History & Components of Asebestos-Containing Flooring
Asphalt Floor Tiles, Asphalt-Asbestos Flooring, Vinyl-Asbestos Flooring, Linoleum, Ceramic & Cork floors, Painted Floor Canvas, Floor Tiles
     

Definition of resilient flooring

"Resilient flooring" is defined as materials softer than the non-resilient flooring materials such as stone, slate, brick, ceramic tile that we list just below.. Resilient flooring materials include organic types of flooring: asphalt based floor tiles, rubber floor tiles, vinyl-asbestos floor tiles, linoleum, and plastic tile.

So what's "wood flooring" ? Non-resilient, resilient, or just "wood"? Wood.

Definition of non-resilient flooring: Ceramic tile, stone tile, slate or brick.

"Non-resilient" flooring is defined as hard surfaced flooring material such as stone, brick, slate, or ceramic tile. See FLOOR, CERAMIC TILE).

Flooring & Floor Tile History & Asbestos Floor Tile Companies

Major resilient flooring manufacturers or retailers whose products are believed or known to have included asphalt-asbestos or vinyl-asbestos flooring included the floor covering producers discussed below.

In the U.S. the 1940's saw a tremendous expansion in the sales of this flooring material, largely because other materials were more difficult to obtain. At the end of World War II and combined with the reduction in military consumption of the product, asphalt floor tile sales increased to about 12% of the flooring market (1946), selling 41 million square yards. By 1949 the post-war construction boom led to asphalt floor tile sales of 61 million square yards

Sorting out Flooring Names: Armstrong, Congoleum-Nairn, Linoleum, Lincrusta

This photograph of sheet flooring was identified by a reader in a 1964 home. She found remnants in the bottom of a kitchen cabinet on which was imprinted "Armstrong". While the reader referred to this as "Armstrong Congoleum sheet flooring", Armstrong and Congoleum are separate individual companies. The sheet flooring shown at left is identified as an Armstrong resilient flooring product. As we detail at our FAQs section at the bottom of this page, another reader had a sample of this resilient flooring tested and confirmed a 70% asbestos content. Dont' mix up product names. Armstrong is a separate company from Congoleum-Nairn. Linoleum is a term invented in 1860 by Frederick Walton to describe sheet flooring. Original linoleum products were made using linseed oil as an ingredient, often with a jute (burlap or fabric) backing. Descendents of Linoleum include Anaglypta and Lincrusta (many writers spell it "Linocrusta or linacrusta", an embossed patterned covering used on walls and ceilings. NOTE: Armstrong, although an enormous producer of flooring, was by no means the only manufacturer of floor covering products that contained asbestos as fibers or asbestos powder filler. Below we provide photographs and descriptions from a variety of flooring manufacturers, followed by a detailed list of floor tile product names we've been able to collect. You'll note that the Armstrong product list extends from 1954 to 1980. Other asbestos-containing flooring products from various manufacturers were produced between around 1920 to 1986. Amitco International, another larger producer of floor tiles has operated from 1964 to the present. Amico flooring is discussed at Amitco floor tiles.

Armstrong Flooring History, Use, Components - 1909 - Present

Armstrong Flooring: In the U.S. Thomas Armstrong, a Scotch-Irish immigrant, began his business as a cork cutter in 1860, delivering hand-carved bottle corks by wheelbarrow. The use of cork expanded to the construction of corkboards (bulletin boards) and cork-insulated brick. By 1909 Armstrong had begun producing linoleum.

"Corkboard led to fiberboard, fiberboard led to ceiling board, cork floor tile led to linoleum that ultimately led to vinyl floor coverings, in both tile and sheet vinyl forms. Armstrong's familiarity with cork grew into today's Armstrong Corporation worldwide as one of the largest flooring producers. " - Armstrong.

One of the most significant flooring producers in the U.S. has been Armstrong World Industries (Lancaster PA), founded in 1860 by Thomas Armstrong. In its original business, Armstrong was at one time the largest cork supplier (their first product: cork stoppers), produced corkboard and brick.

By 1906 Armstrong began producing linoleum, later vinyl flooring and many other flooring products. Asbestos litigation [appears to have] led to a bankruptcy filing in 2000, from which the company emerged to continue as a successful flooring producer.

The Armstrong Flooring company continues today as one of the largest floor covering producers in the world, with plants in Canada, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Spain, and China. The company's modern flooring products do not contain asbestos.

Ceramic Floor Tile & Ceramic Wall Tile

• Please see CERAMIC TILE, ASBESTOS in? and also see FLOOR, CERAMIC TILE
  

Congoleum-Nairn Flooring History, Use, Components - 1886 - Present

Congoleum - Nairn Corporation, founded by sailmaker Michael Nairn, Kearney New Jersey in 1886 (the same year my grandfather Louis Friedman arrived at Ellis Island from Lithuania), originally produced painted floor-cloth coverings using sailcloth.

The company later produced early forms of linoleum backed by fabric including burlap-like fabrics. (See an example photo left and discussed at the top of our building age determination article: FLOORING MATERIALS, Age, Types - Note that this antique flooring may not be a Congoluem-Nairn product).

According to Congoleum-Nairn, Linoleum, the precursor of modern resilient floors, was a hard smooth-surfaced flooring made of solidified linseed oil and ground cork, adhered to a backing of canvas or burlap such as that shown in our example.

