Linoleum Flooring Materials - History, Components, Identification
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What is Linoleum?
Inventor & History of Linoleum Flooring
Linoleum's ingredients, both historical and modern
Durability of Linoleum flooring
Does Linoleum contain asbestos?
Armstrong Congoleum - Linoleum and other Resilient Sheet Flooring
Questions & answers about linoleum floor coverings, age, history, safety, materials, contents

This article provides information about linoleum flooring: the history of linoleum, linoleum ingredients, and the properties of linoleum resilient or sheet floor coverings.

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Linoleum Floor Covering Materials

At our flooring age determination article FLOORING MATERIALS, Age, Types we list some helpful clues using an inspection of interior flooring materials to help answer the question "how old is the house?" and we provide photographs of key visual clues useful for determining the age of a building. Readers should see FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS and also see FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS where we describe history, dates, and description of the production process and ingredients in asphalt floor tiles, asphalt-asbestos floor tiles, & vinyl-asbestos floor tiles. Also see ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION.

Prior to the development of linoleum sheet flooring, floor coverings were made of painted canvas.

Inventor & History of Linoleum Flooring

According to Rosato, "The original resilient floor coverings were developed during the latter part of the Nineteenth Century by Frederick Walton. The original covering was linoleum for use as a floor decking on British naval ships." The composition of the original products included asphaltic binders to which an asbestos filler was added by mixing on a rubber mill.

We noted at ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE PHOTO ID GUIDE that Linoleum may be used as a generic term for older sheet floorings (sometimes incorrectly). Linoleum was invented as a ship deck, later floor covering in 1860 by Frederick Walton to describe sheet flooring.

"Linoleum" as a name as well as a product was invented by Walton from his observation that his original linoleum products were made using linseed oil as an ingredient (linseed oil forms a thick flexible skin when it dries), often with a burlap or fabric backing (see our photo just below). Descendents of Linoleum include Anaglypta and Lincrusta (many writers spell it "Linocrusta or linacrusta", an embossed patterned covering used on walls and ceilings.

PHOTO of interior floor covering, pre-vinyl, probably linocrusta with burlap fabric backing, Justin Morrill House, Vermont, ca 1845 - 1900

Here is a photograph of an early (pre-vinyl) continuous floor covering, ca 1900, in an 1840 historic Vermont house.

Note the fabric backing of the flooring material.

This article explains various common flooring materials (rough wood, finished wood, parquet, carpeting, linocrusta, sheet vinyl, and other items as they assist in determining The age of a building or other building.

Details about the history of Sheet and Tile Resilient flooring are at FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS.

According to Armstrong Flooring[1], in Portugal (no coincidence as you'll read below)

Linoleum is the only floor covering offered on the market that is predominantly made of natural renewable raw materials.

Linoleum is still in modern production (we describe the ingredients in linoleum just below), and it is a very durable product. Armstrong Portugal asserts that "Commercial reference projects laid with Armstrong DLW Linoleum are in use up to 90 years". This age, combined with the observation that because of its constituent products linoleum is biodegradable, gives modern linoleum floor coverings a very low life-cycle cost. [1]

Linoleum's ingredients, both historical and modern

Natural resins: linseed oil (original linoleum), also balsam and copal resins or as a substitute dammar resin. Resins form the binder or "glue" that holds the product together. Linseed oil is made from flax seeds.
Jute is used as the flooring backer for strength and dimensional stability. As a kid we called jute "burlap" as it was commonly used also to produce burlap bags. Jute is a natural fabric. We also have found older linoleum floor coverings that used asphalt-impregnated paper ("tar paper" or roofing felt) as a backer.
Color pigments are used to form the patterns in the linoleum surface (see our photos here). Armstrong points out that their Armstrong DLW Linoleum, care was given to choice of pigments to protect the "natural" claim for this flooring material. Quoting:

In the Armstrong DLW Linoleum all the colour pigments are free of lead, cadmium and chrome. The dark colours are produced for the most part with iron oxide pigments, the bright colours with pigments of organic origin. All pigments were examined by a toxicologist and are classified as being physiologically harmless.

