The long-awaited repair season is coming. Many apartment owners are thinking about which linoleum is best for an apartment. Let's try to understand this issue and the huge assortment that trade organizations offer to help you choose the option you need.
Material requirements
First of all, you need to decide in which room this flooring will be located. The requirements for it depend on this. Will it be able to withstand the loads that are on it in a particular room. Will the selected linoleum meet technical characteristics, such as moisture resistance, sound absorption, etc. Does the material correspond to the interior of the room.
Specifications
When deciding for yourself which linoleum is best for an apartment, you should familiarize yourself with the regulatory classification of this material. From the wrong side of linoleum you can see two numbers. One of them means the type of premises: 2 (residential building), 3 (office building), 4 (industrial premises). The second digit indicates the strength of the material. In accordance with the loads, linoleum is divided into three groups:
- Household is a thin material that can withstand 1.25 kg per 1 square meter. Rolled into a roll, it does not crack. Such material will be quite appropriate in the bedroom or hallway. For a kitchen or a bathroom, it will not work.
- Commercial - wear-resistant and durable material. Choosing which linoleum
better for an apartment, you can surely opt for this option. - Semi-commercial - rather strong and at the same time not thick material.
Hallway
In this room, the load on the flooring is maximum, so it is more advisable to lay a semi-commercial linoleum that will last you for many years.
Bathroom
This is a special room in any home, if only because it is characterized by high humidity. More often here, ceramic tiles are used as flooring . But if for some reason you decide to abandon it, then you can use liquid linoleum. Imitating granite or marble, it looks very impressive and modern, especially if the bathroom is decorated in high-tech style. Naturally, it will cost you more than traditional designs, but the result is worth it. It has increased moisture resistance, and given that the floor area in this room is usually not too large, the cost of such coverage will not be too burdensome for your budget.
Living room
Many people wonder if it is worth using linoleum for the hall. In an apartment, this is probably the room with the least floor load. Therefore, the use of classical linoleum in it is justified, especially if it is partially covered with carpets. It is important to choose the right color. If you want to highlight the floor against a general background, choose a linoleum color that contrasts with walls and furniture. To make the room look harmonious, select several accessories to match the color of the floor. It can be textiles, souvenirs, vases, etc.
Kitchen
It is obvious that this room needs a special floor covering. They can become linoleum with a protective layer. This is usually a natural material. You need to know that linseed oil, which is part of natural linoleum, is a powerful antiseptic that can not only protect the floor from germs, but also disinfect the air in the kitchen.
An important element of the overall design are the floors in the apartment. Linoleum for the kitchen, in addition to an attractive and appropriate style of coloring, must necessarily have anti-slip properties. It's no secret that quite often the floor in the kitchen is wet. Therefore, anti-slip properties will protect you from injury.
Experts advise you to choose a wide linoleum for the kitchen, so that you can lay it without unnecessary seams. When transporting, roll it into a roll, otherwise, cracks may appear on it. At home, the roll should be deployed and the material should lie well.
Children's room
The room where you should lay the best linoleum. For an apartment where a room for a baby is equipped, it is especially important to make the right choice. The floor will not be operated too intensively, but it should be borne in mind that a little man will crawl on it, slap bare feet, and therefore special attention should be paid to its safety.
The most environmentally friendly flooring is natural linoleum. Flaxseed oil, which is part of it, has bactericidal properties, antistatic properties. In other words, this is the best option. But you should know that its price is twice as expensive as synthetic. If you decide that this material is too expensive for you, then lay linoleum insulated. Its top layer is glued to a jute or felt base. Such material for the nursery is decorated with bright and colorful images of animals or favorite cartoon characters, which, of course, will appeal to the baby.
Is linoleum harmful
Starting repairs in the house, everyone is concerned about how to choose safe, environmentally friendly materials. Is linoleum harmful? In the apartment, natural material is completely safe. However, today manufacturers offer much more synthetic PVC coatings. Their manufacturers claim that they are also safe subject to certain operating rules:
- do not lay alkyd (rubber) linoleum in residential premises;
- commercial linoleum is not suitable for flooring in an apartment, since it contains plasticizers (to increase strength);
- Do not purchase non-certified products - they may contain harmful substances.
If after two weeks the initial odor did not disappear, then most likely the material was made with technological disruptions.
Today we tried to figure out which linoleum is better for an apartment. We hope that our tips will help you make the right choice. Linoleum is a coating with a long service life, so I would like it to please you with excellent quality for many years.