Asbestos Floor Tile Removal
Have you found asbestos floor tiles under your carpet, or has your flooring fitter refused to lay a new floor until they are gone? Asbestos floor tiles can release harmful fibres if disturbed, and those fibres cause mesothelioma and lung cancer decades later.
We have been handling asbestos floor tile removal safely for over 30 years. Call us on 0239 307 2182 and we will talk you through your options.
Get In Touch With Our Asbestos Floor Tile Team
Prefer to complete a form? Tell us roughly how big the floor is and when the property was built, and one of our team will come back to you the same day. Photos of the flooring help if you have any.
30+ Years Experience
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Fully Insured
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What To Do If You Think Your
Floor Tiles Contain Asbestos
Stop lifting and leave the floor as it is.
Do not prise up any more tiles to see what is underneath. Do not scrape or sand the black adhesive. Do not pull gripper strips out of the tiles, and do not lay new flooring that has to be nailed or screwed through them. Cutting or sanding asbestos tiles increases the health risks significantly, and power tools of any kind make it worse.
If some tiles are already up or broken, leave the pieces where they are. Keep pets and people out of the room and do not sweep or hoover the debris. Intact asbestos tiles present a low risk of exposure. Sound tiles sitting flat on a floor release very little, and leaving them where they are is often the sensible choice. What matters is knowing what you have before anyone takes a tool to it.
Send us a few photos through our online enquiry form or on WhatsApp and we will tell you what you are looking at.
How To Tell If Your
Floor Tiles Contain Asbestos
Not all old floor tiles contain asbestos, so age is the place to start. Asbestos was commonly used in flooring materials before the 1980s, and floors laid between the 1950s and the early 1980s are the most likely to contain it. Tiles were still made with asbestos after that, and asbestos floor tiles were commonly used until the year 2000, because asbestos was not fully banned in the UK until 1999. Anything laid before 2000 should be treated as suspect.
Then look at the tiles themselves. Asbestos floor tiles are typically 9-inch or 12-inch squares, and the 9-inch size is the strongest single clue. They are thin, hard and often brittle at the edges, usually grey, brown, red or cream with a mottled or marbled finish. Most were sold as vinyl or thermoplastic tiles, and Marley was one of the best-known names.
Underneath there is often a black bitumen adhesive, sometimes called black mastic. Floor adhesives from the same era can contain asbestos too, so the adhesive is tested as a separate material.
Visual inspection alone is unreliable for identifying asbestos tiles. Professional testing is the only reliable detection method, so assume the materials contain asbestos until a professional laboratory has tested a sample. The asbestos fibres are bound into the tile and cannot be seen.
Signs the floor is breaking down include cracked or curling tiles, loose tiles that rock underfoot, broken corners at doorways and patches where the adhesive is showing through.
Accreditations We Are Proud Of
We hold the accreditations that matter for this kind of work, we are fully insured, and every job is carried out in line with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and Health and Safety Executive guidance. Our operatives refresh their asbestos awareness training every 12 months.
Where Asbestos Is
Found In A Floor
Tiles are the obvious one, but they are not the only asbestos flooring material. Sheet vinyl and lino from the same period can have an asbestos paper backing. Stair nosings on older stairs sometimes contain it. Some commercial buildings have magnesite screeds, for example, a composite floor laid in place that can also contain asbestos.
Many homeowners only find their asbestos tiles by accident. Old tiles were very often covered with carpet, lino, laminate or another layer of tiles rather than being lifted, so a floor that looks modern can have one or two layers of asbestos flooring underneath it. The first sign is usually a corner of dark tile at a doorway, or gripper strip nails driven straight into it.
In homes it is most often found in kitchens, hallways, bathrooms and utility rooms. In commercial buildings it turns up in offices, corridors, schools and the communal stairs and landings of blocks of flats.
Send Us A Photo And We Will Tell You What It Is
You do not need to book anything to find out what you are looking at. Send three photos if you can: one from the doorway showing the whole floor, one close-up of a tile edge or corner, and one of any area where the adhesive is showing. None of them are required, but each one helps.
If you can, measure one tile and give us the rough floor area in square metres. Tell us roughly when the property was built and one of our team will tell you whether it looks like asbestos flooring and what your options are.
Use the online enquiry form or send them straight over on WhatsApp.
How Much Does Asbestos
Floor Tile Removal Cost
There is no single price, because no two floors are the same. Asbestos floor tile removal costs depend on the size of the area first, so measuring the floor in square metres before you get in touch helps.
After that it comes down to how many rooms are involved, whether stairs are included and the condition of the tiles. Multiple layers of tiles can increase costs significantly, because each layer is lifted and bagged separately. The adhesive matters too. In many cases what happens to the black bitumen underneath changes the time on site more than the tiles do.
