Vinyl Floor Coverings

[Bro. Noble]

Thirty seven years ago, we put a product called(I believe) Congolium on our kitchen floor.  It was very popular at that time and was a red, textured product with a simulated brick look.  It has held up extremely well, but is beginning to show some wear and damage.  My son now lives in the house and wants to replace it with a similar product.  Today he went to three flooring places and is now completely confused.  The first place said it would be extremely difficult to take up the old flooring, but you could put 1/4 inch plywood over the old flooring and apply the new,  or you could put a leveling product on the old flooring and apply the new direct. 

The second place said you didn't need to put down plywood with their covering and could probably get by without the leveling product as well.  jTheir product and application was by far the least expensive of the three.

The third place said any flooring made in the 70's would have asbestos in it and would have to be covered with plywood because of that.  They do sell vinyl blocks that are considerably heavier as well as more expensive and costlier to install.  They can be glued directly to the old flooring.

What are we supposed to believe?  Who has experience or knowlege of these products and what would you reccomend?

[pigman]

I put some of that "Congolium" in our house back in the seventies when I built our house. I replaced it a few years ago and it came up easy. That was because I didn't glue it down very good. The spots where it was stuck tight was hard to get up, but not impossible.

[DouginUtah]

If you do decide to remove it (asbestos flooring) my advice would be to not let anyone know that you are doing it. Crazy regulations.

[Chris Burchfield]

Congoleum flooring, produced and installed in homes and commercial beginning in the 1950s.  Asbestos fibers were used to make the product more durable and somewhat heat resistant.  The company faced many lawsuits associated with Mesothelioma (cancer.)  Testing service companies exist around the country for a fee.  Undisturbed is best for survival.  Looking down the road for your family, selling the home or others who may own the home, proper removal would be best and can be done properly.  Hepa filters on shop vac attached to scaper, PPE including filter mask, Tyvek suit with boot covers.  Room sealed with plastic at doors and vents of HVAC to prevent spread of fiber throughout the house.  Documented disposal of debris and cleanup materials all to be considered.  Death from cancer caused by asbestos is real and is not governed by regulations.  Proper removal and protection of the workers is.  Full disclosure during sale could be a problem for you or survivors if it is not dealt with properly.  The fire service use to burn houses for training new employees.  EPA and asbestos entered the picture and we had to test the shingles and floor coverings before burning.   If the test came back containing asbestos, we declined on the burn.  Don't mean to be sounding like doom and gloom, I would not want to expose my children, grand children or anyone to such an end.

[pineywoods]

If the floor is sturdy enough to support it, you can lay ceramic tile right over the congoleum. End of problem.

[Bro. Noble]

Thanks for your input.  The way we are leaning now is to test the old flooring to see if it will come up easily and if so remove it using precautions.  Then we will install soft tiles or the larger blocks.  Does anyone have experience with these products? Have you installed them over old flooring?  My daughter-in-law doesn't want ceremic tiles.

[Chris Burchfield]

I had regular vinyl that I stripped up in the kitchen eating area.  The difference in figure for tile vs vinyl was $110. in materials in 1993.  The vinyl was good for 10 years.  The nine inch tile looks new today.  If I were to update, I'd put down the 18" now.  There are several how to sites on the web.

[Roxie]

I've been wondering if maybe the product you put down in the 70's was Torginol?  Most of those applications were made to look like brick or flagstone.  They put down colored chips and then poured a clear coat over it. 

If it was Torginol, then there isn't an asbestos problem, but putting anything other than carpet over it does require a new plywood base over the old floor, because of the texture of the Torginol.  It had dimples in it to keep it from being slippery and those bumps will effect the wear of pressed on tiles.