According to some sources, by 1919 Congoleum Art Rugs were in popular demand but the company's website history indicates that it was in the 1920's that Nairn joined with Congoleum (whose asphalt-based raw materials originated in the Belgian Congo) in the 1920's to produce Congoleum, a three-foot wide simulated wood grain floor covering product, and to produce linoleum - Congoleum Gold Seal Rugs and Nairn Linoleum into the 1930's.

Congoleum Gold Seal Rugs and Nairn Linoleum were sold into the 1930's until replaced by vinyl-based products. By the 1950's Congoleum-Nairn was producing 12-foot wide sheet vinyl-based flooring. [Backing on some vinyl flooring products may contain asbestos.] In the 30's Congoleum-Nairn was researching vinyl flooring, a product whose use grew rapidly after 1945.

By the 1950s Congoleum-Nairn were producing twelve-foot wide sheet flooring or modern "linoleum" and the company produced the Vinylbest™ vinyl asbestos floor tile series, and by 1955, the Congoleum Gold Seal inlaid linoleum flooring shown at left, Gold Seal Inlaid Linoleum "Fashion Floor" was featured in Life and other magazine advertisements as both sheet flooring and 9" x 9" floor tiles.

Other Congoleum products included Vinylfloor, Vinyltop (countertops), Congoleum, CongoWall, Ranchtile, Cork tile, Linoleum tile, Vinyl tile, Rubber tile, and Asphalt tile marketed under the Congoleum Gold Seal trademark. The Congoleum Sequin Pattern sheet linoleum provided a scattershot or color fleck pattern.

In 1993 Congoleum-Nairn formed a joint venture with Amtico Floors, also a manufacturer of resilient floor tiles.

Currently Congoleum continues to produce a wide range of residential and commercial sheet flooring and floor tile products, made in the U.S. at the corporation's factory in Trenton, NJ.

Ever-Wear Flooring History, Use, Components, Photo Guide to Ever-Wear Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tile

These photographs of EverWear Vinyl Asbestos floor tiles were provided courtesy of home inspector David Grudzinski, who reported

These photographs of EverWear Vinyl Asbestos floor tiles were provided courtesy of home inspector David Grudzinski, who reported as follows:

While inspecting this home for a buyer I noticed this box and the tiles on the floor. All over the floor and next to the box are 1 inch holes drilled and filled with tiny plugs. The seller made the plugs to cover termite drill holes from treatment. he had no idea the danger of drilling these tiles and breathing the dust.

As you walk across the floor the tiles crack under your feet. The buyer was going to cover the tiles with a carpet and forget about it. My opinion was that that would be dangerous as the tiles are crumbling and the vacuuming of the carpet would sent the asbestos dust all through the house and be worse. further, the central heating ducts may be filled with the dust from past drilling and the home should be properly cleaned. only testing will tell the level of contamination from asbestos.

Ever-Wear produced vinyl-asbestos floor tiles, as we illustrate at the same Floor Tile Photo ID Guide cited above.

Kentile Flooring History, Use, Components - 1898 - 1992

Kentile KenFlex Floor Tiles Kentile was founded by Arthur Kennedy in 1898, had its primary location at 58 Second Ave., Brooklyn 15 NY. Kentile produced Kentile (asphalt floor tiles of vinyl-asbestos floor tiles), Kencork (cork floor tiles), and Kenrubber (rubber floor tiles) (at least) as 9" x 9" resilient flooring including patterns and in 23 bold colors (1949) and in 26 colors (1952), many of which are shown in our separate article at Kentile KenFlex Floor Tiles - asbestos may be in Kentile products produced through 1986.

In 1949 Kentile was producing asphalt-based floor tiles. In the early 1950's, Kentile produced mostly asphalt-based floor tiles but also some cork-based floor tiles. In 1951 a 8' x 9' room floor cost $10.95 when it was consumer-installed. In 1969 Kentile was producing vinyl sheet flooring.

Some of Kentile's 26 colors/patterns included Breccia, Carnival (multi-color), Dog Tooth, Fleecy Cerulean, Gaiety, Genoa Green, Greek Skyros, Lamartine, Ovation, Toledo Red, Verde Antique, regular pattern, Marbelized, and die-cut theme tiles and solid color feature strips.

Kentile's sign, along the Gowanus Canal (Brooklyn New York, ca 1949) has been considered an important landmark in its own right. In Canada Kentile flooring was distributed by T. Eaton Co., Ltd. The company filed bankruptcy in 1992, ceasing operations in 1995.

See this Kentile flooring page: A brief history of Kentile KenFlex Vinyl-Asbestos flooring and more Kentile and asbestos-containing Kentile and KenFlex flooring photos are found at Kentile KenFlex Floor Tiles

Other Asbestos-Containing Flooring Producers & Distributors, History, Use, Ingredients

American Biltrite in Trenton, NJ produced asbestos-containing floor tiles from 1 January 1961 through December 1985; the company also produced sheet vinyl flooring whose backer contained asbestos fibers, from 1 January 1962 through 1968 and from 1975 - 1980. if your American Biltrite tile flooring was installed before 1986 it's likely that it contains asbestos. If your sheet vinyl flooring from American Biltrite was installed before 1981 it's likely to contain asbestos in its backer.

