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Old linoleum + laminate, bamboo flooring questions

14 years ago

Hello, never posted on this forum before, but just wondered if anyone has had any experience with laminate flooring.

We live in a 130-year old house with a peeling and cracking linoleum kitchen floor that seems to have been installed in the 1930s or 1940s. Would like to be rid of the linoleum, and have a hard wood type of farmhouse kitchen floor. We would love wide farm-house style wood planks in the kitchen, but we assume that this would just be too expensive for us to install.

I would really like to remove the kitchen linoleum entirely. Under one section that is peeling up, I think I can see wooden plank-type boards that are about 2.5 to 3 inches wide. I have a dream of stripping up the linoleum to reveal a planked wooden floor underneath that we could have sanded and waxed. The floors elsewhere downstairs are all 2.5 inch wide wood planks, and the upstairs is floored with old irregularly-sized wooden planking, generally around 5 inches wide.

But everyone we know insists there must be sheets of plywood underneath the kitchen linoleum, and that the glue will be a nightmare to remove. Was plywood even used as a flooring material during the Depression or WWII era? Honestly, the glue does not seem that sticky anymore. The whole linoleum floor seems to be peeling up, except the edges, where most of the linoleum is tucked under the baseboards.

It was suggested to us to put down a floating, snap-together type of floor such as a horizontal grain solid bamboo, a bamboo laminate, or just a regular laminate floor, right on top of the linoleum.

I don't really like the modern look of the bamboo wood grain though. I kind of prefer the look of the regular laminate because it looks more like regular wood to me. Our friends insist that the solid bamboo is the best, because it's real wood, not just a laminate, and costs less than traditional wood flooring.

How durable is laminate flooring? Does the laminate peel or buckle from liquid spills or humidity? Also, it seems weird to me to just cover the linoleum with something else. How would it "float" above the linoleum, especially if the linoleum isn't all that flat anymore?

Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments (2)

topie
Original Author
14 years ago
P.S.: We are also wondering if the linoleum may have asbestos fibers in it, on the backing, or in the glue. Below are some photos if anyone can identify the era this linoleum was installed by the pattern. If we do decide to remove the linoleum, I would think we would need it removed by an asbestos abatement company. This seems dangerous, and expensive...so perhaps a floating floor is a safer and more cost-effective option for us?

Also, could the crumbling areas (see 2nd photo, lower right area) be releasing asbestos fibers into our kitchen? The main area that is crumbling is the black border that is near the kitchen sink. This black border linoleum has a white fleck type of pattern to it, although it is so crumbly that it is hard to see the pattern in the photo.

One last thought: we are very sensitive to chemical smells and vapors, and have heard some laminate flooring, especially the bamboo, releases chemical-type odors or vapors, possibly formaldehyde?
Is a floating, traditional hardwood floor the best option for us? Is there such a thing?

Thanks again.

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glennsfc
14 years ago
What you have there is genuine linoleum. I am quite sure there is no plywood underneath...probably just what is called 'lining felt'...doubtful there is no asbestos at all, but you can have a small sample tested if you want. What caused the damage?

Strip it all off and refinish the wood.

Be careful selecting any manufactured board, such as laminate, prefinished engineered or bamboo. Some do have residual odors from manufacture. Be especially wary of products from China.
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