Abstract: Cast ceiling tile requires a particular rheology of its wet formulation for the dried tile to have a desired aesthetic appearance. The use of a latex binder rather than starch for cast ceiling tiles imparts the necessary rheological properties to the wet ceiling tile formulation. The tile is prepared by blending mineral wool with a premixture of water, latex, and filler, said premixture having a sharp yield point when measured with a recording Brookfield Viscometer. The latex is an alkali-swellable latex comprising (i) a C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 .alpha.,.beta.

Abstract: Cast ceiling tile requires a particular rheology of its wet formulation for the dried tile to have a desired aesthetic appearance. The use of a latex binder rather than starch for cast ceiling tiles imparts the necessary rheological properties to the wet ceiling tile formulation. The tile is prepared by blending mineral wool with a premixture of water, latex, and filler, said premixture having a sharp yield point when measured with a recording Brookfield Viscometer. The latex is an alkali-swellable latex comprising (i) a C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 .alpha.,.beta.

Abstract: Compositions comprising asbestos fibers and blends of at least two latexes wherein the solids in the blended latexes comprise (A) from 5 to 40 parts by weight of a carboxylated copolymer comprising 10 to 25 parts by weight of methacrylic acid and correspondingly 90 to 75 parts by weight of at least one unsaturated carboxylic acid ester of the formula CH.sub.2 .dbd.C(R.sub.2)COOR.sub.1, wherein R.sub.1 is an alkyl group containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms and R.sub.2 is hydrogen or methyl and (B) 95 to 60 parts by weight of at least one synthetic rubber. The binder composition employed in this invention provides asbestos sheets having utility in flooring felts and gasket materials having relatively little change in elongation at room temperature, at 350.degree. F. and after soaking in dioctylphthalate.