Among other requirements Armstrong DLW Linoleum therefore meets the demands of the toy norm EN71 or better and the various legal requirements for the colouring of consumer goods. - [1]
Cork powder is used in Linoleum to give body to the flooring flexible surface. Armstrong uses cork powder waste. Readers familiar with the Iberian peninsula will recognize that cork is a long-standing and important export product from both Spain and Portugal.
Limestone powder is used as a filler in the resilient linoleum floor covering body. [Our GUESS is that some early forms of linoleum could have used asbestos powder as a similar filler material, just as asbestos powder was used as a filler in some floor tiles. See ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION.]
Wood powder (see cork above) is also used as a filler and body component of linoleum.

Armstrong Congoleum - Linoleum and other Resilient Sheet Flooring

Armstrong sheet flooring (C) InspectAPedia.com

This sheet flooring was identified by a reader in a 1964 home. She found remnants in the bottom of a kitchen cabinet on which was imprinted "Armstrong". Is it linoleum?

A closer look at the product including its backing would be needed. It could be, but this pattern looks more modern to us and is probably a vinyl sheet flooring product.

While the reader referred to this as "Armstrong Congoleum sheet flooring", Armstrong and Congoleum are separate individual companies.

This is identified as an Armstrong resilient flooring product.

Don't mix up product names. Armstrong is a separate company from Congoleum-Nairn.

As we discuss at Congoleum Flooring History, Linoleum flooring advertised in 1955, here the Congoleum Gold Seal series, was sold in both sheet and tile forms. At below left is Congoleum Gold Seal Jackstraw pattern, and below right, Congoleum "Square Dance" sheet linoleum sold in a 9" x 9" tile pattern. Congoleum also marketed linoleum sheet flooring in color flecks or scatter such as their Sequin Pattern.

Congoleum Gold Seal linoleum flooring, Life Magazine 14 Feb 1955

Also see Congoleum Flooring History and FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS.

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Questions & answers about linoleum floor coverings, age, history, safety, materials, contents.

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LINOLEUM FLOORING - see detailed links at page left

[1] Armstrong, Portugal: Ingredients of Linoleum, web search 03/31/2011, original source: http://www.armstrong.pt/commflreu/es-pt/ingredients.html
America's Favorite Homes, mail-order catalogues as a guide to popular early 20th-century houses, Robert Schweitzer, Michael W.R. Davis, 1990, Wayne State University Press ISBN 0814320066 (may be available from Wayne State University Press)
American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
Armstrong ® Residential Flooring - Website 05/15/2010 http://www.armstrong.com/ lists current flooring products provided by the Armstrong Corporation, including Armstrong's current vinyl floor tile products at http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/products/vinyl-floors
Armstrong Corporation, Corporate History - http://www.armstrong.com/corporate/corporate-history.html - Web Search 05/19/2010
Armstrong vinyl asbestos floor tiles: photos of asbestos floor tiles as catalog pages (PDF form) are at www.asbestosresource.com/asbestos/tile.html
Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
- How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
- What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
- How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
- What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked?
"
Isham: "An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
Manufactured & Modular Homes: Modular Building Systems Association, MBSA, modularhousing.com, is a trade association promoting and providing links to contact modular builders in North America. Also see the Manufactured Home Owners Association, MHOAA, at www.mhoaa.us. The Manufactured Home Owners Association of America is a National Organization dedicated to the protection of the rights of all people living in Manufactured Housing in the United States.
Pergo AB, division of Perstorp AB, is a Swedish manufacturer or modern laminate flooring products. Information about the U.S. company can be found at http://www.pergo.com where we obtained historical data used in our discussion of the age of flooring materials in buildings.
Plank House Construction: webslog from plankhouse.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/plank-house-construction/ and where plank houses were built by native Americans, see
Large 1:6 Scale Plank House Construction / P8094228, Photographer: Mike Meuser
06/12/2007 documented at yurokplankhouse.com where scale model Museum quality Yurok Plank Houses are being sold to raise money for the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village project.
Thanks to reader Robin DiNunzio for contributing samples of cork flooring from a 1949 home M1y 2010

List of Online Articles Giving Detailed Information & Reference Materials for Determining the Age of buildings

