Asbestos floor tile removal
Old square floor tiles are one of the most common asbestos-containing materials in a British home, usually found once a carpet or a later floor covering comes up. Not every one of them is asbestos, and you cannot tell from a photo alone. Here is what to look for, and what happens once you know.
- Over 12 years in asbestos removal
- Qualified & insured
- HSE Compliant
- Most jobs completed within a day
What asbestos floor tiles look like
The classic tell is the size
- Nine inches square is the classic size, thick and slightly flexible, often marbled, mottled or a plain block colour.
- A black, tar-like adhesive bed usually sits underneath. That bitumen layer is an asbestos-containing material in its own right, not just glue holding down a tile that might be.
- Not every square tile is asbestos, and vinyl or thermoplastic tiles from any era can look similar. Colour, pattern and age are clues, not proof.
- The only way to know for certain is a sample, tested by a laboratory that identifies asbestos.
Already know what you have and just want it gone? See collection on its own if it is already lifted, or read on for what HSE actually says and how the tiles actually come up.
By hand is a different job from by machine
Lifting tiles and mastic by hand
HSE's own framework treats manually removing asbestos floor tiles and mastic as some of the more straightforward asbestos work there is. That is the job we do.
Grinding the floor
Treated completely differently. HSE lists grinding off flooring materials as a much higher-risk activity, because it puts fine dust into the air in a way that lifting by hand does not. It is not what we do.
A paper backing changes things
If a tile has a paper layer between it and the adhesive, it needs more care than an ordinary lift. We check for it before we start, not after.
The bitumen bed is part of the job
Since it is asbestos-containing in its own right, taking it up is not something we leave behind for whoever fits the next floor.
Source: HSE, asbestos: locations and identifying the correct action, checked 13 Sep 2026.
Lifted by hand, never ground
Note
Grinding the floor back
Grinding off asbestos flooring is a distinctly higher-risk activity than lifting tiles by hand. It needs different equipment and different controls, and it is not how we take a floor up ourselves.
If a job genuinely needs grinding rather than lifting, we will tell you plainly, and if that means somebody with different equipment for that part, we will say what to look for when you are choosing them, rather than force the wrong method to save time.
Worth knowing
Tiles with a paper backing
A tile with a paper layer under it needs more care than an ordinary lift. We check for it before we start.
What people ask us
What do floor tiles with asbestos look like?
Nine inches square is the classic size, thick and slightly flexible, often marbled or mottled, usually sitting on a black bitumen bed. That look is a clue, not proof: only a tested sample tells you for certain.
Can I remove asbestos floor tiles myself?
There is no law stopping a householder lifting their own tiles carefully by hand. The real question is whether you can keep the work as controlled as it needs to be, and once tiles are up the waste is hazardous waste, which cannot go in a bin or, in Essex and Thurrock, to the tip. See how disposal actually works.
Are asbestos floor tiles considered low risk?
HSE's framework treats a careful, by-hand lift of intact tiles as some of the least demanding asbestos work there is. That changes completely the moment they are broken, sanded or ground.
Is it safe to walk on asbestos floor tiles?
If the tiles are whole and undamaged, the fibres are bound into the material and are not being released by ordinary use. Walk on them, just do not drill, sand or grind them.
Can I pour concrete over asbestos tile?
Covering sound tiles rather than lifting them, whether with a new floor laid on top or a levelling compound, is a legitimate way to deal with a floor that is not going anywhere. It leaves the material in place rather than resolving it, the same idea as sealing rather than removing elsewhere in a house.
I accidentally removed asbestos tiles without knowing it. What should I do?
Stop disturbing the area, do not sweep or vacuum it with an ordinary vacuum cleaner, and keep people out of the room. Get someone to look at what is there and what to do with the material before any of it goes anywhere, then get in touch.
How floor tiles actually come up
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01
We look first
A photo, or a chat about where the tiles are and how much floor, tells us what kind of job it is.
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02
Tested if nobody knows
If it has not already been identified, a sample goes to a lab before anything comes up.
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03
Lifted, not ground
Tiles come up whole with hand tools, wet where it helps keep dust down, never sanded or ground off.
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04
The bed comes too
The bitumen underneath is part of the same job, not left behind for someone else.
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05
Paperwork follows
The waste goes to a facility licensed to take it, and your consignment note follows by email.
What actually changes the price
We are not going to print a number we cannot stand behind. A single hearth and a whole ground floor are different jobs, and these are the things that decide where a given job actually sits.
- Area of floor. A hallway is a different job from every room downstairs.
- Whether tiles are already broken or lifted in places, which takes more care, not less.
- What is on top right now: carpet, laminate, or nothing.
- Whether the bitumen bed needs taking up as well as the tiles.
- Access to the room and how far waste has to travel to the van.
Floor tiles across the south east
We are based in Grays and most of our work is within an hour of it.
Further out than that? Ask anyway.
Tell us what you have found
A photo, a postcode and a phone number is enough to start. If you would rather talk it through, call and you will get someone who has done this before.