Battleship Linoleum Flooring. Why did it go out of style?
Battleship Linoleum seems to be the term that a lot of the empty-nesters use to describe the flooring they grew up with. Why did it go out of production and why did it become so hard to find? There are three main reasons.
1. Plastics
Everyone of a certain age remembers “The Graduate,” where Dustin Hoffman’s character is given the tip of a lifetime ― go into the plastics industry. Plastics certainly made a lot of companies and a lot more people rich by bringing cheaper imitation products to the marketplace.
Unfortunately, Marmoleum was one of the casualties. All the other linoleum companies went under or practically died eventually because of cheaper, faster American vinyl plastic.
2. Lasts Too Long
With the amazing boom in prosperity back in the 1950s and 1960s, Americans wanted to upgrade everything they owned to the newest and most advanced luxury option. Many were still standing on linoleum floors from the 1920s and 1930s and were just plain sick of it. In a nutshell, linoleum simply lasted too long for many people’s tastes.
3. Complex Installation
With the advent of click together linoleum, there is a resurgence of natural flooring being installed. Too few trained installers in the marketplace means that prices go up with supply and demand and many folks are priced out of the market when they get a quote for sheet goods. Tile installations and click are a good compromise when the budget is limited.
Battleship Linoleum Today
The navies of the world also have a desire to be fashionable. Sadly, that often means that toxic and hazardous epoxy paints are often being used in place of naturally durable and beautiful battleship linoleum. The good news is that the armies of the world are still specifying old fashioned lino roll goods for their barracks. Additionally, we already know that schools and hospitals are crazy about the stuff because it holds up.
For more information on commercial-grade linoleum flooring, please contact us at GreenHomeFloors at 844-356-6784 or visit www.greenhomefloors.com