Repairing an apartment is always a troublesome and nervous task. In the huge market of building materials, you can choose any floor covering, including linoleum. This material is used to decorate city apartments. The size of linoleum produced by modern industry is able to satisfy almost any consumer demand.
Appearance story
This material has its ancestor - oiled canvases of Viking sails. Europeans improved the idea somewhat and created a rather durable floor covering. A little later, it was thought to apply a hot mixture of resin, beeswax, gum, linseed oil and brown dye to the fabric.
On an industrial basis, the production of the material was put by the British company Walton, Taylor and Co. By the end of the 19th century, linoleum was known and popular far beyond the borders of England. The only drawback was the color of the product - only brown. Modern technologies allow the use of all the colors known to mankind.
Specifications
Like any product, the material has its own characteristics:
- Linoleum width. The industry offers options from 1.5 meters to 6, the difference in footage (step) is 50 centimeters. The most running width is 1.5-3 m. Wider products (5-6 m), as a rule, are made to order. The huge weight and the complexity of laying are justified when flooring in large industrial premises.
- Roll length. Standard, usually within 50 meters. There are rolls 12-30 meters long, there are also industrial options up to 100 meters.
- Linoleum thickness. It can range from 1.35 millimeters to 4 millimeters. The thinnest - only 0.7 mm - is practically not used.
- Life time. Depending on the quality and purpose of the coating, it can last from 5 to 20 years. This is also affected by the operating conditions of the material.
- Top protective layer. In household coating it is 0.1-0.3 mm, in semi-commercial - 0.4-0.5 mm, in commercial - up to 0.7 mm.
Physico-mechanical properties include:
- soundproofing;
- thermal insulation;
- antistatic;
- wear resistance;
- absolute residual deformation;
- deformation of linear dimensions (in percentage terms).
Classification
Material is divided into three main classes:
- Domestic. From the name it can be seen that its main use is in residential buildings. The main requirement is the safety of the coating. It does not have high wear resistance. Consumers most often choose a product where linoleum width is 1.5-3.5 meters. Such a width is quite enough for an average apartment, and it is convenient to work with it.
- Semi-commercial. In its characteristics, it is similar to household, the difference is the thickness of linoleum. Its increased size (at least 2 mm) compensates for the increased load and intense wear. Used in public places such as offices, restaurants and more.
- Commercial. The most durable. It is applied in places of the increased passability: shopping centers, schools, airports, hotels.
- Special. It has increased wear resistance. Typically, a specific linoleum size is produced (width, length, thickness). For example, for flooring in public transport (subway cars, buses).
Benefits
This floor covering has a number of qualities that provide it with steady demand:
- long service life;
- resistance to adverse conditions;
- softness and elasticity;
- simplicity of laying;
- linoleum size can be selected for any area;
- durability (does not crumble and does not crack);
- simplicity in leaving;
- the ability to select material according to physico-mechanical properties;
- rich selection of colors.
The choice
The main selection parameters when purchasing this floor covering include:
Usually they try to acquire the material with one cloth, this will facilitate its laying. When choosing a natural or artificial coating, it is worth remembering that natural can not be wider than 2.5 meters. It is better to take linoleum with a margin of 10 cm. It is easier to cut a narrow strip than to observe how the edge of the coating creeps out from under the baseboard.
The specific conditions and financial capabilities will determine which linoleum to purchase. Price per m2 is determined by quality. Sometimes it is measured and running meters: the wider, the more expensive it turns out. For example, household linoleum with a width of 2 meters is within 200 rubles. per linear meter, the same in quality, but with a width of 3 meters will cost almost 310 rubles.
They say that…
There are many myths about linoleum:
- Artificial PVC coating is dangerous to operate. Safety of a product for a person is confirmed by hygienic certificates. Scope - food industry, medicine, child care facilities.
- Floor linoleum is out of fashion. Absolutely incorrect statement. Despite the huge amount of modern materials, it adequately withstands competition. Moreover, despite the high cost, natural linoleum is again in trend.
- It is subject to wiping. Modern technology allows you to protect the upper pattern layer with a special coating. It withstands intensive use up to 20 years. Homogeneous linoleum (single-layer, up to 3 mm thick) can be updated by removing the top layer (similar to parquet hinging). This technology is applicable only to plain plain patterns or marbled (granular).
- Cold. Heat absorption (feeling of cold from touching the surface) directly depends on the composition of the material. The thickness of linoleum, or rather its basis (foamed PVC or polyester), guarantees operating comfort. Thermal insulation qualities of artificial materials are practically not inferior to their natural counterparts.
- Fragility. The modern coating has in its multilayer composition fiberglass - a kind of "skeleton" of the material. It increases its strength several times. In addition, it guarantees the canvas unchanged linear dimensions. Proper installation will ensure long-term operation of the floor covering.
- When gluing pieces, seams are visible. The size of linoleum may be insufficient for a particular room. In this case, resort to "welding". The technology is designed in such a way that when combining the edges, the glue does not just tighten the cloth tightly, but the linoleum dissolves and melts, leaving almost no seam.