The Lowdown on Luxury Vinyl Flooring

When there are so many flooring options on the market, it can be difficult to know what to choose for your building. It doesn’t matter if you’re a home or business owner—between the different materials, styles, and colors, selecting a new surface for your flooring project can be overwhelming.

Nowadays, one of the most common flooring surfaces is luxury vinyl, a replacement for traditional flooring types. This material can come in both luxury vinyl plank—which usually replicates the look of hardwood—and luxury vinyl tile, which replicates the look of tile.

But what is this surface, and why should you consider it? There’s a lot to learn about luxury vinyl flooring, so read on to get all the details!

What Is LuxuryVinyl Flooring?

Although vinyl flooring has been on the market for decades, luxury vinyl is a flooring surface that exploded in popularity in the 2000s. It’s a variation on traditional vinyl flooring but with improved quality in various ways.

Compared to standard vinyl, luxury vinyl is much thicker—up to 8mm thick. This makes luxury vinyl planks and tile feel much more solid and sturdy, exuding quality with every step you take.

Because it’s a more solid surface, luxury vinyl comes in planks rather than on a roll. Luxury vinyl planks are built in layers, similar to laminate flooring planks. They’re made by pressing the vinyl tightly together and then sealing it with a protective finish on the top and an underlayment backing underneath. These planks often snap together or can be glued together to cover the floor surface.

So much for how the material itself is different. What about the benefits of this surface? And what are some of the potential problems?

What Are the Benefitsof Luxury Vinyl Flooring?

There are many reasons to consider using luxury vinyl in your next flooring project, including the style, cost, quality, maintenance, and durability. Let us explain further:

Style

With luxury vinyl, you can choose from an incredibly versatile range of style options for your flooring project. Luxury vinyl is often made to replicate the look of hardwood, stone, and tile, giving you access to all the most popular styles without the cost and weight of these materials. Luxury vinyl does a much better job of portraying the look of these materials than laminate or conventional vinyl flooring because the quality of the material is much higher.

Even beyond mimicking the look of traditional materials, vinyl opens the door to all sorts of colors and patterns that you can take advantage of.

Cost

Among all the options for flooring, luxury vinyl is one of the most cost-effective on the market. Although it’s not as cheap as traditional vinyl or laminate flooring, it offers a midway price point between those materials and traditional hardwood, stone, or tile while mimicking the look and feel of the higher-end options.

You also get a variety of cost options when you choose luxury vinyl. Being able to choose between different companies and thicknesses of the planks can help you optimize your investment.

Quality

Although you may not save as much money with luxury vinyl as with conventional vinyl or laminate flooring, it’s important to note that with luxury vinyl, you’ll get a much higher-quality product. Not only is luxury vinyl thicker than these materials, but it also features a better upper coating and has a softness that can mask the hard concrete underneath.

Maintenance

Luxury vinyl flooring is a very easy-to-maintain flooring surface, especially when compared to its counterparts in hardwood and stone. Because of its protective wear coating, luxury vinyl requires no waxing or polishing. All you need to do to maintain your luxury vinyl floor is sweep and mop as you would with your regular cleaning routine.

Durability

Luxury vinyl flooring is an incredibly durable and versatile surface. It’s waterproof, meaning you can use it in areas prone to moisture, including bathrooms and kitchens. Furthermore, the wear layer on top can withstand use for up to ten years before it needs a reapplication to maintain the quality. This layer keeps a glossy shine on your floors while preventing scuffs and scratches.

What Are the Cons?

Although there are many benefits to luxury vinyl, it’s not a perfect option. There are some areas where it has setbacks, though we believe if you understand what these are ahead of time, you can prepare to mitigate them. Some potential cons with installing luxury vinyl include:

Installation

While this isn’t exclusive to luxury vinyl, it’s worth saying that the installation process can sometimes be challenging. The planks are rarely interlocked and, instead, will likely have to be glued to a subfloor. Luxury vinyl also requires some preparation before an installation. For instance, you need the subfloor to be level and even so the planks line up with each other when placed.

The best way around this difficulty is to have a professional take care of the installation instead of doing it yourself.

Long-Term Value

While stone, tile, and hardwood floors can increase the value of your home because of their quality and beauty, luxury vinyl won’t result in the same return on investment. Luxury vinyl is an excellent option if you’re looking for a cost-effective way of maintaining your floors over time, but if you’re looking for a surface that can increase home value before you sell, this may not be the choice to make. It does, however, remain a more cost-effective option for an installation compared to the higher value materials.

Slippery

This is especially important if you have young children or pets: luxury vinyl can be a slick surface compared to tile or carpet options because of its completely smooth and coated surface. If you’re looking to have a comfortable place for your children to play, it may be better to opt for a less slippery, cushier surface or consider other ways you might mitigate this factor.

Conclusion

Luxury vinyl flooring is becoming a much more popular option for its quality, versatility, durability, and affordability. While the surface isn’t perfect and may pose a hazard for young children, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, and it’s worth considering for nearly any room in your home or business.

If you’re interested in how your home could be improved with luxury vinyl flooring, reach out to us at CVM Enterprises Inc.. We have years of experience working with luxury vinyl and are ready to help answer all your questions about this popular flooring material.

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