Which linoleum is better for an apartment

Linoleum is a widely available building material that is used for flooring. This material has been used in practice for two hundred years. Despite the presence of a large number of floor coverings on the construction market, linoleum has not lost its relevance. This is not surprising; this material is now produced in a wide variety of colors. It is distinguished by ease of installation and fairly low cost. In addition, the material has a certain amount of springiness and strength. The consumer is provided with a large selection of products, and he often finds it difficult to choose a product. Let's consider what needs to be taken into account when selecting this building material.

How to choose linoleum for an apartment - main criteria

To choose a good linoleum for your apartment, you should correctly take into account a number of factors. When selecting flooring, the homeowner should be guided by the following criteria:

1. Purpose, that is, in what place it will be laid.
2. Quality.
3. Cost.

Which linoleum is better for an apartment

Before choosing natural flooring for urban housing, the consumer must understand what type of material is suitable for him and in the room, what type of material will be installed.
The quality of the coating can be determined by the following criteria: the absence of any odor, its presence indicates that low-quality materials were used in the manufacture of this product.

In addition, the material should not delaminate, there should be no defects on its plane, including cracks and other damage. The colors and designs printed on the front side must be bright and streak-free. The presence of defects also indicates unsatisfactory quality of the product, which is unsafe to buy.

REFERENCE. The seller of this product must, upon request, present documents confirming quality, hygienic and environmental safety.

Let's figure out what types of flooring are on the market.

Natural linoleum

This type includes in its composition - wood flour, oil pressed from flax, flour from cork tree bark, natural resins and dyes. The base of this building deck is made of jute fabric.

For the production of natural linoleum, only natural raw materials are used; it can be laid for placement in rooms where there are allergy or asthma sufferers. This type of material is used to create coverings in children's rooms. The obvious advantages of natural flooring include:

• abrasion resistance;
• environmental safety;
• not exposed to direct sunlight;
• ease of care;
• does not support combustion.

Obvious disadvantages include:

• fragility, it is undesirable to bend it;
• it cannot be used to create flooring in rooms with high humidity;
• relatively high cost.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) linoleum

PVC flooring is made from raw materials used for thermal insulation and made from woven or non-woven materials. Russian linoleum manufacturers use technologies developed in EU countries. Accordingly, the price is accessible to a wide range of consumers. This linoleum has the following advantages:

• low thermal conductivity;
• non-conductivity of electricity;
• does not rot.

Manufacturers offer products in a wide range of colors. Meanwhile, linoleum of this type also has a number of disadvantages:

• reacts to high temperatures;
• does not tolerate the action of solvents;
• at reduced temperatures, plasticity is lost.

Manufacturers offer two versions of these products on the market - household and commercial. The first is characterized by its small thickness and short service life, up to 5 years. The commercial version is characterized by increased wear resistance and a long period of use - up to 20 years. Manufacturers produce some modifications, for example, antistatic.

Glypthal (alkyd) linoleum

This type of flooring is produced by applying an alkyd resin to a specially treated fabric. The advantages of this type of material lie in its high heat and sound insulation characteristics. But, when using this linoleum, you need to remember its fragility, which leads to certain difficulties during the installation process.Before it, the laying material must be kept in a room with warm air, otherwise deformation may occur, leading to a change in geometric dimensions.

Colloxin linoleum

The foundation for the production of this material is nitrocellulose. Usually it is made without any reason. At the same time, this material is resistant to moisture, fire and has a decorative appearance. But when selecting it for installation, you need to remember that it is susceptible to temperature fluctuations.

Linoleum-relin

This type of flooring has two layers. The lining is made from crushed rubber mixed with bitumen. Facial is made by mixing rubber, dyes and fillers. Advantages: flexibility and moisture resistance.

Cons: this flooring contains harmful substances that gradually evaporate, and it is advised not to install it in residential premises.

How to choose natural linoleum for various rooms in the house

This flooring can be classified according to the purpose of the room where it will be installed. This is reflected in its designation. It has two numbers. The first indicates a number from 1 to 4, where:

• 1 – rooms with low levels of congestion.
• 2 – housing.
• 3 – offices.
• 4 – industrial production.

The second shows the level of design loads, where 1 is low load, 4 is extremely high. For example, for laying in a passage corridor it is advisable to use flooring grade 23 or 24, for a bedroom 21.

Kitchen, corridor, hallway

In these parts of the apartment, experts advise laying flooring of at least 3 mm.For them, it is acceptable to lay household level flooring on a PVC base; a more effective way would be to use semi-commercial flooring. Practice shows that for these premises, tiled flooring is often used.

Living room

Quite a large number of people pass through the living room, these are the owners themselves and their guests, so they consider it to have an average level of traffic. Therefore, you can use material with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The chance of mechanical damage in this room is relatively low. Use PVC or polyester based flooring for this room. Laying can be done directly on the floor made of wooden boards.

Bedroom

For the bedroom, where traffic is quite low, material from 1.2 to 1.5 mm is used. A reasonable option can be considered household flooring made on the basis of foamed polyvinyl chloride.

Children's room

Not many people come to the nurseries, and therefore it is generally accepted that their traffic is at an average level. But with a high probability of obtaining defects caused by mechanical means. Flooring based on foamed PVC can be called the optimal solution for installation in this room, but if financial resources allow, then you can lay semi-commercial material with a protective layer of 0.25 mm applied.

Balcony

On an unheated room on a balcony or loggia, on a country veranda or gazebo, the material will lose its performance parameters. Since almost all types of linoleum coating do not resist the action of natural UV radiation and fluctuations in street temperatures are destructive for them.

Choice of decor and colors

This flooring is interesting because it has a wide palette of designs and colors.Manufacturers have learned to give this type of flooring rich colors that do not fade over time. The appearance of synthetic turf is even better. It successfully imitates natural materials such as ceramics, stone, wood, etc.

Coatings that imitate high-quality parquet, made of cherry or oak, are in high demand among consumers. In this case, the coating brings out the full texture of wood to the details of the coating.

No less in demand is a material that imitates a mosaic on the surface of wood or solid boards. For those who like experimenting with interiors, manufacturers of this material offer linoleum with original patterns or designs made in different genres.
A coating that imitates marble or granite, etc., looks interesting. Manufacturers often make this coating made to look like aged materials, such as stone.