ARCHITECTURE, STYLE, & Building Age
Chimneys & Fireplaces, Age, Types

Chimneys, flues, wood stoves & fireplaces: chimney inspection, defects, safety concerns
Chimneys & Flues, safety concerns, chimney inspection methods, chimney repair methods, chimney relining methods, chimney replacement, new installation alternatives; and direct-vent alternatives to chimneys for heating furnaces & boilers
Unlined Chimney Flues: Safety Requirements old chimneys may be unsafe - photos, dangerous carbon monoxide and blocked flue case report, chimney flue standards, chimney inspection suggestions
Chimney Safety Alert for Wood Burning Appliances - US CPSC Alert Document 5017, wood stoves, fireplace inserts
Chimney Safety Alert for Metal Chimneys - US CPSC Alert Document 5047, metal chimneys, wood and coal stove safety

Electrical Components, Age, Types

Aluminum Wiring inspection, hazards, repairs
Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab Lok Electric Panels, circuit breakers, Siemens, Challenger
Lightning Strike risk assessment, protection systems - on historic properties
Rust and Corrosion in Electrical Panels, A Study and Report on Frequency and Cause for Electrical and Home Inspectors at Residential Electric Panels
Square D Circuit Breaker Recalls, announced by the US CPSC, recalls include a Square D GFCI circuit breaker distributed by Square D, and a Counterfeit Square-D circuit breaker sold through Scott Electric
Zinsco circuit breakers, electrical panels, etc.

FLOORING MATERIALS, Age, Types: history of types and age of different flooring materials: Asphalt or vinyl-asbestos floor tiles, sheet flooring, linoleum, ceramic tile, carpeting, wood floor types and materials
FOUNDATION MATERIALS, Age, Types

Foundation Crack Bible, in-depth diagnosis, and evaluation of all types of structural and non-structural cracks in residential foundations [Brick, Concrete, Masonry Block, Stone]

FRAMING MATERIALS, Age, Types
Heating Equipment, Age, Types

Heating Systems: Boilers/Furnace Inspection Methods
Blueray Heating Boilers/Furnaces Safety Recall by the US CPSC, with additional history, photos, and technical details; Blue Flame Blue Ray
Goodman Furnace High Temperature Plastic Vent HTPV safety recall US CPSC notice
Inspection Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Systems Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems]
Lennox Pulse Furnace Safety Inspection/Warranty Program: Carbon Monoxide Warning
Oil Tanks - The Oil Storage Tank Information Website: Buried or Above Ground Oil Tank Inspection, Testing, Cleanup, Abandonment of Oil Tanks
Plastic Heating Vent Pipe & Other Heating Safety Recall Notices
Weil McLain Model GV Gas Boiler/gas valve CPSC recall/repair

Insulation Materials, Age, Types

Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
Brick Lined Wall Cavities and exposed saw blade marks on clapboards help determine The age of a building
Fiberglass Insulation
Sheathing Homasote & Other Board

Nails and Hardware, Age, Types
Plaster & Beaverboard & Drywall

Mold Resistant Drywall is it worth it?

Plumbing Materials & Fixtures, Age, Types

Cesspool Age Estimates help evaluate cesspool condition and need for repair or replacement
plumbing pipe product failures & litigation use of plastic pipe in buildings
Septic System Main Page Home Page for Complete Information about Septic Systems and Onsite Wastewater Disposal

ROOFING MATERIALS, Age, Types

Asphalt Shingles Home Page
Asphalt Roof Life / Wear Factors determining asphalt shingle life expectancy
Fire Retardant Treated FRT Plywood Failures inspection, detection, testing of defective FRT plywood roof sheathing
Slate Roofs: How to Inspect and Repair Slate Roofs - Detailed Procedures for Inspection and Repair of Slate Roofs - ASHI Technical Journal, 1991, Updated 2006
Slate Roofs: Inspecting and Evaluating Slate Roofs Hudson Valley ASHI seminar content
Slate Roofs: a photographic library of slates, slate roofs, roofing styles

Saw Cuts, Tool Marks, Age of
Sears Kit Houses and other special home construction methods

Mobile Home Inspections
Mobile Home vs Trailer vs Modular vs Panelized Construction an explanation of terms and how to identify these structures.
Sears Houses: How to identify Sears catalog kit houses photos and tips for identifying these interesting homes.

