Leather

History & Raw State

Leather is relatively new to the family of resilients in terms of flooring or other interior uses; however, since the Paleolithic period, the use of ani- mal hides for warmth or comfort was evident. By the Industrialization in the 18th century, the demand for new kinds and uses of leather be- gan. By the end of the 19th century, leather and patent leather was be- ing used for things such as clothing, footwear, and even interior finishes.

• Leather is typically cut from the central, back area of heavyweight cowhide skins.
• Leather is a by-product of the food industry.
• The cuts are made where the fibers are the tightest, and therefore, the leather will be more stable and consistent.
• Leather is tanned and coloured with vegetable or aniline dyes. Polyurethane and acrylic are added to the raw hide to create patent leather.
• These additives give the leather a hard, shiny, and durable yet flexible finish.
• There are natural color variations and grain patterns in leather, and over time, this natural product will develop a patina as it wears and oxidizes in light and air.
• Variations in leather will occur depending on which plant and raw materials one uses to color the hide.

Manufacturing Leather

• Leather is harvested by cutting the center of the cowhide, to obtain the material, where the fibers are the tightest [1]
• The raw hide softened the fat, hair and certain layers of skin are removed.
• The leather is tanned, post-drained, processed, and cut to leather tiles
• Scudding and bating of the leather gives the hide its strength[2]
• The process of leather tanning depends on different factors, such as the condition of skin, pH level, and the temperature.
• In some cases, the finished leather tile is laminated or colored with dyes to make it more attractive[3]
• Leather technologists must also take into consideration the variation of thickness, texture, and how water resistant the leather is.
• The majority of the leather manufacturing is done in the UK.[4]

Installation of Leather Flooring

• The good thing about leather flooring is that, unlike other resilient floing, it can be used immediately because it does not require adhesives.
• Leather can be installed over existing flooring, ontop of concrete and in areas that may have increased humidity (such as basements), however will require different underlays depending their application.[5]
• A tounge-and-grove type system where the tiles simply snap together has been developed to enable easy installation without the use of glues, chemicals or nails.[6]
• These leather tiles or planks can easily be taken apart to be transferred when moving or if desired in a different room.[7]
• The installation of this type of flooring can be done without a professional; necessary tools when installing include a saw, hammer, tape measure, pencil, tapping block, wedges and last board puller.[8]
• The underlay will vary depending on location and type of surface on which the leather flooring is laid, however tiles or planks with a cork backing do not require an underlay but may require a vapour barrier if placed below grade. [9]
• When calculating the amount of material needed, an extra 5% should be added to the total to accommodate cut tiles around corners and edges.[10]
• During the installation, 3/8” must be left on all sides- even cut around door frames to allow for expansion and contraction with.

Maintenance

• To maintain leather flooring, light weekly clean is recommended using basic cleaning methods such as vacuuming and/or sweeping, a spot cleaning using a regular cloth.
• It is not advised to clean the floors with a wet mop, but rather dust them regularly with dry materials.
• Specialized cleaning solutions through the manufacturers of the flooring material can also be purchased to preserve the original state of the floor.

With normal wear and tear, if individual tiles need to be replace they can be using hand-operated tools such as the Bulldog from Torlys, making it convenient to not have to replace the entire surface. [11]

• To uphold the durability, the wax coating of the surface must be maintained. Waxing and buffing using carnauba wax and buffed a mini- mum of three times before the initial use to create a strong shield against regular wear and tear.[12]

Physical Properties

• Leather flooring comes most often in tiles or planks, and is made of recycled leather cowhide.
• It is cut from the center of the cowhide where the the fibers are the tightest.
• Once cut, the leather is tanned and coloured with dyes that permeate through the material.
• It is a natural material so colour variation is imminent and due to its nature, this material tends to be more costly than other resilient choices.
• Because it is essentially skin, it will oxidize with light and air over time.
• The top layer of the tiles or planks is leather, treated with a heavy duty water soluble wear layer, with a high-density fibreboard (HDF) core made of softwood and lined with a cork bottom.67
• Leather is 100% vegetable tanned with aniline dye and a wax coating on the surface to make it durable.[13]
• Leather is a soft material that allows it to absorb sound and acts as an insulator meaning it is warm to stand on.
• It is not a permeable surface meaning that it will not absorb spills, however because it is a natural material, chemical spills may damage it.
• Although colours are limited to natural tones, with the aid of new technologies, dyeing of leath- er to various colour choices is made possible, even graphic printing on leather is now possible.[14]

Interior and Innovative Uses

• Leather is new to the resilient world.
• It is the most expensive of resilient floorings.
• Leather comes as sheet floor- ing as well as in tiles. It has been used as a flooring by covering wooden planks with leather, creating a leather plank look.
• Technologies have been recently discovered that allow the ability to print digital quality designs onto the surface of leather. This creates endless design and pattern possibilities.[15]
• Leather is also being used on countertops in bars and restaurants. Leather cannot take the same wear and tear that other resilient floorings can take. It is mostly recommended for residential uses, however is not good for areas with high moisture.[16]

Ecological Footprint

• With Leather the tanning process and finishing are when VOCs must be controlled. Chemicals used during the tanning process which emit VOCs include: Ammonia sulfides,

alkaline sulfides, and chromium.

• If the leather is finished using organic solvents, there is also more of an increased risk for VOC emissions. However, many tanneries have started using water-based coatings to reduce them.
• If toxic chemicals are used, the leather can not be decomposed back into the earth without emissions.[17]
• Some companies, such as Keleen, leather use only water based stable elements during their tanning process, this allows for the leather to be recycled or decomposed without harming the environment. (Keleen leather’s green statement) -they also use only by-products of meat plants.
• Important decisions to make when choosing leather as a resilient material in your design: look at the manufacturer’s process and choose one which uses waterbased solvents and limit toxic products find out where the hides come from.
• Many companies use only by-products from meat plants, however, some still kill animals for their skin consider where the plant is shipping leather across the globe uses more fuel and emits more CO2 than finding a more local manufacturer.

Lifecycle and Cost

Leather flooring costs roughly $11 per square foot but needs to be professionally installed, increasing its cost.

• Well maintained leather can last up to 30 years if properly installed, giving it a system service life comparable to linoleum, and decreases the replacement cost as it would likely only need to be replaced once over the 50 year period used in the preceding life cycle costing chart.[18]

Recycling and Biodegradability

• Leather tiles are composed of leather cut from the center of a cowhide, aniline dyes, vegetable tannin, and carnauba wax.[Kruse, Kelly and Mary Rose McGowan. Interior Graphic Standards (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Graphic Standards, 2004), 248.]
• Leather is either vegetable tanned or chemical tanned, and depending on how it is processed, will determine where and how the leather can be disposed of.[Kruse, Kelly and Mary Rose McGowan. Interior Graphic Standards (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Graphic Standards, 2004), 248.]
• When the leather is vegetable tanned, it is better for the environment when it is added to landfills, and the chemically tanned leather is not great to put into landfills because it uses some toxic chemicals to tan it.[Kruse, Kelly and Mary Rose McGowan. Interior Graphic Standards (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Graphic Standards, 2004), 248.]

Overall, leather is a great product and fairly easy to dispose of as it will decompose over time.