Black mastic under parquet flooring
Due to some water damage, the parquet flooring in our house became loose and warped in several areas. It could be lifted right ip without any tools in these areas. I am pretty sure the black mastic underneath contains asbestos. We want to replace the parquet floors with tile, but when we got a quote from an abatement company to remove the parquet and mastic, it was way beyond our budget. It seemed like overkill to me, including stuff like establishing a negative pressure enclosure and three-stage decontamination zones. Based on my research, it seemed like all we really needed to do was either use a wet solvent to dissolve the mastic and remove it while still wet. Is this something that could be DIY? I have kids and care about my own lungs, so I want to be safe, but I’m also on a very tight budget and really need to get the floors redone. Here’s a picture where part of the parquet came up.
Location is U.S. - Texas
Home was constructed in 1948, though I’m not entirely sure when the flooring was put in. It’s definitely been there since the 1980s at the very least.