I'm not a superstitious man, but I always keep the door to my basement locked and never go down there alone at night. It is the CREEPIEST. BASEMENT. EVER. You know those squealing, running women in horror movies? That's me every time I scramble back up the stairs to safety.
The dim lights cast some pretty eerie shadows and that coal room at the back has like 4 padlocks on it. Who needs so many locks on a single door?! What did they keep in there?! Who owned this place before, John Wayne Gacey?! It creeps me out. This Halloween, I might just hand candy out of my serial killer basement instead of decorating.
Notice the retro tile floor? I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that it's Asbestos. I'm considering ripping that up (carefully) and putting down a layer of epoxy. That and a little paint should go a long way in de-creepifying the place, but I'll have to wait until the bank account allows for it.
This weekend, the plan is to put in new light fixtures and fix up that work bench. The basement currently has only one outlet near the washer/dryer stand, which isn't going to cut it. With all of these DIY projects I've taken on, I'm going to have some serious electrical needs. Instead of adding wall outlets, an expensive proposition, I picked up a few fixtures with built-in plug sockets. They come in both 2 and 3-prong varieties and cost about $4 apiece at Home Depot and are perfect for areas where you need an outlet and you don't mind a cord dangling from your ceiling. With a basement like this, that is the least of my concerns.
Seriously - Don't remove the asbestos tiles yourself. There are companies who specialize in this for a reason. There is a reason it isn't cheap. Cancer is not worth saving a few bucks today. I tried to start a conversation about just Cleaning and Sealing asbestos tiles with Pam on Retro Reno. and she wouldn't even begin to allow it on her blog. Liability concerns I think. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteIn Texas the floor companies have to know how old your house is before they'll do a tear-out. If it was built before 1980, they lay the new floor over it, rather than remove it. I was told by a flooring company that asbestos tile is harmless as long as it's not disturbed. It only releases asbestos fibers when it's being demolished.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mr. Modtomic. If you are dead set on having it taken out, hire someone to do it. There are so many federal and state laws regarding asbestos removal that you're bound to be breaking one of them if you try to do it yourself.
I'll certainly look into having a professional remove the tiles if it comes to that. From what I understand, Dana is correct in that the tiles can be safely "encapsulated" and that they are generally safe unless they become friable. Maybe we can epoxy over them? I'll look into it.
ReplyDeleteMr. Mod, sounds like you've had experience with this nasty stuff. If so, did you have yours removed?