American Biltrite was founded in 1908 as the Ewell Rubber Company, originally producing shoe heels and soles. The company began producing flooring in 1917. American Biltrite merged with Congoleum Corporation in 1993-1995. The company also acquired another manufacturer of asbestos-containing flooring, Bonafied Milles, in 1961. Example floor tile markings (reader contribution) include:

• Amtico Duravinyl Tile 12x12 1/16 ga 7LDF18 AH084 1 AL1102 and also says Zip Stik self adhering duravinyl tile; made by American Biltrite INc. Trenton, NJ.

Bonafide Milles, manufacturer of asbestos-containing flooring, merged with American Biltrite in 1961.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., in Akron OH produced asbestos-containing floor tiles. I'd make the same suggestion: if your Goodyear flooring was installed before 1980 it's likely that it contains asbestos. Example floor tile markings (reader contribution) include:

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Plant C Akron, Oh. and sold by color tile supermart with a Vancouver, WA

Mannington Mills, flooring, founded in Salem, new Jersey in 1915 was, early in its life, a small vinyl-flooring manufacturer

Matico (Mastic Tile Corporation of America) distributed plastic reinforced asphalt tile. Matico advertised "factory waxed" 9x9 floor tiles (1953) produced in plants in Houston TX, Joliet IL, Long Beach CA, and Newburgh NY. The company also distributed Milmark adhesive for floor tile application. (We believe that both the floor tiles and the mastic contained asbestos). Tile thickness (Lot B405-02259A43) was indicated to be 1/8". The Matico 9x9 floor tile packaging and the floor tile photos below were contributed by reader M.Z.

Notice though that the brown and beige floor tiles in the accompanying photos look very much like an asbestos-containing Armstrong Product - see 1957 - Armstrong Excelon Vinyl Asbestos Floor Floor Tiles, Patterns & Color Guide at   ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE where we include similar images of Excelon Woodtone 9 x 9 x 1/16" & 1/8" Floor Tiles. In that same article you'll see that by 1973 there were some very similar looking floor tiles made without asbestos.

Montgomery Ward vinyl asbestos tile flooring are described at at Montgomery Ward Floor Tiles. Excepts are below.

Above: photographs of Montgomery Ward Style-House Vinyl-Asbestos floor tiles and floor tile packaging, ca 1965 Montgomery Wards asbestos containing floor tiles and Ever-Wear asbestos containing floor tiles are also described and photographs of these (and other brands of floor tiles and sheet flooring containing asbestos) are provided at ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION and at our ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE

Sears vinyl asbestos tile flooring are found at Sears Roebuck Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles and at our ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE. Excepts are below.

Below our photographs show the embossed pattern on these Sears vinyl asbestos floor tiles. The tiles are solid through in color and material and are about 1/16" thick and 9" x 9" in size. Below right shows these Sears floor tiles installed.

(Photos wanted for Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward and other asphalt & vinyl-asbestos floor tile producers or distributors - CONTACT US)

Sears Roebuck Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles also sold and sells a variety of other flooring materials including asphalt and vinyl asbestos resilient floor tiles.

Flooring adhesive or mastic (glue) that contained asbestos

Watch out: floor tile adhesives or mastics used for bonding floor tiles and sheet flooring to the subfloor also contained asbestos into the 1970's.[1].

Asphalt-based (Asbestos-containing) Floor Tile Production & Ingredients

"Asphalt" tile refers to flooring that used asphalt as the principal binder.

Asphalt -asbestos floor tiles that were manufactured early in the product life (1920's) were either black, near black, brown, or a gray-brown tone.

Dark vinyl-asbestos tiles used, for example, a mixture of 40 parts asphalt or gilsonite, 60 parts asbestos floats, 30 parts powdered limestone, and pigments (parts by weight). Another typical mixture cited by Rosato contained 70% asbestos fiber.

Originally, asphalt floor tile was produced by mixing heavy asphalt solutions with a high percentage of asbestos fiber, hardening the tile by evaporation of the solvent. This procedure produced very dark floor tiles,. To obtain brown or intermediate colors, Gilsonite was used, dissolved in naphtha.

"Modern" asphalt tile (1950 and later) contained little or no asphalt. Rather than using asphalt or gilsonite binders, this later product used synthetic organic resins and additives or plasticizers based on petroleum or vegetable pitches. But asbestos fillers remained the main ingredient in "asphalt" tile. - Rosato.

Our photo (left, Rosato) shows the "caramel-like" asphalt-asbestos flooring mixture coming out of the rolling machine as a soft sheet where the operator pulled the material from the machine and sent it to calendar rolls for thinning before it was hardened and cut into squares. This photo shows the calendar rolls used to thin and polish the asphalt-asbestos floor tile during its final manufacturing stage (Johns-Manville Corp. - Rosato).

Rosato cites another flooring material from the 1950's called asbetic flooring which was a mixture of ground mother rock and the shortest, otherwise unusable asbestos fibers.

Other sources such as the Rotterdam Convention PIC archive, [citation needed] note that while vinyl-asbestos floor tile ingredient mixes varied by manufacturer, typically vinyl-asbestos floor tiles contained:

• Asbestos - 5 - 25%
• Binder - 15 - 20%
• Limestone - 53 - 73% [note that some products used asbestos powder as filler]
• Plasticizer - 5%
• Stabilizer - 1 - 2%
• Pigment - 0.5 - 5%

Short asbestos fibers may also be among the more hazardous if airborne. Asbestos was also used in a mixture with waterglass (a clear binder used in many chemical applications and even for cementing stove gaskets) as a hard binding compound.

Our detailed photo guide to asbestos containing floor tiles is at see ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE.

