It’s heartening to note that more and more people are opting to use green products wherever possible. Now, they have the option of using some of the green building materials and that include Marmoleum flooring.
You may recall having used or heard of linoleum, but it’s very different from that and is available in a wide range of attractive colors to suit your particular home décor. It’s sold in form of rolls as well sections, known as Marmoleum Click flooring. You get innumerable design options.
The best thing is that unlike vinyl it doesn’t release any VOCs. So, you get attractive floors without harming the environments. Here’s more about this green product.
What is Marmoleum?
From the point of view of a common homeowner Marmoleum is long lasting that can be cleaned easily. It can bear heavy footfalls without losing its looks. This floor doesn’t get stained and you don’t have to wax it. Just dust off with a mop regularly or use a moist mop whenever required and the spills may be wiped off.
Marmoleum has antibacterial characteristics, meaning it won’t attract salmonella and the like. That’s because it contains linseed oil, which keeps the floor oxidized all the time and prevents formation of bacteria. On getting oxidized, linseed oil hardens and that further makes the floor durable. You can use any color of your choice and expect the floor to last for fifty years!
This reincarnation of linoleum resists burning. What it means is that in the unfortunate incident of a fire, the entire house may get burnt but the floor doesn’t melt even when subjected to high heat. That means a burning cigarette, curling iron, glue gun and hot grease won’t result to replacing of floor. You can buff out minor marks and simply clean up anything that drops accidentally. As the color goes deep into the floor, even deeper damages can be sanded out.
You can cut this material to create borders by combining different shapes and colors. For instance, you could get a vintage look by using small checkerboards. Or you may get a Pop 60s look by using rectangles and large circles.
Marmoleum has anti static characteristics, meaning that dirt and dust doesn’t stick to the floor, resulting to less effort for its cleaning. That helps people having allergies issues of any kind. This property has encouraged hospitals to use Marmoleum.
Marmoleum can also be used for countertops.
This green material made using natural materials doesn’t release toxic gases and can be installed using solvent free adhesive, offering clean installation.
The product remains cent percent biodegradable and doesn’t involve any serious health issue right from its manufacturing installation and final disposal.
Marmoleum maintains ecological balance. It is made from natural materials like linseed oil, pine rosin, pine flour and color pigments. All these items are derived from forests in Europe. Linseed oil is derived from flax plant. The heated mixture is passed through rollers and gets transformed to sheets. Finally, it’s given a backing of jute and cured for sometime before being used.
Are There Any Negative Aspects?
Yes, there are a few negative aspects too.
This is a very heavy material which most DIY enthusiast would find difficult to handle independently. Its installation necessarily requires the services of professional and that adds to its cost. But considering that it’s going to last two to three times the life of vinyl makes it a financially viable proposition.
Like most other materials, this too requires a good subfloor. Any defect in the subfloor will get reflected on the final flooring made of marmoleum. Once again, one is prompted to hire a professional for doing the installation.
As it’s made in Europe, you can say that its transportation causes adverse effects on environments. Yet, it’s difficult to ignore the positive points of this kind of flooring material.
Some people are not very comfortable with the smell of linseed oil and the floor does emit an odor at the time of its installation, though it disappears after a few days.
Marmoleum Click
Marmoleum Click, on the other hand, is an easy to fit edition of the large sheets of marmoleum. It’s available in many colors. At times one may be able to fix it on top of the existing floor.
The tiles are available in two sizes: 12 x 36 or 12 x 12. You can fashion several patterns on the floor. You don’t need any adhesive as it just clicks into place. It is appropriate for installation wherever you think marmoleum could be installed and remains equally durable. One can walk on the floor soon after installation. Excluding installation charges, it costs about five to six dollars a square foot.
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