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judith
Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
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Blue Peter
Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex
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Blue Peter
Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex
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Behemoth
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
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 Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 1:36 pm Post subject: |
 
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By the power of google:
"Linoleum was invented in England in 1863 by Frederick Walton who coined the name linoleum from the Latin name, linum, which means flax, and oleum, which means oil. Later in the century, Michael Nairn, a flooring manufacturer in Kirkcaldy, Scotland perfected the flooring, introducing qualities such as inlaid patterning — a feature seen today.
Linoleum is a flooring that is manufactured by oxidizing linseed oil to form a thick mixture called linoleum cement. The cement is cooled and mixed with pine resin, and wood flour to form sheets on a jute backing. The term, linoleum is often used incorrectly to describe any sheet flooring, when in fact flooring can be made from other materials such as polyvinyl chloride. "
Old lino, the real stuff, tends to snap when removed. Modern oil based 'lino' tears. |
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex
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| Posted: Sun Jul 03, 05 7:31 am Post subject: |
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Another more detailed reply from AECB:
I have a vested interest in OS Hardwax Oil (now Polyx Oil) - my company sells it. However there is a number of products which do the same thing - any debate will be over durability/ ease of application etc.
The alternative will be a conventional floor varnish, which will basically comprise a synthetic polymer skin (whether polyurethane, acrylic). This will, in my opinion, be physically tougher (if one of the better products is used) and more resistant to abrasion. If, however, an area does wear through you will generally need to resand the whole floor before refinishing. A laborious process.
The argument for Polyx Oil, which I imagine can be applied to all wax/oil type products, is that although they require more ongoing maintenance, any abraded areas can be dealt with topically, without the need to resand. Long term, therefore, these floors may actually require less maintenance time. Certainly Polyx Oil (to cite the example I know about) has been chosen for commercial foyers, shops etc for precisely this reason.
Wrt pine floorboards, yes, much of this is fairly soft. My choice would be to use these in less heavily trafficked areas, and if I could afford it, install oak or other temperate hardwood in halls and kitchens etc. Might also be worth considering something like larch floorboards, which are harder but much lower price than oak and so on. |
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tawny owl
Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 563
Location: Hampshire
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| Posted: Sun Jul 03, 05 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Behemoth wrote: |
| Old lino, the real stuff, tends to snap when removed. |
And that makes it quite expensive to install, as it needs time to acclimatise, it needs to be rolled out to stop it cracking, and it needs specialist installation. You can usually at least double the price of real linoleum if you include the fitting, which you will have to - it's not a DIY job.
An alternative is Karndean (cheaper version of Amtico), which is rigid vinyl tiles; not as environmentally friendly as linoleum, but because they're far more hardwearing (sheet vinyl rips and dents very easily, whereas these won't be damaged even by sharp knives landing on them), they won't end up in the landfill every couple of years (my Karndean floor looked like new after 7 years of hard wear - it was the first floor met on the way in from the garden). They're about the same price as Marmoleum (about £20/m2), but a lot cheaper to lay. Don't be put off by the stripping/sealing guff the manufacturers witter on about - ours was stripped and sealed when it went in, and after that it was just mopped with a mild detergent. When I felt like it (very infrequently), the polish went on.
I'd agree with Tahir on an oiled rather than varnished finish. Another wood you might consider is bamboo - it's come down a lot in price (it used to be about 80 quid a square metre and is now down to about 20), it's environmentally friendly and very hardwearing. Rubberwood is also an alternative - again, environmentally friendly (as it's basically a waste product of the rubber industry), but it's not as hard. If you want to save money and DIY, choose structured (engineered) flooring, whcih has a base of cheaper wood with tongue & groove, rather than solid wood blocks or a nail-down board.
HTH |
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