Coating a Floor in an Older Darwin Home in Darwin

The Northern Territory Government's asbestos site says that as a general rule a home built before 1990 is likely to contain some asbestos materials, and that the only way to be certain is to have a sample tested at a laboratory of the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA). Before an old floor is ground or lifted, ask who will do that testing.

Call (08) 7980 1665

What coating a floor in an older Darwin home in Darwin actually involves

NT WorkSafe's 2022 incident release says workers undertaking renovation work in a Darwin house drilled into a concrete ceiling that had a vermiculite coating, which it describes as a spray-on textured ceiling finish popularly used in the 1970s to early 1980s. It was a ceiling, not a floor, and we cite it as a Darwin example of the order of work: find out what a surface is made of before a tool touches it.

Across the Territory

The same release says asbestos can be found in many buildings and structures built or renovated before 1990, and is still present in older homes across the Territory, as well as in public and commercial buildings.

An older room with a textured ceiling and worn sheet flooring — coating a floor in an older Darwin home, Darwin. Illustrative example.

What to ask before the floor is touched

Ask the age of the building, whether any old floor covering or coating will be tested before it is ground or lifted, and who will do the testing. Ask what the quote says if something is found. The grinding page covers the dust, and the Alawa page takes this question to a suburb the Place Names Register dates to the late 1960s.

The 1990 line is the Territory's, so it applies in every suburb on this site. The release says built or renovated, so a house that was renovated before 1990 counts as well.

A roll of heavy plastic sheeting and a roll of masking tape beside a bare concrete floor edge — coating a floor in an older Darwin home, Darwin. Illustrative example.

Darwin epoxy floor costs and rules check