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.
[Sidenote: 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.
[Sidenote: 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._
[Sidenote: 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.
[Sidenote: 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.