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I want to finish my basement. All of the basic protocols I have seen is install a sill plate by anchoring it into the conrete. After that, build a wall and put it on top of the sill plate. Attach to sill plate, voila.

This method seems pretty good, and very easy. However, how can this be done without anchoring to concrete?

My issue is that I have asbestos floor tiles which I am covering over and drilling through the stuff could cause a serious hazard, so I would rather not.

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    If you haven't already, it would be of benefit to do some more research on the different types of asbestos and the effects on health based on duration and severity of exposure. My understanding is that the type used in floor tiles is not nearly as hazardous as the type used in insulation. The small amount of asbestos disturbed by drilling for anchoring the bottom plate would be easy to manage.
    – Edwin
    Dec 1, 2016 at 4:26
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    You may want to remove the tile while you can. Encapsulating is fine, but if the tiles are popping up a bit anyways, it's not that hard to remove them. I had to take them out of a basement I owned once. As long as they come up relatively easy (with a scraper) there's not much to be concerned about. The asbestos is only bad if it becomes airborne from grinding up the tiles. Many residential areas also allow homeowner disposal of asbestos tiles in your standard garbage.
    – DA01
    Dec 1, 2016 at 18:02
  • Any concerns with the mastic used for attaching? It would leave me with a slightly less than flat surface
    – Brian G
    Dec 1, 2016 at 21:23
  • Mastic sometimes contained asbestos too. The only way to be sure is to take a sample and send it to a lab. A hot-air gun is good for softening mastic and/or lifting vinyl tiles.
    – keshlam
    Dec 2, 2016 at 15:52

3 Answers 3

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You could put down a bead of construction adhesive under the sill plate. That will glue it to the tiles.

You do need the wall secured somehow because you will not want to be seeing it move around as you finish it out and put said wall into deployment.

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  • I think this is the best answer to satisfy my paranoia about the tiles. It also gave me the thought, if I goop enough adhesive under the middle of the plate AND THEN blast it with a Ramset, the built up adhesive might absorb / mitigate any of the dust spreading that is disturbed by the anchor going through.
    – Brian G
    Jan 5, 2020 at 20:40
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Or you could buy a ramset that is a powder driven concrete anchor, no drilling is required and would have a minimal effect on the asbestos.

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    This is what I'd suggest. A ramset will produce a whole lot less dust than drilling through a tile, plus any dust it does make will be captured by the sill plate anyways.
    – DA01
    Dec 1, 2016 at 18:00
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I am personally not a fan of using just construction adhesive in the sill plate to hold the bottom of the wall in place.

You can also anchor the new non-load-bearing wall to the foundation wall in combination with construction adhesive on the sill plate if you are intent on not even mildly disturbing the tile with a ramset.

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  • How do you recommend anchoring to the foundation wall?
    – Brian G
    Jan 5, 2020 at 20:42

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