[{"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/6f75c27a73e84eb38a7a54fb23ab04f8.jpg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/6f75c27a73e84eb38a7a54fb23ab04f8.jpg", "formatted_filename": "f c a e eb a a fb ab f", "alt_text": "Marmoleum Imagine, designed by Sigrid Calon and manufactured by Forbo"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/0966575795214c3fa0b1cb96928322eb.jpg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/0966575795214c3fa0b1cb96928322eb.jpg", "formatted_filename": "c fa b cb eb", "alt_text": "Harmonium, by Tarkett"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/f39352e744b94f7b88ab1da8bc394b1c.jpg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/f39352e744b94f7b88ab1da8bc394b1c.jpg", "formatted_filename": "f e b f b ab da bc b c", "alt_text": "Harmonium, by Tarkett"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/d10b731086754f019070d2cc33d048bf.png", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/d10b731086754f019070d2cc33d048bf.png", "formatted_filename": "d b f d cc d bf", "alt_text": "The structure of linoleum."}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/0b9dd8bb2f92455b871da8df4762e5e0.png", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/0b9dd8bb2f92455b871da8df4762e5e0.png", "formatted_filename": "b dd bb f b da df e e", "alt_text": "The structure of vinyl flooring"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/86dff9968d2343a988d71bf409a1b858.jpeg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/86dff9968d2343a988d71bf409a1b858.jpeg", "formatted_filename": "dff d a d bf a b", "alt_text": "Marmorette, by Armstrong"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/4a91a09370e54b39a4e30ddb8a424dfc.png", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/640/clsd/4/27/4a91a09370e54b39a4e30ddb8a424dfc.png", "formatted_filename": "a a e b a e ddb a dfc", "alt_text": "Roberts 100-pound roller"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/103/87/523877225.jpg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/103/87/523877225.jpg", "alt_text": "Pros and Cons of Cork Flooring"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/photos.demandstudios.com/162/42/fotolia_2076722_XS.jpg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/photos.demandstudios.com/162/42/fotolia_2076722_XS.jpg", "formatted_filename": "fotolia XS", "alt_text": "What Grade Plywood to Use for Underlayment"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/129/60/87571074.jpg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/129/60/87571074.jpg", "alt_text": "Is Laminate Wood Flooring Toxic?"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/cppd/getty/article/94/21/160663065_XS.jpg", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/cppd/getty/article/94/21/160663065_XS.jpg", "formatted_filename": "XS", "alt_text": "The Best Flooring for Covering Stairs in a Home"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/clsd/5/4/f5ec44ea28f648539de2ddbdb490c12c.png", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/clsd/5/4/f5ec44ea28f648539de2ddbdb490c12c.png", "formatted_filename": "f ec ea f de ddbdb c c", "alt_text": "A Homeowner's Guide to Vinyl Flooring"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.hunker.com/13711815/lineoleum-a-green-flooring-option", "unformatted_src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/clsd/6/28/441c4125091147bb9d43ba16c84356ed.png", "src": "https://img.hunkercdn.com/120x120/clsd/6/28/441c4125091147bb9d43ba16c84356ed.png", "formatted_filename": "c bb d ba c ed", "alt_text": "How to Replace a Vinyl Floor Tile"}, null]
credit: Forbo
With its 80s-themed designs, this contemporary linoleum is not your grandparents' flooring!

Shortly after its invention in 1860, linoleum became the inexpensive go-to floor covering for kitchens, hallways, commercial spaces, and other high-traffic areas. Linoleum is inevitably compared to or mistaken for vinyl flooring, which supplanted it in popularity in the 1950s. (In fact, "linoleum" is considered the first brand name to become a generic word referring to a broad category of product.)

But whereas vinyl flooring is a petrochemical product, linoleum is made from natural ingredients: linseed oil, pine resin, wood flour (something like sawdust), ground limestone, cork dust, and pigment. It is the cork dust that allows linoleum to be a type of resilient flooring—it compresses and springs back when you walk on it, so your footsteps have a little bounce. This is what allows a dish dropped onto a linoleum floor to survive when it would surely shatter against ceramic tile or wood. Cork flooring and vinyl flooring are other types of flooring that are categorized as resilient. credit: Tarkett
Linoleum typically has striations... ... or a marbled effect.

As a petroleum product, vinyl will melt if you drop something hot on it, such as a lit match or hot frying pan; linoleum won't. Not only does the composition of linoleum distinguish it from vinyl flooring, but the structure of the two is completely different. The ingredients in linoleum are all mixed together, then pressed through a rolling mill onto jute backing, a material similar to burlap. Because the pigment goes all the way through the linoleum, scratches and damage don't show in the same way as they do on vinyl flooring, where the design is printed on just one specific layer. In contrast, when vinyl flooring wears out or fades, you notice it, and there's nothing to be done but replace it.


In fact, you can easily repair gouges in linoleum, but it requires saving any leftover flooring you have. For small gouges, scrape fine shavings from the extra flooring, mix them with wood glue, and fill the hole with this mixture. Fix larger damage by putting in a veneer insert of matching linoleum. credit: Manufacturing Skills Australia, Flooring Technology
Sheet of solid linoleum adhered to a jute backing, with a surface finish to prevent porosity. credit: Belgotex
In comparison, vinyl flooring consists of at least four—but as many as eight—layers of materials, and the design layer is thin.

Linoleum was invented by Frederick Walton, an English manufacturer who patented it in 1860. Its name comes from linum—the Latin word for "flax"—and oleum, meaning "oil." It was a vast improvement over the oiled or wax floor coverings that people had used to that point, and after it went into production in 1864, it soon spawned many imitators and innovations, including embossed linoleum wall coverings that looked something like carved wood or leather.

These days, linoleum flooring comes in three forms:

Linoleum tiles may give you sticker shock: They run $4.50 to $7 per square foot, which is considerably more than vinyl flooring. But remember that when properly installed, linoleum will wear much better than vinyl, and last far longer, too. If you don't find linoleum stocked at your local big-box store, get it from a flooring retailer or green-building supplier. credit: Armstrong
Besides smeared colors like this one, you can find linoleum that mimics wood and slate.


With its wide range of color options, linoleum is making a comeback with homeowners. It's an obvious choice if you want to update an old house with period flooring, but its positive attributes make it a winner for any home.


Keep some of these downsides in mind as you make a decision whether linoleum is right for your home. credit: Jet
You'll go over the glue-down tile with a 100-pound roller as the final step of installation.


For glue-on tiles, your subflooring doesn't need to be very strong, but it must be smooth. Install glue-on tiles with vinyl flooring adhesive, using a 1/16-inch square notch trowel to apply it in sections so that the adhesive doesn't dry before you have time to place a tile on it. The tiles have bevels on two sides; as you put down each tile in a row, install it in the opposite direction as the previous one to get a seamless appearance. Afterward, immediately go over the entire surface with a 100-pound roller—which you can rent from home-improvement stores—to make sure every inch of the tile has adhered to the substrate.

For snap-together tiles, put down a moisture-insulating underlay first, then install the tiles in much the same way as floating floors are installed.

 Pros and Cons of Cork Flooring What Grade Plywood to Use for Underlayment Is Laminate Wood Flooring Toxic? The Best Flooring for Covering Stairs in a Home A Homeowner's Guide to Vinyl Flooring How to Replace a Vinyl Floor Tile