« Kitchen Tile | Main | Marine Vinyl Flooring »
Linoleum Flooring
Linoleum flooring is a versatile flooring that's making a comeback as environmental issues become more prominent, and each linoleum manufacture has its own trade name for the product. Painting linoleum floors is an interesting option for some situations. Linoleum tile and linoleum rolls have different roles in your home because of the slightly different look and installation techniques. Linoleum kitchen flooring can be used not only on the floor, but also as countertops. And linoleum bathroom flooring will take a bath as well as many other floorings you could choose.
What was once old is new again. And that adage fits linoleum flooring, a flooring type that is making a comeback. When you are choosing a new flooring from your home and considering linoleum, you are leaning towards a good decision.
>
Linoleum flooring, no matter where you place it in your home, is durable and can last for many decades. Linoleum is made from non-toxic and natural components. This means that at the end of its long and useful life, linoleum flooring is biodegradable. This type of flooring has many great features, like
- Affordability, compared to wood flooring
- Easy of maintenance and cleaning
- Durability
- Environmental "correctness"
- Color goes all the way thrnough the material
And of course it has a few bad features too.
- Affordability, compared to vinyl
- Not a luxurious look
- Hard to install
Linoleum floors are made from all natural materials, like linseed oil pressed from the flax plant, pine resin, wood flour, cork powder, natural pigments and jute. Based on these environmental factors of linoleum, this type of flooring is increasingly chosen before vinyl. Because of its durability, there is more linoleum kitchen, laundry room and bathroom flooring being installed than we've seen in a long time. Its toughness and comfort compliment each other, making linoleum a solid investment.
Linoleum was invented in England 1863. It was one of the most popular flooring choices for many years, until vinyl flooring. There are many people to this day who confuse linoleum for vinyl because of their close competition in vinyl's early years of marketing. Partially due to it's growing popularity, linoleum is being manufactured all over the world.
When you get tired of the linoleum flooring you have, you have various decorating options, such as painting the linoleum with a pattern or just a different color. By painting it, don't have to get involved in removing your linoleum flooring. What a great environmental decision! Linoleum can be more expensive than other floorings such as vinyl, but the cost is worthwhile because of its durability. Because of its environmental attributes and longevity, it's worth the effort of installing.
Did you know you can even use linoleum for countertops? If it holds up to being walked on, it surely will endure kitchen abuse; I love my linoleum countertops! One advantage of linoleum is that the color goes throughout the material, it's not just a thin top layer. That means when it's scratched or nicked, the damage isn't as obvious because the same color comes through as is on the surface.
Of course with any type of flooring, there are a few drawbacks that may cause people to think twice about buying linoleum flooring. The price may be a little too high for some people because it is more expensive than the average vinyl flooring. Installation is can be difficult, causing many people to hire a professional installer, adding to the cost.
If you take the time to compare the pros and cons of linoleum you will see that the pros outweigh the cons. Linoleum is a great choice for any room in any home. Go retro, and choose the long-lasting environmental flooring that will look great for decades to come.
Comments
my neighbor has a problem with her linoleum flooring coming apart. she has lived in this unit for 12 years now .and the landlord says if he repairs it he will raise her rent to market value which is a 1920 buiding with not market value amenities. when she wanted her unit painted he would only furnace the paint.please help us in how to deal with this person.or at least let us know how to find out our rights not just the basic's in the hand book.
mark songer at May 31, 2009 02:19 AM
Hi Mark, I don't know what state you live in, so I can't help with landlord/tenant issues. I would advise doing a google search to find information relevant to your state. Actually, the information you're wanting isn't relevant to this site, this site is to help with flooring issues, not landlord/tenant problems.
The Flooring Lady at June 1, 2009 09:25 AM
Our new mud room is insulated but not heated from the cold northern New England winters. What are the cons of using a high grade linoleum in an 8x10' room where there is no heating? (Others tell us if we use ceramic or porclein tile they could 'pop' because of the cold regardless of insulating the walls.) How will a 1 piece of rolled linoleum react to the cold? How will tile base linoleum will react to the cold? Would you recommend one type of linoleum over the other? Thank You... Sue
susie at September 8, 2009 06:08 PM
Susie,
Using a high grade, single piece of linoleum will be a perfect fit for a mudroom. Linoleum doesn't expand or contract like wood or vinyl flooring.
Laying over tile could present a problem as the grout is almost level with the tiles but not quite. The floor must be completely level so the bond of the adhesive is not broken. You can lay a subfloor, a thin piece of wood, to level the floor or you could use latex primer for underlayment and self leveling underlayment. All of those can be found at your local hardware store and if you follow the directions completely you will do fine.
Take a look at Forbo(marboleum)or Armstrong (marmorette)as both stand behind their products and from my experience hold up well.
The Flooring Lady at September 11, 2009 09:49 AM
HI! Our finished/carpeted basement flooded about 3 weeks ago. We have a french drain and sump (with battery back-up), but our power was out for over a day and we were not home to hook up our gas generator to keep the water out. We immediately removed the carpet and padding and have been letting the concrete dry before sealing it (wish we had done that BEFORE laying carpet!). My question is, how long should we let the concrete dry before applying a sealer?
Jenny Wax at September 16, 2009 08:35 AM
Jenny,
Hi. Where are you located? One option may be to have a professional in your area assess the moisture level in the concrete. Another option would be to complete your own testing by putting down something like baking soda, flour or sugar and see how they react. If they get wet, then the concrete isn't dry enough yet.
The Flooring Lady at September 17, 2009 09:26 AM
I'M NOT SURE IF I'T LINOLIUM OR CONGOLOIUML. WILL THAT MAKE A DOIFFERENCE ON USING WATER BASED POLYURETHANE OR CLEAR EPOXY COAT. I JUST WAHT A HIGH SHINE BACK. AND I JUST CAN'T KEEP STRIPPING IT AND PUTTING 6 TO 8 COATS OF WAS ON. IT' A KILLER. I HOPE THIS IS MY DREAM COME TRUE. IT SOUNDS TO EASY.I PUT SOME POLYURETHANE ON BUT IT TURNED YELLOW. I'M NOT SURE IF IT WAS WATERBASED. WHY DID IT TURN YELLOW. THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL SITE. JODY
JODY at September 18, 2009 12:38 AM
Jody,
Are you applying this just for the increased shine?
Polyurethane is not usually water based and does tend to yellow. One water based polyurethane you could try would be Diamond Coat Varathane Polyurethane.
You should also check with the floor's manufacturer before applying a varnish to it.
The Flooring Lady at September 21, 2009 07:10 AM
we had someone lay our linolium floor and put in a sub floor, in a week, we see bubbles and lines in the floor, like the pattern came in sheets or something, what should we do missionkids777@hotmail.com please email me
melody camas at October 21, 2009 03:43 PM
Melody,
Linoleum will show bumps and lines of anything that is underneath it, more so as it settles and is walked on. If surface was not prepared for the linoleum after the sub-floor was put it, it could cause this. I would recommend calling your installer and having the problem corrected.
The Flooring Lady at October 23, 2009 07:05 AM
