Renaissance Style: Marmoleum Flooring

Posted by Kelly Asmus on Jan 10, 2012 in Latest News, Renaissance Style, _Special | 1 comment

Marmoleum flooring is the new floor of choice for people interested in green building materials. You may remember it as linoleum, but this is not your grandma’s linoleum. Marmoleum comes in a wide range of beautiful colors and can be bought by the roll or in sections offering infinite design possibilities.

What is Marmoleum?

Marmoleum is a natural choice for healthy indoor air quality. Because it is made without toxic chemicals and plastics, Marmoleum will NOT off-gas harmful toxins into your home. Additionally, natural linoleum surfaces also feature antimicrobial properties that halt the breeding of harmful micro-organisms, including MRSA and C-difficile. This property comes from one of the ingredients, linseed oil. Linseed oil continues to oxidize in the floor and the bacteria can’t multiply as with other types of flooring. As the linseed oil oxidizes it hardens making the floor even more durable. Estimated life of one of these floors is forty to fifty years. Additionally, the color goes all the way through the linoleum layer effectively hiding any scratches or wear that may appear over the course of the product’s life. It can be applied with solvent free adhesives so even the installation is clean.

Marmoleum flooring is durable and easy to clean. In heavy traffic areas it looks beautiful for years. Dust mop regularly, damp mop when needed and wipe the messiest spills away. It does not stain and no need to wax.

Marmoleum also has anti-static properties. Dust and dirt won’t stick to the floor which means less house cleaning. This is great for people with allergies of all types. Many hospitals are beginning to use marmoleum flooring for these reasons.

Best of All … It’s Green

There are virtually no dangerous health issues linked to the flooring, from production to installation and even in disposal. The flooring is 100% biodegradable.

Marmoleum is sustainable. It is made from linseed oil, color pigments, pine rosin and pine flour, which is responsibly collected from planted forests in Europe. Linseed oil is a natural product of the flax plant. The flax plant, also a source for linen, is an easy-to-cultivate plant that is in abundant supply. Pine rosins are mixed with the linseed oil to produce a flexible binder. The pine trees from which the rosins are extracted exist in abundance throughout the world. Wood flour is obtained through controlled forestry, including the planting of special forests. No tropical hardwoods are ever used. Only ecologically friendly pigments are used for coloring. The backing for Marmoleum is made from spun yarn of strong jute fiber, grown primarily in India and Bangladesh. Jute is plentiful and highly renewable.

Linseed oil has a particular scent that some people dislike. The floor emits an odor for a short period of time after it is installed.

Renaissance Homes features Marmoleum products in our laundry rooms throughout Portland, West Linn and Lake Oswego. Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”