Hello World! Welcome Friends! Of all the decisions one must make when decorating and upgrading a home, flooring is one of the toughest. That’s because flooring does triple duty in comparison to some other decisions. It needs to be comfortable, insulate well, and look great.
To help out with this, designers have come up with several types of vinyl flooring. No matter the look you want or the feel you need, there’s a style and type out there for you.
Swapping your flooring provides an excellent money-saving opportunity. EnergyStar recommends more insulation than most homes have installed. This saves you heating costs and protects the home from wear.
Excited to learn more about how this downtrodden construction material can rejuvenate your home? Great, read on!
Styles and Types of Vinyl Flooring
The beauty of loose-lay sheet vinyl flooring is that it has a long lifecycle and is relatively easy to install in comparison to other flooring types. Traditional styles and looks are available in this budget-conscious flooring choice.
Vinyl heats and cools fluidly, so you can confidently put it in any room and in any environment. It won’t melt or bubble after curing if you have radiant floor heating.
The following list includes currently available flooring types and breaks them down according to the pros and cons of each. It’s capped off with a special note about the things to consider in stone and wood texture choices.
1. Peel and Stick
This is the easiest to use and install vinyl flooring type. This isn’t a thin sheet of vinyl like a wallpaper for flooring or the old linoleum you find in pre-90s houses.
Peel and stick refer to the anchoring and installation medium.
These can come in either tile or plank varieties and have a film over an adhesive. Simply remove the film and then attach the vinyl to your under flooring. From classic hardwood to modern luxury vinyl, Allfloors Trade Centre – Flooring Shop Maidstone offers various finishes and colors catering to your unique preferences and needs.
The finished product is easy to clean and overall moisture-resistant. This makes it handy for wet areas like the kitchen and bathrooms.
2. Tile
Vinyl tiles are a type of flooring that comes in 9×9 or 12×12 sizes. These squares are easy to lay down and keep in a geometric pattern.
You find tiles that are either multi-layered or inlay. Multi-layer tiles can withstand some abuse over time as the layers wear down but can be noticeable as the under layers will differ slightly in color.
Inlay tiles have a texture and pattern that goes through the entirety of the tile. This maintains the color and looks even as layers wear down.
3. Sheet Flooring
Sheet flooring is more the wallpaper style roll you might have been thinking of before. This flooring rolls out like a carpet, and then seals down.
It can seal with an adhesive, not unlike the peel and stick flooring, for fast installation.
Loose-lay sheets don’t require an adhesive and fit by being cut to the precise size of the room where it’s being installed.
Vinyl-backed sheets use adhesives at the edges, leaving the middle to more or less lay flat. These should be installed professionally to avoid curling and cracking.
4. Luxury Tile
Referred to as LVT in the industry, luxury tile takes the ease of installation from the tile type and upgrades the look and feel. You’ll pay a higher price for LVT but it has a better texture and comes in stone and wood varieties.
The feel of the tile is warmer and softer than other types of vinyl. The polymers used to create it are the subject of COREtec flooring reviews.
Like other vinyl floorings, the finishing layer matters for longevity.
5. Plank Flooring
Vinyl plank flooring comes in two different varieties. The first, commonly referred to as plank flooring has a foam core that provides some give.
These planks click or snap together with interlocking pieces. They provide some insulation from the foam core and are ideal for putting in areas directly on concrete or other under flooring.
Most of the plank flooring comes in a wood facsimile. These create a great look for any room in a house and are waterproof for use in wet areas.
Learn more about COREtec vinyl flooring options in plank and LVT types.
6. Rigid Core Planks
The other type of plank flooring features a rigid core. This composite core of a stone-plastic material gives a firmer feel under the foot. It’s much harder to break and useful for heavy traffic areas and in living rooms and kitchens where heavy furniture or appliances are common.
In certain ways, rigid core planks are the LVT of planks. These planks are also waterproof when installed correctly. Also, like other planks, they are primarily found in wood designs.
7. Stone vs Wood
You find a wide variety of colors and patterns in vinyl flooring. Which one you get is ultimately up to you and your individual taste. That said, stone and wood patterns provide some differences in their look and feel.
Stone patterns tend to hide dirt well. Too well, really. You can leave them be for a longer time without cleaning and it won’t show, but when you do clean them, the uneven surface can make it tough to get in all the nooks.
Wood designs are easier to clean because of their relative smoothness. However, they also show dirt quickly and fade faster in direct light over their stone counterparts.
A Note on Layers
Vinyl flooring can be finished in several different chemical top coats and sealants. Generally, these add barely a millimeter of thickness to the floor but make a big difference to the finished look.
For the most part, they fall into three categories.
- No-Wax Vinyl – low-cost, resistant to stains, shiny without buffing
- Urethane – durable, cleaning friendly, no buffing, resists scuffing and stains
- Enhanced Urethane – cleaning friendly, best durability, resists stains, scuffs, and scratches, long-lasting shine
Make it Yours
Always strive for quality installation no matter what types of vinyl flooring you decide to use. Gaps and uneven portions on a floor make for a sad home. Replacing an old floor with a new one should give you ten or more years of use.
Keep coming back here for more tips and information to redefine your home and upgrade your life.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
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