Vinyl-Asbestos (Asbestos-containing) Floor Tile Production & Ingredients

Vinyl-based (asbestos-containing) floor tiles became the most important and most widely-produced form of plastic floor tiles after World War II.

The product was similar to asphalt-based flooring, but was more flexible. Vinyl-based floor tile could thus be produced more economically and installed more easily as it was thinner, typically 1/16" to 3/32" (residential) and 1/8" thick "gauge" (commercial) versions.

Our photo (left) shows the calendar roll processing stage for floor tile (Rosato - Johns-Manville).

The use of vinyl as the tile base also permitted a wider range of lighter colors and patterns than was achieved with asphalt-based floor tiles.

Rosato described the principal vinyl-asbestos floor tile production process:

Vinyl-asbestos tile [was] used above or below grade on smooth wood or concrete base. As it wears it gets smoother and takes waxing very well. Its resistance to scratching or marring and to strong detergents is excellent.

The batch type-continuous process type of flooring [was] made by a combination of batch type and continuous process. It consists of vinyl-chloride vinyl-acetate copolymer resin mixed with plasticizers, stabilizers, asbestos, limestone and color pigments. Various types of mixing equipment [were] used to fuse these ingredients into a hot mass of the base, or field color. Then, this base [could] be decorated on a two-roll differential speed mill by adding previously made granules of the proper shapes and colors to produce the desired design.

The thick blanket of tile material was cut from the mill, butted to a previous slab, fed into a two-roll calendar to squeeze tile to the required thickness, moving on to a cooling stage and a blanket press where rows of 3 to 5 tiles were cut from the sheet.

Rosato also describes a different vinyl-asbestos floor tile production method:

An entirely different approach to the processing of vinyl resins into flooring materials [was] the use of vinyl plastisols or organosols. These materials are dispersions of vinyl resins in plasticizer (plastisols). These dispersions are of a fluid nature; the methods for their application are based on their flow characteristic, on their ability, when heated to 350 degF to fuse into the same tough resilient vinyl plastic that requires the process described above.

Armstrong Asphalt Floor Tiles - to mid 1950's

Armstrong produced asphalt-based floor tiles, possibly including asbestos in their formulation, before 1952 and in later years as we indicate with examples and photographs in the detailed photo guide that is found below. For more information about these older flooring types, see Asphalt & Vinyl Floor Tile History - history, dates, and description of the production process and ingredients in asphalt floor tiles, asphalt-asbestos floor tiles, & vinyl-asbestos floor tiles 1900 to present.

Also don't assume that only "vinyl asbestos floor tiles" include asbestos. According to Rosato, asbestos filler (powder) and fibers were used in asphalt based products too. "The first publicized installation of asphalt tile was in the Western Union office in New York City (1920). By the end of 1930, 3 million square yards of tile was being produced annually.

By 1952 "asphalt-asbestos" floor tiles contained much less asphalt or gilsonite. Those binders produced only dark tiles. IN the 1950's manufacturers changed to use of synthetic organic resins and solvents made of vegetable or petroleum pitches. These new synthetic binders permitted manufacture of lighter colored, brighter floor tiles in a wider range of colors. But asbestos continued to be the main filler ingredient in these tiles.

Vinyl asbestos floor tiles were produced from approximately 1954 to 1980. Early vinyl asbestos flooring was made in 9" x9" floor tiles, and also sold as decorative or accent solid color strips, typically 1" wide by 24" long. By 1960 12" x 12" vinyl asbestos floor tiles were produced by Armstrong™, particularly their Excelon™ line. Asbestos was also used in sheet flooring.

By 1973 only a small portion of flooring was produced as asphalt-based floor tiles (9"x9") as vinyl asbestos flooring was dominating production. The size, thickness, color, and patterns of floor tiles can distinguish between asphalt-asbestos and vinyl-asbestos flooring.

While asbestos-containing floor tiles were made in a wide variety of colors and patterns (see ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE), if you encounter black or very dark asphalt floor tiles they are probably particularly high in asbestos fibers. We discuss floor tiles as an asbestos fiber source in buildings in more detail at ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION.

Vinyl Asbestos Flooring Topics

  Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Age
  Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tile History
  Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Packaging
  Vinyl Asbestos Floor Thickness & Dimensions
  Vinyl Asbestos Sheet Flooring

Armstrong & Other Peel-and-Stick Floor Tiles May Contain Asbestos

Some self-adhesive floor tiles made by Armstrong also contained asbestos. Armstrong introduced peel and stick tiles in late 1969.

The company stopped manufacturing these tiles with asbestos in December of 1982. Not all adhesive floor tiles produced during this period contain asbestos. It is necessary to know the flooring product model number or collection name of a tile in question, or to submit a sample to an asbestos test laboratory to make a final determination. - information courtesy of Armstrong Corporation.

More about asbestos-containing peel and stick floor tiles can be found at Self-Adhesive Stick-on Tiles.

If you can identify your floor tile collection name or model number, laboratory testing of the sample to screen for asbestos may be unnecessary. (See ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE)

Asphalt-saturated Asbestos Felt Backed Flooring Tiles

Finally, Rosato described use of a felt underlayment to produce flooring materials:

Another application of asbestos with vinyl tile involves the use of asphalt saturated asbestos felt applied under 1/8 inch thick tile. This felt underlay provides for smoother finished flooring.

It is possible that this development is what led to continuous-sheet asbestos-felt-underlayment backed sheet flooring. But we point out that continuous sheet flooring and asphalt tile flooring has an older history.

