Author Archives: MClique

Marmoleum, in the Bathroom?

Bathroom tile flooring choices? Here was the original question asking about Marmoleum. :

Our house has 6 month old sheet marmoleum in the new kitchen, 6 year old marmoleum tile in entryway and laundry room. Absolutely love it!! We’re about to lay new flooring in two small bathrooms and would like to know which bathroom tile flooring would be best for our project?

Lisa

First off, Lisa, I LOVE that you LOVE Marmoleum. Here are your considerations:

Colors: When comparing “MCT Tile”, which is a little thinner than the traditional “Dual Tile” the colors for MCT are a little more muted, pastel and institutional. That doesn’t mean you are not going to find colors that work for your project. Also for folks that may want to mix tiles with sheet goods or borders like in this bathroom photo then you would need to go to the Dual Tile since it is the same thickness.

Cost: Lots of people are attracted to the lower price of MCT but when you factor in that it only comes in 54 sq ft boxes, you may want to compare the cost of the Dual which also comes in boxes of 9. Even though you are paying more per square foot, you may not have much leftover after accounting for cutting and possibly a few errors. The real economical beauty of Dual for bathrooms comes into play when you want to add random colors or do patterns of multiple colors. Buying full cartons of 45 tiles in MCT just isn’t practical for this situation. NOTE: When it comes down to it, unless you are really pinching pennies, you should buy what you like!

A serene blue with a border is a true flooring artisan’s touch and invites you to fill it up and stay awhile.

Durability: If you were to remove the Top Shield finish from Marmoleum, you would be left with the exact same linoleum that your great-great-grandmother had as her bathroom tile flooring. Without Top Shield, grandma had to wax and periodically strip her yellowed wax floor to protect it, or she could just let it wear naturally and gradually amber. If you did that, the Dual because it is 2.5mm thick would last longer than the 2.0mm MCT tile, but that is really not a concern today with the protective coating that you can apply as periodic maintenance.

UPDATE: Forbo has revised their finish formula and now offers TopSheild2 which is one of the most durable and long lasting coatings on the market for flooring today, especially for Marmoleum bathroom tile flooring. This top layer of finish will protect your Marmoleum for a very long time no matter which product you select. Find out more on the Forbo page about TopShield2.

Lastly, here are the Forbo Flooring General Guidelines for Installing Marmoleum Tiles.

Hope that helps

Marmo

What is Marmoleum!?

What is Marmoleum and why is everyone talking about it?

When people want to know what is Marmoleum, there is some lore that it was originally the result of a truly happy accident that occurred in a crafts shop back in the 1800’s. It is interesting to note that all through history crafts shops used oils that were pressed and harvested mostly from seeds and used as cooking oil or fuel for lamps. There was really no sensible or economic use for oil other than those things because it was so dear and hard to come by.

The 1860’s was the heart of the industrial revolution and when coal was put into use in a very large wholesale manner as fuel and oil was being produced from large scale whale hunting, as well as from huge advances in yield productivity from mechanical farming methods. This all made oil a cheap and inexpensive commodity and people were using it as a base for paints and coatings to decorate everything in sight in Europe. Sailcloth which was harvested from the change over of ship’s sails was used for coarse inexpensive clothing but also as a primitive version of resilient flooring. Painted with oil paints and allowed to dry for weeks this hybrid of a carpet and a painted floor became all the more popular since it was easily to clean and was considered healthy and sanitary as it is today. In fact, the use of linoleum in residential kitchens went a long way to improve food safety and preparation because of it’s clean-ability.

In an odd twist if you were to google up images for linoleum you would see virtually only pictures of other floor products like VCT, asbestos tile, VAT and vinyl sheet material. It is really too bad that the vinyl and plastic industry has been able to dumb down virtually the entire world about the difference between linoleum and vinyl. If you are interested in learning more you can visit the Wikipedia page about Linoleum.

A Linoleum Cross Section. What is Marmoleum?

Fast forward to the present day and virtually nothing is unchanged in the production of linoleum or Marmoleum, which was the original and enduring brand of linoleum we still have today. Combining a few ingredients in exacting proportions and making a linseed oil dough that is colored, it is spread on a canvas back and pressed and rolled and combined and accented with all different colors to make the marbleized looking products we still see today. Technology has gone a step further to produce exacting color control to satisfy the fussiest specifiers in the design industry. Some remarkable textures like the crocodile patterns that are tactile and exciting fare bringing linoleum into a whole new design dimension as well. A combination of old, safe, durable and organic technology built on centuries of experience and a modern and constantly evolving design aesthetic makes Forbo Marmoleum a product that will never go out of style. Just kick off your shoes and find out what is Marmoleum.

So Many Colors

Overwhelmed by All the Colors of Marmoleum?

Even though we are overwhelmed by the patterns and Colors of Marmoleum we would like to use marmoleum click throughout our main hallway and through our open-concept kitchen / family room / den. How can people ever pick from all the choices of Marmoleum that are available. What are the most versatile shades and where is the best source of ideas and designs? Should the design be consistent throughout all of these areas?

Carol
South Bend, IN

See the answer below….

Hi Carol

The rule of thumb is that when picking colors you should have something in each room that you absolutely love and start there. That first piece of the puzzle should be something you won’t consider changing. It can be furnishings, wall art, window treatments or the colors of Marmoleum flooring.

As far as patterns go, many of the more varied samples are the older, original, marbleized linoleum patterns from 150 years ago. The really great news is that for 2013 Forbo has brought out whole new Generation of Colors. There are also embossed varieties, speckles and flatter, more mono-chromatic options too. Very simply….do you love any of them? Pick something and then test your other choices against it.

Do you have to use the same color throughout for the floor? Usually a good indicator is whether the ceilings are continuous from one room to the next. If they are then the walls generally don’t have a logical place to change colors either. The floor color can be a unifying element from one room to the next or the colors can change and be complimentary. If you are brave with colors, you can pick contrasting colors but they usually require a more developed sense of style as to how to fill in the palette of colors so they all work together. It’s never bad to share pictures or ask for opinions, but you may as well own the decision, since you are going to live with it…. until you decide to repurpose your Marmoleum Click to another space.

Hope that helps.