Linoleum is a floor covering made from oxidised linseed oil, natural resins, wood or cork flour, limestone powder and pigments, applied to a jute backing. The name comes from the Latin linum (flax) and oleum (oil).
The material was developed around 1860 by the Englishman Frederick Walton, who patented the process. That makes it one of the oldest industrially produced floor coverings still in production.
Linoleum is not vinyl
This is the most common confusion. Vinyl (PVC) is a petroleum-based plastic; linoleum is built from renewable raw materials. They can look alike in a showroom, but they behave differently:
| Linoleum | Vinyl (PVC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Raw material | Linseed oil, resin, wood flour, jute | Petrochemical plastic |
| Colour | Through the full thickness | Usually a thin printed layer with a wear layer |
| Wear | Wears evenly, pattern remains | Once worn through, the print is gone |
| Moisture | Jute backing is moisture sensitive | Insensitive |
| Alkali | Poor resistance to alkali and cement | Good resistance |
| End of life | Largely biodegradable | Plastic waste |
Marmoleum is a brand name for linoleum, not a separate material.
Properties
- Hard-wearing and long-lived. With proper care a linoleum floor in a house easily lasts twenty years or more, and considerably longer in commercial settings.
- Coloured throughout. A scratch or worn patch does not immediately show a different colour underneath.
- Naturally bacteriostatic because of the linseed oil, which makes linoleum a classic choice in hospitals and schools.
- Warm underfoot and slightly resilient, which makes standing on it for long periods more comfortable.
- Smoke development and fire behaviour compare favourably with many plastic coverings.
There are drawbacks too: linoleum is sensitive to prolonged moisture from below, may carry a faint linseed oil smell at first that disappears after a few weeks, and shows so-called drying room bloom — a yellowish haze that can be visible shortly after delivery and clears by itself in daylight.
Formats and thickness
Linoleum comes in sheet (typically 200 cm wide), as tiles, and as click planks on an HDF core. Common thicknesses run from about 2 to 4 mm: roughly 2 to 2.5 mm for homes, 3.2 mm and above for heavily trafficked areas.
Laying
- The subfloor must be flat, dry and clean. Linoleum is thin and telegraphs every unevenness and every grain of grit beneath it. In almost all cases a smoothing compound is needed.
- Measure residual moisture. On a screed that still holds moisture, alkaline moisture attacks the jute backing from below and the floor lifts. This is the leading cause of failure.
- Fully bond it. Full adhesive bonding is standard for sheet and tile. Only the click versions float.
- Let it acclimatise. At least 24 hours unrolled in the room at room temperature, before laying.
- Weld the seams. In wet rooms and commercial work the seams are heat-welded with a welding rod into a closed surface.
Care
Vacuum or sweep, and mop with a barely damp mop. Never leave standing water and never use a strongly alkaline cleaner (concentrated soft soap, ammonia, drain cleaner) — alkali attacks the linseed oil. Purpose-made linoleum care products are available that maintain the protective finish.
Related terms
- Linseed oil
- Vinyl flooring
- Smoothing compound
- Screed
- Jute
- Cork
- Floating screed
Want to know more about building terms? Take a look at our knowledge base on fredsdiyplans.com.