The original resilient floor covering, linoleum, was used as a floor decking on British naval ships. Asphalt tile was first made as a mastic type of floor covering. The mastic was troweled on as a deck covering over wood. The original mixes included asphaltic binders, with fillers of asbestos; mixing was done on a rubber mill.

Colors and Patterns of Resilient Floor Tiles Can Indicate When They Were Produced

Asphalt -asbestos tiles manufactured early in their life (1920's) were either black, near black, brown, or a gray-brown tone. Brown asphalt-asbestos tiles were made by substituting gilsonite as a binder. In both cases the tiles were hardened by evaporating a solvent used in the fabrication process, or by cooling of hot asphalt used in the mixture.

Gilsonite could be used to produce a wider range of mixtures, but required some asphalt as a softener. Dark vinyl-asbestos tiles used, for example, a mixture of 40 parts asphalt or gilsonite, 60 parts asbestos floats, 30 parts powdered limestone, and pigments (parts by weight). Another typical mixture cited by Rosato contained 70% asbestos fiber.

Asphalt asbestos floor tiles were popular in the U.S. from 1920 into the 1960's. Asphalt-asbestos floor tiles were produced at first in dark colors using a heavy asphalt binder combined with a very high percentage of asbestos filler fibers. It would be uncommon to find these floors still in use today, but if you encounter black or very dark asphalt floor tiles they are probably very high in asbestos fibers.

(The black tiles shown at left were not dated and may be a newer product, but in general, if you find very old black floor tiles they are probably an asphalt-asbestos product. )

Source of High Levels of Asbestos in Asphalt Floor Tiles:

Asphalt-asbestos floor tiles were produced at first in dark colors using a heavy asphalt binder combined with a very high percentage of asbestos filler fibers. It would be uncommon to find these floors still in use today, but if you encounter black or very dark asphalt floor tiles they are probably very high in asbestos fibers.

Depending on the particular mixture of asphalt, gilsonite, asbestos, limestone, and pigment used, these floor tiles could contain as much as 70% asbestos by weight. One reason that so much asbestos was used in flooring tiles was simply the wish to find an application for asbestos waste product from asbestos mining operations.

Mastic Use with Floor Tiles

As we introduced above, the earliest use of asphalt-based flooring reported by Rosato was as a troweled-on mastic applied as a deck covering for ships in the U.S. Navy in 1917.

Older nine-inch "thicker" vinyl or asphalt-based floor tiles, many more recent 12-inch floor tiles (1960 - 1980), and some more recent sheet linoleum as well as the mastic used to bed or glue down older flooring materials are likely to contain asbestos fibers and should not be disturbed by grinding, sanding, or demolition without taking the appropriate precautions.

We discuss the inspection, diagnosis, and repair of various flooring products at FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS.

Asphalt or Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Thickness and Dimensions: 9x9 inch and 12x12 inch flooring

The Wards vinyl asbestos floor tiles shown just below are nominally 1/16 gauge (4mm) in thickness 9" x 9" square.

Armstrong vinyl asbestos 9" x 9" floor tiles may also have been produced in three thicknesses, depending on the cost and durability desired by the consumer: 1/16", 3/32", and 1/8" thickness. Our 9" x9" lab sample of Armstrong vinyl asbestos floor tile was measured at 3/32" (about 2mm) thick. The 1/8" thick floor tiles were considered commercial or heavy-duty grade.

Armstrong also made 12" x 12" vinyl asbestos floor tiles beginning in 1960. By 1972 most Armstrong vinyl asbestos floor tiles were sold in the 12" x 12" dimension. From 1973 to 1980 all Armstrong Excelon vinyl asbestos floor tiles were sold in 12" x 12" size.

Key to Thicknesses or Gauges of Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tiles & Floor Tile Application or Usage by Thickness

Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Thickness & Usage Guide Shown at left is a vinyl-asbestos floor specification summary and usage guide from 1959 - Armstrong.

Montgomery Wards Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Packaging

Asbestos-containing Vinyl Based Sheet Flooring Product Photos

Older sheet flooring products in buildings that do Not Contain Asbestos

Modern Armstrong 12"x12" x 1/16" (1.5mm) Self-Adhesive "Stick-on" Floor Tiles

• Self-Adhesive Stick-on Tiles, Asbestos - peel and stick floor tiles that contain asbestos - separate article
• Self-Adhesive Stick-on Tiles, Current - modern peel and stick floor tiles: information is shown below

This Armstrong flooring tile is 12" x 12" x 1/16" or 1.5mm thick. Unlike the older vinyl-asbestos floor tiles whose photographs we provide below, this more recent flooring product is built from a thin vinyl layer containing the tile's design pattern and a fiber/paper backer (shown in our photo above) to which an adhesive was coated so that the tile could be installed without use of a mastic. A typical pattern is the embossed design shown at left. The floor tile thickness (about 1.5mm or 1/16") suggests that this product was produced after 1980 and probably does not contain asbestos.

Below we show a photo of the Armstrong© Stamp found on the under-side or "back" of 12 x 12 "stick-on" self-adhesive floor tiles produced by Armstrong.

