1st rental property - remove asbestos tile?

Question

Hello,

I just closed on my first investment property on Friday!

I'm creating a scope of work for the contractor and I'm deciding whether to simply cover the asbestos tile in the basement laundry room or should I remove the asbestos tile?

I don't know if it matters, but this property will be used with the housing voucher program.

Thanks for your help!

Greg Scott · Answer

I have had asbestos removal training.

Asbestos remediation is very expensive.  If you don't have to do it, you don't want to do it.  If the tile is breaking apart, it would be called  friable, and that would be a reason for removing it.  If it is in good shape and intact, there is no need to disturb it.

Covering the old tile with new flooring is a good solution. Related to asbestos it is called "encapsulation".  That is a recognized safe way to protect against health issues. The only problem with encapsulation is that it doesn't remove the asbestos so if sometime later you wanted to remove all the flooring, you now have to go through full asbestos remediation.

FWIW, most people don't realize that houses even into the 1980s had asbestos.  1960s and 1970s homes almost certainly had it.  A century ago insurance companies gave you a discount the more asbestos you had in your house, so the older the home, the more likely it has asbestos.  If people knew how much of the stuff was probably around them in an old house, they would probably freak out.  On the other hand, if it isn't airborne / friable, it doesn't pose much risk.