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Business and Geographic Segments - Segment Operating Performance (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 414.1	$ 475.2	$ 528.6	$ 479.6	$ 388.7	$ 455.2	$ 510.2	$ 466.0	$ 1,897.5	$ 1,820.1	$ 1,879.4
Cost of sales									1,462.9	1,210.9	1,266.5
Gross margin	91.2	98.4	123.2	121.8	107.2	132.7	184.0	185.3	434.6	609.2	612.9
Operating income	$ 25.0	41.4	65.9	$ 60.4	$ 52.7	$ 69.2	130.0	$ 118.8	192.7	370.7	380.3
Securities earnings									11.2	38.5	29.5
Insurance recoveries			7.7						7.7	1.3	0.4
Gain on land sales									4.4	12.5
Gain on sale of business		$ 3.0							3.0	58.4
Other components of net periodic pension expense									(16.5)	(14.5)	(17.7)
Litigation settlement expense, net			$ (19.3)				$ (62.0)		(19.3)	(62.0)
Changes in market value of Valhi common stock held by subsidiaries									(0.2)	(12.2)
General expenses, net									(37.5)	(42.4)	(34.7)
Loss on prepayment of debt											(7.1)
Interest expense									(40.8)	(55.7)	(58.9)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes									104.7	236.2	291.8
Depreciation and amortization									56.8	58.4	59.0
Capital expenditures									59.9	61.4	71.3
Chemicals
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									1,731.2	1,661.9	1,729.0
Cost of sales									1,346.8	1,101.7	1,161.2
Gross margin									384.4	560.2	567.8
Operating income									160.1	342.9	358.5
Chemicals | Operating Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization									50.2	52.0	43.4
Capital expenditures									55.1	56.3	64.3
Component Products
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									124.2	118.2	112.0
Cost of sales									85.3	79.9	77.2
Gross margin									38.9	38.3	34.8
Operating income									17.8	17.8	15.2
Component Products | Operating Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization									3.7	3.5	3.7
Capital expenditures									3.2	3.1	2.8
Real Estate Management And Development
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									42.1	40.0	38.4
Cost of sales									30.8	29.3	28.1
Gross margin									11.3	10.7	10.3
Operating income									14.8	10.0	6.6
Real Estate Management And Development | Operating Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization									2.9	2.9	3.0
Capital expenditures									$ 1.6	1.9	3.3
Waste Management | Operating Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization											8.9
Capital expenditures										$ 0.1	$ 0.9

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