Depending on the age of manufacture, some paper-backed flooring products used asbestos as a primary ingredient (see Asphalt & Vinyl Floor Tile History). Tests of our example floor sample (above) for asbestos confirmed that some early peel-and-stick floor tiles sold in the 1980's did contain asbestos. Contemporary resilient flooring products do not contain asbestos however. Shown at left: Armstrong Excelon Vinyl Floor tile, contemporary, popular, sold in 70 colors at retail outlets including Home Depot stores, this modern resilient floor tile does not contain asbestos. [Click any image to see an enlarged, detailed version]. A catalog of floor tile identification photographs for products that contained asbestos, 1952 - 1980, is provided below at Armstrong Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tile Photo ID Catalog - 1952 - 1986. And at Armstrong flooring history we provide a history of Armstrong flooring and links to company information. Contact Us to send a photograph of your own floor tile pattern or for assistance in identification if you can't find your floor tile image, pattern, or design in this floor tile color and pattern library.

How to Find Your Floor Tile or Sheet Flooring in this Flooring Reference Photo Guide

Asphalt asbestos and vinyl-asbestos floor tiles were produced in 9" x 9", 12" x 12", and even 18" x 18" as well as in decorative strips, and in thicknesses of 1/16", 3/32", and 1/8", also in 0.08 gauge. Some sheet flooring or resilient flooring also contained asbestos, as did floor tile mastics. This photo guide to asphalt asbestos & vinyl asbestos floor tiles for each year shows at least one color photo of each floor tile style or pattern in an example color. A list below each group of photos includes the names of and links to additional photos for other colors of these styles. Asbestos is safe and legal to remain in homes or public buildings as long as the asbestos materials are in good condition and the asbestos can not be released into the air. To identify a particular asphalt-asbestos or vinyl-asbestos floor tile pattern & color, start in the image group most likely to be the same age as your building. If you don't find your floor tile or sheet flooring by looking forward from that that year, you should also look backwards in the earlier years as your specific flooring pattern & color may have first appeared in an earlier year. For other tile brands than Armstrong, see the brand name floor tile links included in this list. If you can identify your floor tile collection name or model number, or if you recognize it in the extensive library of flooring color and pattern photographs provided in these pages, laboratory testing of the sample to screen the flooring for asbestos may be unnecessary. Our home page for asbestos-containing floor tiles is at ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE To send us photographs of possible asbestos-containing flooring that you are trying to identify, use the email address found at CONTACT.

We have split this guide to Armstrong Asphalt Asbestos or Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles into the individual year range pages (dates of production) below in order to cut web page load time. If you prefer to see all of the reference photos in a single scrollable file, contact us and we can provide the full list in a single big and slow-loading file.

• ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE - home
• FLOOR TILE HISTORY 1900-1986
• Amitco floor tiles
• Armstrong Floor Tiles - 1951 - 1986 asbestos
• 1951 - 1959 Armstrong Asphalt Asbestos Floor Tiles Patterns & Color Guide, 9"x9"x1/8"
• 1960 - 1969 Armstrong Excelon Floor Vinyl Plastic Asbestos Floor Tiles, 9" x 9" & beginning in 1960 available in 12" x 12" size
• 1970 - 1972 Armstrong Excelon Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles, Patterns & Color Guide, 9x9 & 12x12-inch
• 1973 - Armstrong Excelon Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles, Complete Pattern & Color Guide, 9x9 & 12x12-inch - includes a Complete Photo Guide to Standard Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tile Patterns & Colors in 12x12" and 9x9" for this year
• 1974 - 1979 Complete Armstrong Excelon Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles, Patterns & Color Guide
• 1980 - 1988 Armstrong Excelon Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles, Patterns & Color Guide includes 1982 & later Armstrong Self-Adhesive Floor Tiles & American Bilrite Asbestos-Containing Peel and Stick Flooring from the early 1980's
• 1989 & Later Armstrong Accoflex Series Flooring Tiles
• Congoleum-Nairn Floor Tiles, Linoleum - separate article
• Ever-Wear Floor Tiles - separate article
• Kentile KenFlex Floor Tiles - separate article
• Linoleum Sheet Flooring - separate article
• Montgomery Ward Floor Tiles - separate article
• Resilient Vinyl or Cork Flooring - separate article
• Sears Roebuck Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles - separate article
• Self-Adhesive Stick-on Tiles - separate article
• Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tile Photos - separate article

Many of the colors and patterns of asphalt-asbestos or vinyl-asbestos floor tiles were manufactured over many years and may appear in more than one of the floor tile photo collections listed by date range here.

For each year we list the names of the tile patterns sold during that year, we include representative color images of the floor tiles, and throughout the entire floor tile pattern & color history series we include each floor tile color & pattern of the floor tile in the first year that it appeared , and we include representative colors and patterns in other years.

Examples of floor tile packaging, labeling, and other information can be found throughout the flooring photo collections listed here.

More Reading

• ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION - home
• ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION PHOTOS by YEAR
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about types of floor tile, their composition, history of use, and asbestos or other hazardous material content

Question: I removed some 6" ceramic tiles that I estimate were from the late 70's or early 80's - would these ceramic tiles contain asbestos?

A few years ago I removed an area of ceramic tiles from the floor of my house. They were about 6inches square and 0.5 inches deep and were ceramic or possibly concrete. I am unsure of there age but estimate late 70s early 80s Would it have been likely that these tiles contained asbestos or were asbestos containing tiles restricted to the vinyl type? If it makes any difference our location is England. Any information you could give would be gratefully received Thanks - A.H. PS - your website is great and really useful

Reply: asbestos-ceramic tile risks, history in the UK, recommendations

From the age you give, and considering that the ceramic tiles could have been in stock for some time before they were installed, having been thus made in the 1970's, they indeed could have contained asbestos, but we have been unable to find an authoritative source that confirms that asbestos was ever used as a component of ceramic floor tiles or wall tiles.

