Flooring Over Asbestos Tiles
Sunday, December 12th, 2010
2 questions about renovating a basement?
I am closing on a house later this month and have started thinking about possible ways to renovate the finished basement (this would be FAR in the future). This is my first house so I don’t know if these questions are obvious or ridiculous, but I thought I might as well ask:
The basement has wood paneling walls and I was wondering if there are anyways to change these short of ripping them out and starting all over again.
Also, during the inspection the inspector said that the floor tiles were in good shape but most likely had asbestos underneath them (the house was built in 1951). He said as long as we left the tiles down, it would be no problem but if we ripped them up, we would need to do the Asbestos Cleaning which is a headache. I was wondering if there was anyway to put carpet over the tiles so we can change the flooring without digging up the tiles.
You can apply drywall right over the paneling, or some other form of wall covering… fabric, brick veneer, etc.. all kinds of choices. The question that needs to be asked, is how is the paneling attached to the basement walls (I’m assuming the basement is poured concrete).
If the paneling was simply glued to the walls, then you’ll be wanting to add some furring strips, over them, to secure drywall, etc. (brick veneer could be glued right over glued on paneling). If you have to add furring strips, plan on adding some blue-board insulation between them, while you’re at it.
If the paneling was installed using furring strips, you can screw directly into them, to install drywall, fabric, etc. With brick veneer, you’d want a little more solid backing than just the paneling, so you might want to add a thin layer of plywood.
As to the floor… you didn’t specify… vinyl or ceramic tile?
If ceramic tile, you can apply a ‘floor leveling’ compound, to fill in the grout lines, and give yourself a smooth surface to work on. You could then glue carpet, or even install some other form of flooring, like laminated, solid wood, or engineered wood.
If this is vinyl tile, you can just go right over it.
If you don’t want to glue carpet down, you can install carpet tack around the perimeter. I prefer this method myself, so the carpet is easier to change at a later date.
I like to use ’soft’ materials in a basement to help reduce noise, especially if it’s going to be used as a game room.
As to The Asbestos… have it tested. Better to know for sure, one way or the other, then you’ll have a better idea of what your options are. While I was at it, I’d get a Radon test kit. (By the way, you solve a radon problem, by bringing in fresh air, and taking out the old…really simple, but often overlooked.) Oh.. and if your asbestos test shows you do have asbestos, then, if you ever decide to remove it, you’ll need a licensed contractor, in most states.. you can’t do it yourself, and you can’t dispose of it without a haz/mat permit.
Congrats on the hew house, and Good Luck
Army Exposure
[affmage source="amazon" results="5"]Flooring Over Asbestos Tiles[/affmage]