Linoleum vs.Formica

Formica. Doug even made a guitar inspired by the stuff, of memory serves.

Fun fact; Lots of linoleum flooring is absolutely loaded with asbestos. Tiltsta spent a summer doing electron microscopy EDAX for an asbestos testing lab to pay for undergrad school. I wouldn't ever dream of removing any linoleum if I found it in my house.
 
Tiltsta said:
Formica. Doug even made a guitar inspired by the stuff, of memory serves.

Fun fact; Lots of linoleum flooring is absolutely loaded with asbestos. Tiltsta spent a summer doing electron microscopy EDAX for an asbestos testing lab to pay for undergrad school. I wouldn't ever dream of removing any linoleum if I found it in my house.
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I think the kitchen floor in my place is linoleum (I rent). It's definitely vintage is a groovy pattern which screams 1950's. I really think it's the original floor as I've never seen anything like it...it's got an almost cushionlike quality to is so if I were to drop glass on it most likely it would not break....try that with poly vinyl or whatever they use nowadays :embarrassed:

Iknow the place was built around 1950 because when part of a sidewall fell there was tons of old newspaper stuffed in the bricks dated from winter 1949 and also this owners manual for the oven which is addressed to the ldy of the house as the "homemaker", so definitely predates the the 1970's :embarrassed:

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and now for the floor...does this look like linoleum

IMG_0795.jpg
 
DdBob said:
I think the kitchen floor in my place is linoleum (I rent). It's definitely vintage is a groovy pattern which screams 1950's. I really think it's the original floor as I've never seen anything like it...it's got an almost cushionlike quality to is so if I were to drop glass on it most likely it would not break....try that with poly vinyl or whatever they use nowadays :embarrassed:

Iknow the place was built around 1950 because when part of a sidewall fell there was tons of old newspaper stuffed in the bricks dated from winter 1949 and also this owners manual for the oven which is addressed to the ldy of the house as the "homemaker", so definitely predates the the 1970's :embarrassed:

View attachment 33960


and now for the floor...does this look like linoleum

View attachment 33961
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It is impossible to tell by eye if it has asbestos. It was often sold as an upgrade in some lines, and was standard in others. You really need a lab to tell if there is asbestos in it. Good thing about asbestos is that the part that causes cancer is the airborn fibers when it is damaged or removed (which damages the tile). If you leave it as tiles and they have a solid top layer the risks are not bad. Just get it checked out before you decide to remodel.
 
Tiltsta said:
It is impossible to tell by eye if it has asbestos. It was often sold as an upgrade in some lines, and was standard in others. You really need a lab to tell if there is asbestos in it. Good thing about asbestos is that the part that causes cancer is the airborn fibers when it is damaged or removed (which damages the tile). If you leave it as tiles and they have a solid top layer the risks are not bad. Just get it checked out before you decide to remodel.
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Oh I won't ever remodel. I've been here twelve years and when I move next it will most likely be to my childhood home when my dad passes away because I'm the only one left (just him and me) so I will inherit everything. As far as the asbestos goes I think early on when I started as an auto mechanic there was still asbestos being used in brake shoes but I could be wrong, we were neveran OSHA type shop and to this day I just use a long wand air blower to blast of brake dust....it is what it is :embarrassed:
 
Does not look like linoleum to me. Looks like vinyl and, by the pattern, early 70s. Is it smooth? I've never seen lino with embossing, just vinyl. Embossing: the "pretend grout lines" to mimic ceramic tile, not just a different color, there is a dip.

Fun fact: Linoleum is still made today. Expensive stuff, made from linseed oil, mostly installed in doctor's offices. Something about it, static charge? repels dirt.

Lots of vinyl tile out there with asbestos in it. If it's 9"x9", it may contain asbestos. That puts it in the timeframe of when they used asbestos and, it needs to be tested. The glue can have asbestos too.
 
Bob411 said:
Does not look like linoleum to me. Looks like vinyl and, by the pattern, early 70s. Is it smooth? I've never seen lino with embossing, just vinyl. Embossing: the "pretend grout lines" to mimic ceramic tile, not just a different color, there is a dip.

Fun fact: Linoleum is still made today. Expensive stuff, made from linseed oil, mostly installed in doctor's offices. Something about it, static charge? repels dirt.

Lots of vinyl tile out there with asbestos in it. If it's 9"x9", it may contain asbestos. That puts it in the timeframe of when they used asbestos and, it needs to be tested. The glue can have asbestos too.
Click to expand...

Asbestos was the wonder material of the atomic age. They put that shit in everything.
 
Bob411 said:
Does not look like linoleum to me. Looks like vinyl and, by the pattern, early 70s. Is it smooth? I've never seen lino with embossing, just vinyl. Embossing: the "pretend grout lines" to mimic ceramic tile, not just a different color, there is a dip.

Fun fact: Linoleum is still made today. Expensive stuff, made from linseed oil, mostly installed in doctor's offices. Something about it, static charge? repels dirt.

Lots of vinyl tile out there with asbestos in it. If it's 9"x9", it may contain asbestos. That puts it in the timeframe of when they used asbestos and, it needs to be tested. The glue can have asbestos too.
Click to expand...

it is not smooth, there are little dimples all over it and it is maybe 1/8" thick
 
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