The stupid kitchen thing, restoration

[Texas_Ranger]

Linoleum: Check out the Stainmaster groutable self adhesive linoleum, we got ours from Lowes.

Very easy, Just spread on prep after cleaning, let dry about an hour, stick the tile. It has arrows on the peel so you can put it in a row that looks consistent with the design.

Smear on premixed grout, wipe clean. I did 1/8 joints. We did it in our bathroom, over plywood. Its tough and looks good. Our cost was 110 bux for 45 SF including prep and grout.

That doesn't really sound like true linoleum. Linoleum is "grouted" (i.e. the joints are sealed) with melted paraffine and it comes in huge rolls (or small pre-fabricated sandwich panels that click together). I've got a mid-50s DIY book that describes the installation of true sheet linoleum and that sounds like a nightmare! It's incredibly thick and stiff (much thicker than any roll vinyl) and takes a while to acclimatise (several weeks actually). During that period the rolls shrink in one direction and expand in the other, up to 1" I think. We're going with the click variety.

Overall, we were happy with it. I found that it was pretty easy to gouge, unfortunately. We do have four kids and dog though, so our floors see some use!

At the university we have proper lino floors in a few places and some rooms are just horribly damaged! They've got metal frame chairs with plstic plugs in the hollow legs and when the plugs fall out the legs stamp little circles out of the lino. Sad!

[Nicholas]

That doesn't really sound like true linoleum.

Ooops! I stand corrected, It is vinyl tile.

[bfarwell]

Another plug for marmoleum. It's quite pretty, and relatively low-maintenance.

[Texas_Ranger]

Another plug for marmoleum. It's quite pretty, and relatively low-maintenance.

Yup and supposedly the click version is easy to install. That's what we are more or less set on for the farm kitchen. Probably red or blue or maybe mixed squares in some kind of pattern.

[Oldsch]

I put linoleum in my bathroom and hallway. Great product... Seems to be very durable but looks old and 'correct'.

You can put linoleum down yourself. You don't need to heat weld the seams. As a matter of fact it looks much better if you don't. The commercial seams are an easy way for installers to quickly put down miles of the stuff (it's being used in hospitals, schools, etc) without having to be too exact with the edges. It's not so much a seam as a filler.

You just need a straight edge and two types of razor blades: standard and hooked.
Score a straight line with the plain razor knife and finish the cut with the hooked. Should end up with a nice clean edge that can butt together...no gap... No filler.

Look for remnants from commercial dealers/installers. Real linoleum has had a bit of a comeback in commercial applications and the leftovers from these jobs are large.

[phil]

this looks like the real stuff?

http://www.armstrong.com/commflreu/en-d ... emId=84317

[Texas_Ranger]

this looks like the real stuff?

http://www.armstrong.com/commflreu/en-d ... emId=84317

Exactly!

[Powermuffin]

Two years ago, my husband and I installed Marmoleum Click in our kitchen in a pattern he thought up. I love the way it feels when walking/standing on it! We really like it. Just make sure the subfloor is well supported.
Diane

[phil]

looking at utube videos the marmoleum click stuff looks like it is just like a laminate floor , ok until you spill water then if it stays wet it will mushroom up because it is MDF right? I mean you can mop it but if you were to say knock a glass of water over and not see it till next day it would mess it up.

I think of "real lyno" as having a jute backing, I think that is what My kitchen had originally. Its really tough stuff.

Vinyl is what is it's plastic.

another contender might be a cork floor?

you could lay a new floor using reclaimed wood. I restored my floor and got it perfect with most cracks filled and poly'd I like the look of it but honestly, I keep it covered because I hate to wreck it up with chairs and by dropping things and denting it. I found some rubber stuff that clicks together for the work areas, but it is just temporary and I'd lke to find something suitable to protect the work area by the counter and the kitchen table area. Or change kitchen chairs to ones that don't have old porcelain wheels.

If I had to start from scratch I think I'd look into cork, or battleship lyno or maybe a reclaimed oak floor but more like the floor in a pub, in other words a distressed floor that you don't care about banging up, rather than something too highly finished. You could see what kind of T and G wood is available at your local old house parts place, see what options you have before laying plywood.

Plastic (vinyl) is very durable, I just think it isn't very authentic to an old house and I guess it depends what you like.

If you are going to reno that kitchen and you can do the flooring with cabinets out you won't be sorry, then if you want to ever change anything you don't have any limitations because the floor is everywhere.

You could consider ceramic tile, not my thing but lots of people seem to use the floor heating systems under that. If you get smooth stuff it might be sippery. The thing i hate about tile is the grout gathers dirt.

one neat option to plan into your kitchen is a hole in the cabinet baseboard with a foot switch that turns on a central vac, then you can sweep the dust right into the vacuum pickup and you don't need to use a dustpan.

[Texas_Ranger]

According to the FAQs I found online Click seems to be fine for kitchens and even for bathrooms, except shower areas.