LAYING DIRECT ON WOOD FLOORS
A less permanent way to install linoleum is to tack or nail it directly on the wood floor. Where a more or less temporary floor covering is desired, as in the cases of tenants on short leases, etc., this method may be made to suffice. However, wherever the linoleum is to be installed as a permanent floor, instead of wood or other floors, we strongly recommend that it be laid over felt paper as just described.
Directions are given in the paragraphs following for laying linoleum directly on wood or concrete floors, without the use of a felt lining. This method is described at greater length in the handbook previously mentioned, “Detailed Directions for Laying and Caring for Linoleum,” but the main steps in the process are here fully outlined.
Preparation for Laying Linoleum
The floor should be perfectly dry and clean, the surface smooth and even. All cracks should be filled, nails should be removed, and the uneven edges of the boards planed off, if necessary. The quarter-round molding should be taken up carefully from the baseboard all around the room.
In cold weather, linoleum becomes brittle. If you are laying your floor in winter, be sure to let the roll of linoleum stand on end in a warm room for at least forty-eight hours before unrolling it.
Laying the Linoleum
When ready to lay, first measure the linoleum carefully and, if possible, cut it to run lengthwise in the opposite direction from the boards in the floor. Trim it ¼ to ½ inch short at each end, just so the edge of the linoleum will be covered by the quarter-round molding when this is replaced. Along the side walls the linoleum should not be placed tight against the baseboard, but, just as at the end, a space of ¼ to ½ inch wide should be left. The edges of the linoleum at the seams, however, should be butted tightly against each other, with the pattern properly matched.
Laid in this manner, the linoleum will have an opportunity to expand underneath the edge of the quarter-round molding. In replacing the quarter-round, do not fasten it down tight against the surface of the linoleum. The quarter-round must not bind the material at any point, but should be nailed to the baseboard in such manner as to permit the lifting out of the linoleum easily should retrimming become necessary.
Should a buckle or air-bubble develop in the linoleum, it must be smoothed out, and the edge of the linoleum under the floor molding cut back a trifle, if needed to take up the expansion. Do not put any brads in the linoleum during the expansion period.
Fitting Around Pipes and Projections
Care must be taken to fit the linoleum neatly around radiators, waste pipes, doorways, wall projections, etc. Where possible, the gas stove, kitchen range, and other movable equipment should be disconnected, and linoleum laid under it carefully to insure tight joints. Good workmanship in fitting adds much to the appearance of the linoleum floor.
Fastening Linoleum
In many cases it will be found that it is not necessary to fasten linoleum to the floor at all, when it has been laid under the quarter-round molding at the sides and ends. The molding itself will be all that is required to hold the material in place.
Where it becomes necessary, however, to fasten the linoleum to wood floors, use No. 18, ¾-inch, wire brads. Never use carpet tacks. The brads should be set in ⅛ to ¼ inch from the edge and should be spaced about four inches apart along the edges and three inches apart on seams. The brads should be driven down until the heads are lost in the surface of the linoleum.