SIDING MATERIALS, Age, Types

Abatibi Siding hardboard siding failures
Boise Siding Cascade, Georgia Pacific, Louisiana Pacific, Masonite
EXTERIORS of buildings Landscaping, & Siding: product Failures: EIFS, synthetic stucco
vapor barriers
vinyl siding
siding litigation
paint failures diagnosis and remedy; decks, steps, railings - trip & fall hazards

WINDOWS & DOORS, Age, Types

References

Age of a Home: Carson Dunlop's How to determine The age of a building [Carson Dunlop]
Historic buildings Links to other articles: Sears Houses, How old is a House, Old House Materials & Repairs

Old House Inspection Methods

Developing Your Building Inspection X-Ray Vision - home inspection methodology for experts
slate roof inspection and evaluation

Restoration Products

Abatron EpoxyWood Repair/Restoration 5501 - 95th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144 USA Tel: (262) 653-2000 Fax: (262) 653-2019, For orders: (800) 445-1754 Abatron provides a wide range of wood & building restoration epoxy products including a low-viscosity system that penetrates and solidifies rotted wood and a thicker wood repair putty type epoxy.
Tremont Nail Company offers steel cut nails for authentic restoration projects and work on historic buildings

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ^® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.

"The Elimination of Unsafe Guardrails, a Progress Report," Elliott O. Stephenson, Building Standards, March-April 1993
"Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
Access Ramp building codes:
- UBC 1003.3.4.3
- BOCA 1016.3
- ADA 4.8.2
- IBC 1010.2
Access Ramp Standards:
- ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Public Law 101-336. 7/26/90 is very often cited by other sources for good design of stairs and ramps etc. even where disabled individuals are not the design target.
- ANSI A117.4 Accessible and Usable buildings and Facilities (earlier version was incorporated into the ADA)
- ASTM F 1637, Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces, (Similar to the above standards)
America's Favorite Homes, mail-order catalogues as a guide to popular early 20th-century houses, Robert Schweitzer, Michael W.R. Davis, 1990, Wayne State University Press ISBN 0814320066 (may be available from Wayne State University Press)
American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
- How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
- What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
- How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
- What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked
"An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Supply Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Supply_Vent.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11880?print
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Exhaust Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Exhaust.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11870
"Energy Savers: Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Natural Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Natural_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Energy_Recovery_Venting.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11900
"Energy Savers: Detecting Air Leaks [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Detect_Air_Leaks.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Air Sealing [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Air_Sealing_1.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
Falls and Related Injuries: Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, Lawyers & Judges Publishing, (June 2002), ISBN-10: 0913875430 ISBN-13: 978-0913875438
"Falls in the home and public places are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States, but are overlooked in most literature. This book is unique in that it is entirely devoted to falls. Of use to primary care physicians, nurses, insurance adjusters, architects, writers of building codes, attorneys, or anyone who cares for the elderly, this book will tell you how, why, and when people will likely fall, what most likely will be injured, and how such injuries come about. "
Humidity: What indoor humidity should we maintain in order to avoid a mold problem?
Pergo AB, division of Perstorp AB, is a Swedish manufacturer or modern laminate flooring products. Information about the U.S. company can be found at http://www.pergo.com where we obtained historical data used in our discussion of the age of flooring materials in buildings.
Plank House Construction: weblog from plankhouse.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/plank-house-construction/ and where plank houses were built by native Americans, see
Large 1:6 Scale Plank House Construction / P8094228, Photographer: Mike Meuser
06/12/2007 documented at yurokplankhouse.com where scale model Museum quality Yurok Plank Houses are being sold to raise money for the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village project.
...

Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair

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Linoleum Floor Covering Materials

Inventor & History of Linoleum Flooring

Linoleum's ingredients, both historical and modern

Armstrong Congoleum - Linoleum and other Resilient Sheet Flooring

Questions & Answers regarding this article

Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

Technical Reviewers & References

List of Online Articles Giving Detailed Information & Reference Materials for Determining the Age of buildings

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair