Floor Tile
Removal.

9x9 Tiles and Black Mastic

If you pull back the carpet in an older building and find small 9x9 vinyl tiles, there is a very good chance they contain asbestos. The same goes for the black, tar-like adhesive — called mastic — underneath them. Both were manufactured with asbestos for decades.

The tiles themselves are considered non-friable, which means they are relatively stable until someone breaks, sands, or grinds them. That is exactly what happens when a contractor tries to pull up flooring without knowing what they are dealing with.

Our Removal Method

1. 01

   Test First

   Tiles and mastic are sampled and tested before any work begins. We never assume.

2. 02

   Contain the Room

   Poly sheeting walls, sealed doorways, HEPA-filtered negative air. No dust leaves the work area.

3. 03

   Cold Removal

   We never grind, sand, or heat asbestos tiles. They come up cold, in whole pieces, with wet methods only.

4. 04

   Mastic Removal

   The black adhesive is removed separately using approved solvents or wet scraping — not heat guns.

5. 05

   Subfloor Ready

   You are left with a clean, bare subfloor ready for your new flooring installer to take over.

A Warning About "Encapsulation"

You may have heard you can just glue new flooring on top of old asbestos tiles. Sometimes you can — but it depends on the condition of the tiles, your local building code, and what you plan to do later. We will give you an honest opinion during the estimate. If encapsulation is the right call for your project, we will say so. If removal is safer, we will tell you that too.