Paper-backed sheet vinyl is priced differently again. The backing is more friable than the tiles and tends to tear and stay stuck to the floor, and taking it up counts as notifiable non-licensed work, so it takes longer than a tiled floor of the same size.
Disposal of asbestos waste is a major part of the costs as well. Every bag has to be consigned to a licensed facility, so even a small floor carries a fixed element for transport and disposal.
We do not give ballpark figures. Send photos so we know what we are dealing with, then we arrange a site visit and give you a fixed price in writing after that assessment, with no obligation and no hidden costs.
Hundreds Have Been Where You Are. Here's What They Say.
How We Remove Asbestos Floor Tiles In 4 Simple Steps
Removing asbestos tiles requires strict safety measures. Every floor goes through the same process, from a single kitchen to a full office floor.
Site Survey, Testing And Planning
Safe asbestos tile removal starts with knowing what is there, so testing before anything is lifted is essential. Where the floor has not been tested, our surveyors take samples of the tile and the adhesive and send them to a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Our surveyors are qualified to BOHS P402 standard or higher.
If the whole building needs looking at, or the work forms part of a wider refurbishment, our asbestos survey team handles that. The results confirm what each layer is, and that determines the method, the time on site and your fixed price.
Safe Containment And Lifting
The room is emptied first, then the work zone is sealed off with heavy-duty plastic sheeting and signed. Pets and people are kept out of the work area until we have finished.
Our operatives wear disposable coveralls and fitted FFP3 respiratory masks with high-efficiency particulate filters. All personal protective equipment is fitted properly before work starts and disposed of correctly afterwards. Everything follows a method statement and risk assessment agreed in advance.
Materials are kept wet throughout to suppress dust. Tiles are lifted with hand tools and eased up whole, because tiles must not be broken or crushed during the work. Power tools are avoided completely, since they are the fastest way to cause fibre release. The HSE classes lifting asbestos floor tiles by hand as non-licensed work, and where paper-backed flooring is involved we notify the HSE before work starts.
Certified Asbestos Floor Tile Disposal
Every tile is double-bagged in heavy-duty asbestos disposal bags as it comes up, then sealed and labelled clearly. The bagged asbestos waste is transported to a designated disposal facility, never a skip or a household tip.
If you already have tiles on site that someone else has lifted, we can arrange collection and disposal with the same paperwork.
Final Clearance And Cleaning
Once the material is off the floor, the whole space is cleaned with a Class H (HEPA-filtered) vacuum and damp wiped, including skirting boards, door thresholds and the area around the work zone. The sheeting comes down only once the room is clean and the work is complete. You receive a hazardous waste consignment note as your proof the tiles were disposed of legally.
Recent Asbestos Floor Tile Removal Projects Across The UK
Real floors, lifted and cleared. Recent work includes a 260 square metre commercial floor in Portsmouth, water-damaged tiles in Dorking, a kitchen in Waterlooville and a set of communal stairs. You can see more of our recent asbestos projects across the UK in the full portfolio.
Asbestos Removal Project – Salisbury, Wiltshire
Refurbishment Asbestos Survey at Dorchester Middle School, Dorset
Refurbishment Asbestos Survey at Barn House, East Sussex
Targeted Refurbishment Asbestos Survey at Spitfire House, Southampton
Asbestos Ceiling Removal and Reinstatement – Portsmouth
Asbestos Removal Project – Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton
Do You Need The
Tiles Removed Or Covered Over?
Most people call us about the tiles and then find out the adhesive underneath needs testing too. Which option is right for you comes down to the condition of the floor and what is going down next.
Covering Them With New Flooring
The right choice when the tiles are sound, flat and firmly stuck down. A new carpet, a floating laminate or engineered board, or loose-lay vinyl can all go straight over them, and the tiles stay sealed underneath and release no fibres. The catch is the fixings and the preparation, since gripper strips are nailed down and levelling often involves sanding, so tell your flooring fitter in writing what is underneath. The asbestos is still there afterwards and needs declaring when you sell.
Sealing Them
Suits tiles that are sound but worn. Sealing stops the surface breaking down further. For landlords and owners of commercial buildings, it has to be recorded as part of your asbestos management and checked periodically. It does nothing for tiles that are already cracked, lifting or broken.
Full Asbestos Floor Tile Removal
This is what you need when the tiles are damaged, when the floor is coming up for underfloor heating, a new screed or building work, or when a survey has flagged the tiles part way through a sale. Asbestos tile removal does not always require demolition. The tiles lift off the screed or floorboards, the subfloor stays where it is, and the adhesive is dealt with as agreed at quote stage. We do not lay new flooring, so you can book your flooring fitter to follow on.
Asbestos Floor Tile Removal Across The UK
We lift asbestos floor tiles anywhere in the UK. Our main coverage areas are Hampshire,Berkshire,Dorset,Wiltshire,Surrey,Kent,London,West Sussex,East Sussex,Essex,Edinburgh and Glasgow. That includes towns such as Dorking, Guildford, Woking, Reigate, Epsom, Kingston upon Thames and Croydon across Surrey and south-west London.
Asbestos floor tiles are a common feature of the housing stock across these areas. The post-war estates, the 1960s and 1970s suburban builds and the council houses and flats of the same period used vinyl and thermoplastic flooring as standard, because it was cheap, hard-wearing and quick to lay. Offices, schools and shops from the same decades used it too.
For non-domestic property holders there is a legal duty to manage asbestos under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and the Health and Safety Executive estimates around 5,000 people die each year in the UK from asbestos-related illness, including around 2,500 from mesothelioma.
Book Your Asbestos
Floor Tile Removal Before It’s Too Late
Sound tiles under a carpet are not an emergency. Tiles that are broken, lifting or holding up a new floor need dealing with, and they will not improve on their own.
We handle everything from sampling through to safe removal, certified disposal and clean-down, so there is nothing left for you to organise except the new flooring.
Call us on 0239 307 2182, email admin@meyerenvironmental.co.uk, message us on WhatsApp or fill in our online enquiry form and one of our asbestos floor tile specialists will get back to you.
Book Your Asbestos Garage Removal Before It's Too Late
Sound tiles under a carpet are not an emergency. Tiles that are broken, lifting or holding up a new floor need dealing with, and they will not improve on their own.
We handle everything from sampling through to safe removal, certified disposal and clean-down, so there is nothing left for you to organise except the new flooring.
Call us on 0239 307 2182, email admin@meyerenvironmental.co.uk, message us on WhatsApp or fill in our online enquiry form and one of our asbestos floor tile specialists will get back to you.
Contact Information
UK Head Office:
Meyer Southern/Surveys Ltd.
Langstone Gate,
Solent Road,
Havant,
PO9 1TR
Get Your Asbestos Tile Removal Quote
Fill in the form and one of our asbestos floor tile specialists will come back to you the same day. Photos of the floor, the tiles or any exposed adhesive help, so add them if you have any.
Questions Our Customers Ask About Asbestos Tile Removal
What do asbestos floor tiles look like?
Usually thin, hard squares in grey, brown, red, cream or black, often with a mottled or marbled pattern and a worn surface. Most are 9 inches square, though 12-inch tiles were also made. Many sit on a black bitumen adhesive.
There is no colour or pattern that separates asbestos tiles from ordinary ones, and plenty of non-asbestos tiles from the same era look identical. Visual inspection alone will not tell you.
Age and size together are the best clue. A 9-inch tile laid before the mid-1980s should be treated as asbestos until a laboratory says otherwise. Send us photos and we will give you our view.
Do Marley tiles contain asbestos?
Some do. Marley was one of the best-known makers of vinyl and thermoplastic floor tiles in the UK, and some of its older tiles were made with white asbestos bound into them.
Not every Marley tile contains it, and the name alone tells you nothing about a particular floor. Most tiles have no markings you can see once they are stuck down.
A sample from the floor settles it. We test the tile and the adhesive separately, because either one can contain asbestos when the other does not.
What type of asbestos is in floor tiles?
Usually chrysotile, also called white asbestos. It was mixed into the tile for strength and wear resistance, and the same fibre turns up in the adhesive and in the paper backing on sheet flooring.
People sometimes search for blue asbestos floor tiles because the tiles themselves are blue or grey. The colour of a tile has nothing to do with the type of asbestos in it.
The laboratory report names the fibre type, so you will know exactly what you have.
Does the black adhesive contain asbestos too?
Often, yes. Black bitumen adhesive from the same era frequently contains asbestos, and it can test positive even where the tile on top of it does not.
That is why we sample both. It also matters for what happens next, because your flooring fitter needs to know whether the adhesive is staying or going.
If you have already lifted some tiles and exposed the black mastic, leave it alone and send us a photo.
Do I need a survey, or is a sample enough?
A sample is usually enough when the floor is the only thing in question. Our surveyors take a small piece of the tile and the adhesive and send the samples to a UKAS-accredited laboratory.
A full asbestos survey makes sense when other materials in the building are suspect, or where the floor work is part of a wider refurbishment. A refurbishment and demolition survey identifies everything the work might disturb, not only the floor.
Tell us what you are planning and we will tell you which one you need.