Watch out: A more likely asbestos hazard one might encounter when removing ceramic floor or wall tiles would be an asbestos-containing tile mastic - the glue that was used to secure ceramic tiles on walls and floors in a thin-set installation methods. You would not expect to find asbestos below ceramic tiles at an older installation at which the tiles were bedded directly into cement - the "thick set" method for tile installation.

The history of asbestos use and regulation in the UK could have permitted your ceramic tiles, installed in the 1980's, to contain asbestos.

A brief-history of asbestos usage and asbestos regulation in the UK

A documented asbestos-related death in the UK occurred as early as 1906. Asbestos regulation began in the UK in 1931, and in 1965 mesothelioma had been documented there. Imports of asbestos into the U. K. peaked in 1967.

By 1970 the UK had banned the import of raw crocidolite and amosite asbestos was banned (voluntary ban) in 1980.

More strict licensing regarding asbestos handling and remediation did not begin in the UK until 1980s. And the first licensing regulations date from 1983, while in the U. k. asbestos-containing product prohibitions date from 1985 with UK asbestos material regulation amendments in 1988, 1992, 1994 and onwards to a final "comprehensive ban" in 1999. Silverdell, [7]

The actual hazard of their removal would have depended on their condition, how they were removed, and the quantity. Generally the asbestos released from ceramic tiles removed relatively intact should be quite low.

Please take a look at CERAMIC TILE, ASBESTOS in? , where we discuss ceramic floor tiles that may contain asbestos, the hazards and some recommendations.

At References at the end of this article we cite authoritative sources for that information.

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Questions & answers or comments about the history and production of asbestos-containing flooring and floor tiles

Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

• [1] EPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Asbestos in Your Home, web search 08/31/2011, original source: www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/ashome.html
• [2] EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
• [3] EPA: "Asbestos Management", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, original author: Todd H. Dresser, Environmental Engineer, (formerly of), Burlington Board of Health, 29 Center Street, Burlington, MA 01803, web search 3/4/2012 original source: epa.gov/region07/education_resources/teachers/ehsstudy/ehs2.htm, [copy on file as: /hazmat/Asbestos Management _ Region 7 _ US EPA.pdf ]
• [4] "Deconstruction - Building Disassembly and Material Salvage - the Riverdale Case Study", U.S. EPA, web search 3/4/12, original source: epa.gov/wastes/conserve/rrr/imr/cdm/pubs/river.pdf, [copy on file as: /hazmat/Deconstruction_Riverdale_EPA.pdf]
• [5] "Toxics Information Series - Asbestos", U.S. EPA, April 1980, [copy on file as /hazmat/Asbestos_Toxics_EPA_1980.pdf]
• [6] EVER WEAR TILE CO is currently (2009) in the Terrazzo, Tile, Marble, and Mosaic Work industry in Fallon, NV. 775) 423-6221. [We do not know the company history nor whether there is an association with EverWear vinyl asbestos floor tiles discussed in this article.]
• [7] History of Asbestos in the UK - the story so far ..., Silverdell PLC, 14 Buckingham St., London WC2N 6DF TelP 0207 389 6906, email: info@silverdell.plc.uk website: www.silverdell.plc.uk. Web search 3/4/12, original source: issuu.com/silverdell_plc/docs/silverdell_history_of_asbestos_article, [copy on file as /hazmat/Asberstos_UK_Silverdell.pdf ]
• [8] Armstrong ® Residential Flooring - Website 05/15/2010 http://www.armstrong.com/ lists current flooring products provided by the Armstrong Corporation, including Armstrong's current vinyl floor tile products at http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/products/vinyl-floors
• [9] Armstrong Corporation, Corporate History - http://www.armstrong.com/corporate/corporate-history.html - Web Search 05/19/2010
• [10] Armstrong vinyl asbestos floor tiles: photos of asbestos floor tiles as catalog pages (PDF form) are at www.asbestosresource.com/asbestos/tile.html
• [11] Thanks to Armstrong Corporation (800-356-9301) for providing information about the dates of manufacture of peel-and-stick floor tiles, email July 2010
• [12] "Asbestos in your home or at work," Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department, Winston-Salem NC 12/08
• [13] "Asbestos Floor Tile Removal", the University of Minnesota's advice on removing VAT (vinyl asbestos or asphalt asbestos floor tile) can be read in detail at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/asbestos/floortile/index.html
• [14] Asbestos in Your Home U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
• [15] Resilient Floor Covering Institute, 1030 15th St. NW, suite 350, Washington D.C.
• [16] Congoleum Corporation, "Company History", Congoleum Corporation, Department C, P.O. Box 3127, Mercerville, NJ 08619-0127 1-609-584-3601, web-search 03/14/2011, original source: http://www.congoleum.com/history.html
• [17] Congoleum Nairn, Congoleum Corporation, Department C, P.O. Box 3127, Mercerize, NJ 08619-0127
• [18] Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
• [19] David Grudzinski, Advantage Home Inspections, is a professional home inspector in Cranston, RI. 02910. He can be reached at 401-935-6547, fax- 401-490-0607 or by email to contact/us@advantagehomeinspections.us 04/26/2009
• [20] LIFE Feb 14, 1955 p. 105, advertisement for Congoleum flooring products and listing of Gold Seal products by Congoleum.
• [21] Rotterdam Convention PIC, see http://www.pic.int/home.php?type=s&id=77, and for a PDF on the composition of vinyl-asbestos flooring, see http://www.pic.int/en/DGDs/Alternatives/USA/American%20alternatives%20part%203.pdf
  where PIC refers to
  Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade on 10 September 1998. 
  

