Exhibit 99.1


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information:

Howard N. Feist
Chief Financial Officer
(609) 584-3586


 CONGOLEUM CORPORATION ANNOUNCES FINANCING EXTENSION, PLAN SUBMISSION SCHEDULE,
                      AND APPOINTMENT OF TWO NEW DIRECTORS


MERCERVILLE, NJ, DECEMBER 21, 2005 - Congoleum Corporation (AMEX: CGM) today
made several announcements regarding its financing arrangements, developments
with respect to its plan of reorganization, and the appointment of two new
directors.

First, Congoleum reported that the Bankruptcy Court approved an amendment to
Congoleum's Debtor-in-possession credit facility at a hearing held on December
19, 2005. The amendment extended the maturity of that facility for a year, until
December 31, 2006.

Second, Congoleum reported that active negotiations are underway with respect to
the terms of a new plan of reorganization, which Congoleum expects to file with
the Bankruptcy Court by February 3, 2006. In connection with these negotiations,
Congoleum anticipates that the trustee for holders of its 8.625% notes due in
August 2008 will ask that a committee of bondholders be formed to negotiate
treatment of their claims under the new plan. The Bankruptcy Court has scheduled
a hearing on April 13, 2006 to consider the adequacy of the plan disclosure
statement.

Roger S. Marcus, Chairman of the Board, commented, "We are pleased that the
various parties are engaged in negotiating resolution of the issues that have
been obstacles to confirmation of previous plans. It now appears that achieving
a consensual plan with the asbestos claimants is going to require concessions on
the part of Congoleum's bondholders, as well as concessions on the part of
Congoleum's shareholders. While we do not yet know the specific terms, it is
clear that the interests of all parties will be best served by a plan that can
be confirmed without delay and bring this very expensive process to an end. We
hope to achieve that result during the second half of 2006."

Finally, Congoleum reported that Adam H. Slutsky and Jeffrey H. Coats were
elected to its Board of Directors effective December 16, 2005. Mr. Slutsky will
serve as a Class C director with a term expiring at Congoleum's 2008 annual
meeting of shareholders, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Cyril
C. Baldwin, Jr. last month. Mr. Slutsky is CEO of Mimeo.com, an online document
production company. He previously worked for AOL after it acquired Moviefone, an
internet ticket company he founded. Mr. Coats will serve in a newly created
Class A director position with a term expiring at Congoleum's 2006 annual
meeting of shareholders. Mr. Coats is Chief Executive Officer, President and
director of Mikronite Technologies Group Inc., an industrial technology company,
and also serves as a director of Autobytel Inc. Prior to that, he was a founder
and Managing Director of TH Lee Global Internet Managers, L.P. after serving in
various positions, including Managing Director, at units of General Electric
Capital Corporation. Both Mr. Slutsky and Mr. Coats will serve on the Audit
Committee of Congoleum's board.

Mr. Marcus commented, "We consider ourselves very fortunate to have Adam Slutsky
and Jeff Coats joining the board at this time. They each bring a wealth of
talent and experience to complement that of the existing directors, and I look
forward to their contributions as we move the business ahead."

Congoleum Corporation is a leading manufacturer of resilient flooring, serving
both residential and commercial markets. Its sheet, tile and plank products are
available in a wide variety of designs and colors, and are used in remodeling,
manufactured housing, new construction and commercial applications. The
Congoleum brand name is recognized and trusted by consumers as representing a
company that has been supplying attractive and durable flooring products for
over a century. Congoleum is a 55% owned subsidiary of American Biltrite Inc.
(AMEX: ABL).

The above news release contains certain forward-looking statements, within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These statements can be identified by the
use of the words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend,
" "plan," "project" and other words of similar meaning. In particular, these
include statements relating to intentions, beliefs or current expectations
concerning, among other things, future performance, results of operations, the
outcome of contingencies such as bankruptcy and other legal proceedings, and
financial conditions. These statements do not relate strictly to historical or
current facts. These forward-looking statements are based on Congoleum's
expectations, as of the date of this release, of future events, and Congoleum
undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.

Although Congoleum believes that these expectations are based on reasonable
assumptions, within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations,
there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from
its expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements. Any or all of these statements may turn out to be
incorrect. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may
or may not occur in the future. Any forward-looking statements made in this
press release speak only as of the date of such statement. It is not possible to
predict or identify all factors that could potentially cause actual results to
differ materially from expected and historical results. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ from expectations include: (i) the future cost and
timing of estimated asbestos liabilities and payments, (ii) the availability of
insurance coverage and reimbursement from insurance companies that underwrote
the applicable insurance policies for asbestos-related claims, (iii) the costs
relating to the execution and implementation of any plan of reorganization
pursued by Congoleum, (iv) timely reaching agreement with other creditors, or
classes of creditors, that exist or may emerge, (v) satisfaction of the
conditions and obligations under Congoleum's outstanding debt instruments, (vi)
the response from time to time of Congoleum's and its controlling shareholder's,
American Biltrite Inc.'s, lenders, customers, suppliers and other constituencies
to the ongoing process arising from Congoleum's strategy to settle its asbestos
liability, (vii) Congoleum's ability to maintain debtor-in-possession financing
sufficient to provide it with funding that may be needed during the pendency of
its Chapter 11 case to obtain and exit financing sufficient to provide it with
funding that may be needed for its operations after emerging from the bankruptcy
process, in each case, on reasonable terms, (viii) timely obtaining sufficient
creditor and court approval of any reorganization plan pursued by Congoleum and
the Court overruling any objections that may be filed to the plan, (ix)
compliance with the United States Bankruptcy Code, including Section 524(g), (x)
costs of developments in, and the outcome of insurance coverage litigation
pending in New Jersey state court involving Congoleum and certain insurers, (xi)
the extent to which Congoleum is able to obtain reimbursement for costs of the
coverage litigation, (xii) developments in, and the outcome of, proposed federal
legislation that, if adopted, would establish a national trust to provide
compensation to victims of asbestos-related injuries that would be funded by
assessments against companies with asbestos-related liabilities such as
Congoleum, (xiii) increases in raw material prices, (xiv) increased competitive
activity from companies in the flooring industry, some of which have greater
resources and broader distribution channels than Congoleum, (xv) increases in
the costs of environmental compliance and remediation or the exhaustion of
insurance coverage for such expenses, (xvi) unfavorable developments in the
national economy or in the housing industry in general, including developments
arising from the war in Iraq, (xvii) shipment delays, depletion of inventory and
increased production costs resulting from unforeseen disruptions of operations
at any of Congoleum's facilities or distributors, (xviii) product warranty
costs, (xix) changes in distributors of Congoleum's products, (xx) Congoleum's
interests may not be the same as its controlling shareholder American Biltrite,
Inc., (xxi) possible future sales by ABI could adversely affect the market for
Congoleum's stock, and (xxii) the loss of any key executive would likely harm
Congoleum's business. In any event, if Congoleum is not successful in obtaining
sufficient creditor and court approval of its plan of reorganization, such
failure would have a material adverse effect upon its business, results of
operations and financial condition. Actual results could differ significantly as
a result of these and other factors discussed in Congoleum's annual report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and subsequent filings made by
Congoleum with the Securities and Exchange Commission.