Leather Floors

ALH_4

I assume there will never be any moisture on this leather? If it gets wet, it could shrink in strange ways. Look at what moisture did to OJ's glove. This sounds like a recipe for dissatisfaction of the homeowner. I don't think leather would smell bad unless it got wet. Some materials just aren't suitable for flooring. I think this may be one of them. Maybe vinyl with a leather look similar to car upholstery?

In any case, I think a floor temp limiting thermostat is in order.

Alan(OnVacationInOregon)Forbes

Leather Floors

This is a new one for me. Leather floors in the entry of a job we are doing in Pacific Heights, San Francisco. Eighth inch thick leather over ½" plywood over Uponor QuikTrak.

I'm sure the R-value won't be restrictive, but I'm wondering what the heat will do to the material. Any other concrens, i.e. smell?

Mike T., Swampeast MO

In the entry? and only 1/8" thick?

Only leather floor I know of personally was in the all leather study of a home in Mendham, New Jersey and arranged in vertical layers and [probably] inches thick. Standing iron rads for heat.

Truly fine split leather [should] be able to handle 85F without problem [without much UV and without much water] but I would NEVER guarantee and would suggest that replacement of the leather be reasonably simple.

Jerry_15

Leather floors; San Francisco: Trust me, it's going to get wet, otherwise, why bother. You guys are too much. The clean up and strange odors are their problem. It'll never get hotter than a summer day in Palm Springs, or out on the trail. Head em up, move em out, rawhide. Yeehaw.

hot_rod

thinking of my motorcycle leather jacket

it does smell on a warm sunny day. And leather is not easily waterproofed. without more smelly chemicals.

Get a signed disclaimer, and go for it. Sounds sexy! Is it a home for Paris Hilton?

hot rod

J.C.A._3

Gobs and Gobs of saddlesoap....

I hope they have a patient Custodian!

My advice...have them run this by the guys at Maguires auto finishing stuff.

#1, you ain't gonna keep it dry...but you can make it REPEL water.

#2, Wet cows stink ! Flooring doesn't have the blood flow and sweat that they do, and I'm with H.R. on this one.

#3, leather flooring? What kind of establishment is this?....(Not that there's anything wrong with it!...to quote Seinfeild)

Seriously, I think the auto industry is who to turn to, as they are the ones that have to deal with the wet and water getting to their products MOST of the time. Good luck Alan. Chris

Jerry_15

definatly an auto thing - 4 on the floor, pedal to the metal, take no prisoners, tip the housekeeper a little extra. It's all good.

Jason_29

Here's a link to Costco

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11135642&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&N=4014135&Mo=6&pos=4&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=49373&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&Sp=C&ec=&topnav=

Gordy

Warranty

May as well take that warranty, and throw it away with the box the tiles come in. That floor will be subject to about everything the warranty excludes from being liable. In ten years that floor will look like a road kill carcass, unless you put a top coat of sheet acrylic on it. Excuse me I gotta saddle soap my floor this weekend.

Gordy

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Here's some links:

Blackstock Leather

Edelmen Leather

Clayton of Chesterfield

Leffler

Note that EVERY one of these sources (and others I found as well) are for leather TILES. I simply cannot imagine "sheet" leather flooring as the suitable leather has to come from the most perfectly suited portions of the hide.

Another common thread among all of these sources is "AVOID WATER AND MOISTURE". At least one specifically mentions an entry as NOT suitable for leather. That company, Blackstock Leather, is also mentioned in other pages regarding durability--supposedly it's been in use on the dance floor of a nice hotel for a decade with little if any wear.

Note that some say, "just don't clean it" other than vacuum and others say you can VERY lightly mop. Most seem to suggest annual or semi-annual treatment with a wax (beeswax and carnuba mentioned most often). ALL say or at least imply that there's NO WAY to make it even water resistant.

Again, I've only seen it once in an all-leather study and the floor was essentially tiles of many pieces of vertical strips of leather. The walls were "overstuffed" in places, tiled in others. Home owned by high executive in a company who supplied a good chunk of the leather used in military vehicles during WW-II (no vinyl then...)

If these are "alternative" type guys you might want to suggest leather floors in an "entertainment" room. If just the typical avante-garde you might want to suggest a space other than an entry.

Regardless, I see NOTHING to suggest that radiant heating underneath will be any problem provided it's well-controlled under generally accepted standards.