Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Your commonhouse kitchen floor

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA
Our kitchen floor has been in use for 16 years now. Like my own kitchen floor, 
and the floor in another room at the Common House, it is sheet Marmoleum. I 
recommend it, with some caveats. It is made with a wood "flour" calendared onto 
a jute backing with linseed oil in the mix. (Full MSDS at the Forbo.com 
website.) It is easy to keep clean, with a good floor wax a few times a year, 
and damp mopping in between. Comfortable under foot and easy on dropped dishes. 

Caveats: It will nick if something hard or sharp is dropped on it. It will 
soften and corrode if certain cleaning chemicals drip on it (like our 
dishwasher cleaning liquid). Nails in an underlying wooden subfloor can work 
their way up over time, creating little lumps (if you care). Edges and seams 
need to be well sealed, not just a cosmetic cove molding at the edges. The 
linseed oil has a smell when it is new, though it offgases relatively soon 
(still, check if anyone in your group has strong chemical sensitivities). 

Alternative: My personal thought is Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT), the hard 
squares used in schools, hospitals, and other public spaces. Looks similar, is 
solid all through, takes wax. I assume it costs a lot less than Marmoleum. Has 
anyone used VCT in their common house? 

Another Forbo product we've used with great satisfaction is their bulletin 
board material. I've seen many beautiful common houses with shabby bulletin 
boards. The Forbo product comes in nice colors, is "self healing", and seems 
good as new after 16 years of regular use. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA
second phase of Spring, with lilacs, rosemary, iris, fresh leaves on the 
trees...