  Major Provisions of the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedure PIC

  The Convention covers pesticides and industrial chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons by Parties and which have been notified by Parties for inclusion in the PIC procedure.  One notification from each of two specified regions triggers consideration of addition of a chemical to Annex III of the Convention, Severely hazardous pesticide formulations that present a hazard under conditions of use in developing countries or countries with economies in transition may also be nominated for inclusion in Annex III.

  There are 40 chemicals listed in Annex III of the Convention and subject to the PIC procedure, including 25 pesticides, 4 severely hazardous pesticide formulations and 11 industrial chemicals. Many more chemicals are expected to be added in the future. The Conference of the Parties decides on the inclusion of new chemicals.
  Once a chemical is included in Annex III, a "decision guidance document" (DGD) containing information concerning the chemical and the regulatory decisions to ban or severely restrict the chemical for health or environmental reasons, is circulated to all Parties. 

  Parties have nine months to prepare a response concerning the future import of the chemical.  The response can consist of either a final decision (to allow import of the chemical, not to allow import, or to allow import subject to specified conditions) or an interim response. Decisions by an importing country must be trade neutral (i.e., apply equally to domestic production for domestic use as well as to imports from any source).

  The import decisions are circulated and exporting country Parties are obligated under the Convention to take appropriate measure to ensure that exporters within its jurisdiction comply with the decisions.
  

• [22] "Resource4Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Information and Legal Guide", web search 3/6/2012, original source: resource4mesothelioma.com/topics/whatisasbestos.html [copy on file as /hazmat/Asbestos_Resource4_3Mar12.pdf ] and also
  mesothelioma.com/asbestos-exposure/products/ceramic-tiles.htm [copy on file as
  /hazmat/Ceramic_Tiles_Asb_Mesothel_Mar_12.pdf ]
• [23] Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 [out of print, original copy, text and images on file at InspectAPedia.com offices].
• [24] Microwave thermal inertisation of asbestos containing waste and its recycling in traditional ceramics. Leonelli C, Veronesi P, Boccaccini DN, Rivasi MR, Barbieri L, Andreola F, Lancellotti I, Rabitti D, Pellacani GC. Dipartimento di Ingegneria dei Materiali e dell'Ambiente, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Vignolese 905, 41100 Modena, Italy. leonelli@unimore.it Journal of Hazardous Materials 135 (1–3): 149–155 - Citation: J Hazard Mater. 2006 Jul 31;135(1-3):149-55. Epub 2006 Jan 10., web search 3/6/2012, original source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16406335
  Abstract: Asbestos was widely used as a building material prior to the 1970's. It is well known that asbestos is a health hazard and its progressive elimination is a priority for pollution prevention. Asbestos can be transformed to non-hazardous silicate phases by microwave thermal treatment. The aim of this investigation is to describe the microwave inertization process of asbestos containing waste (ACW) and its recycling in porcelain stoneware tiles, porous single-fired wall tiles and ceramic bricks following industrial manufacture procedure. Inertised asbestos powder was added in the percentages of 1, 3, and 5 wt.% to commercially available compositions and then fired following industrial thermal cycles. Water absorption and linear shrinkage of the obtained industrial products do not present significant variations with additions up to 5 wt.% of microwave inertised ACW.
• [25] Asbestos-ceramic, Wikipedia, web search 3/6/2012, original source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos-ceramic [copy on file as /hazmat/Asbestos-ceramic_Wik.pdf]
• Thomas Hauswirth, Managing Member of Beacon Fine Home Inspections, LLC and (in 2007) Vice President, Connecticut Association of Home Inspectors Ph. 860-526-3355 Fax 860-526-2942 beaconinspections@sbcglobal.net 06/07: thanks for photographs of transite asbestos heating ducts
• Gary Randolph, Ounce of Prevention Home Inspection, LLC Buffalo, NY, for attentive reading and editing suggestions. Mr. Randolph can be reached in Buffalo, NY, at (716) 636-3865 or email: gary@ouncehome.com 3/07
• Kentile Floor Company History - see http://fadingad.wordpress.com/2007/08/25/kentile-floor-company-second-ave-ninth-street-brooklyn/ - Web Search 05/19/2010
• Mannington Mills Corporation - see http://www.mannington.com/Corporate/OurCompany/History.aspx
  

• Books, Complete List of Environmental Inspection, Diagnosis, Cleanup, Air Quality & Design, Inspection, Repair Books at the InspectAPedia Bookstore
• Environmental Health & Investigation Bibliography - our own technical library on indoor air quality inspection, testing, laboratory procedures, forensic microscopy, etc.
• Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
• Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
• Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Health Concerns About Airborne Fiberglass: Fiberglass in Indoor Air from HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
• Enviro-Scare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
• Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
• Asbestos Information Links: Asbestos Detection, Testing, Recognition, Hazards, Field Photos, and Information Sources, including health-related links such as legal services and information about mesothelioma and other cancers.
• Asbestos Identification and Testing References
• Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
• Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
• Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
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