all you find on Google are horror stories, you end up not knowing how to properly assess the situation.
For example, a building biologist suggests that walking on the parquet flooring might continuously release fibers into the air—(all in the subjunctive). The gap is even sealed with acrylic...
The costs for testing are huge (quickly around 200 euros per room without travel or labor costs. You can easily end up with total costs of 2,000 euros)...
A frustrating situation!
aero2016 schrieb:
Asbestos fibers are practically everywhere in the air, especially in large cities. I consider the risk situation here to be very theoretical and somewhat exaggerated.So it's somewhat about making money?Manuel24 schrieb:
A building biologist might claim, for example, that fibers could constantly rise to the surface when walking on the parquet flooring... (all in the subjunctive) Even though the gap is sealed with acrylic....How would that be possible if the parquet is sealed and has an acrylic expansion joint or if there are baseboards around it?
The parquet might even be glued down, in which case even less could happen.
Don’t let yourself be worried; IF there was asbestos in one of the floor coverings, it is now gone with the removal of that covering.
Many thanks for all your contributions and your patience!! I have now removed a section of the molding. The joint is foamed. Will that probably seal it as well?
And one last question: In the kitchen, where the vinyl floor was installed, the parquet was only laid up to the kitchen cabinets and not underneath (construction defect!). This means the kitchen cabinets are standing on some kind of wooden framework, underneath is the bare screed, possibly with leveling compound from the vinyl floor. So, there is no sealing through the parquet!! I hope this is clear.
So, there is no waterproofing here like in the other rooms where the parquet was laid up to the wall...
How should this be assessed? Thank you all!
And one last question: In the kitchen, where the vinyl floor was installed, the parquet was only laid up to the kitchen cabinets and not underneath (construction defect!). This means the kitchen cabinets are standing on some kind of wooden framework, underneath is the bare screed, possibly with leveling compound from the vinyl floor. So, there is no sealing through the parquet!! I hope this is clear.
So, there is no waterproofing here like in the other rooms where the parquet was laid up to the wall...
How should this be assessed? Thank you all!
Again:
a) Based on the year of construction, it is highly unlikely that there has ever been asbestos in the building.
b) Asbestos fibers are mainly released during processing (cutting, sawing, sanding, etc.).
So even if there is some type of asbestos under your kitchen cabinets, as long as you’re not dancing samba under them, everything is fine.
Does anyone in the household have any health issues?
Why exactly are you so focused on asbestos?
a) Based on the year of construction, it is highly unlikely that there has ever been asbestos in the building.
b) Asbestos fibers are mainly released during processing (cutting, sawing, sanding, etc.).
So even if there is some type of asbestos under your kitchen cabinets, as long as you’re not dancing samba under them, everything is fine.
Does anyone in the household have any health issues?
Why exactly are you so focused on asbestos?
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