How can I safely remove stick-on tiles that are on top of asbestos tiles?

Question

I have an issue when I started renovating my basement. When I bought my house 3 years ago, the basement had 12" stick tiles through-out. I removed a bar, a built in cabinet and a few other things and those stick tiles were never put down and now that particular tile is obsolete/not sold anymore.

I am thinking about "re"-sticky tiling the basement and want to pull up the newer sticky tiles and reapply over the old lower layer 9" ones they were applied on. Since my house was building 1953, more than likely the lower layer tiles under the sticky tiles are Asbestos and I don't want to damage/crack/disturb them while pulling up the top tiles for obvious health reasons.

Is there a way to remove these stick tiles without disturbing/breaking/chipping the old asbestos ones? A Chemical that dissolves the newer adhesive without messing with the asbestos tile adhesive?

Thanks, Scott

Answer 1

There is no Do-It-Yourself asbestos abatement process that meets US construction industry standards for safety and the protection of air quality.

The only proper methods for renovating structures containing asbestos bearing building materials require removal and/or encapsulation by professionals experienced in the area.

There is no silver bullet in a can. Organic solvents are not that selective.