What is Luxury Vinyl Flooring?
Luxury Vinyl is Available in a Realistic Wood Look
Luxury Vinyl is one of the hottest trends in flooring today, but many people don’t understand what it is. People often think Luxury Vinyl is simply a higher grade of sheet vinyl. That is not correct, as Luxury Vinyl flooring is defined as vinyl flooring material that does NOT come in sheets, but rather comes in individual pieces, either planks that look like wood, or tiles that look like ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone.
Luxury Vinyl products aren’t necessarily comprised of 100% vinyl, though they can be. Some brands of Luxury Vinyl products, such as Armstrong’s Alterna brand, are made of a vinyl and limestone composite, giving them a very realistic tile look and feel, as well as durability. Other brands, such as Karndean Luxury Vinyl, are comprised of 100% vinyl and come in a variety of very impressive visuals, including some hand-scraped wood-look planks.
Luxury Vinyl floors are manufactured in a variety of installation styles, including glue-down floors which require applying an adhesive to the subfloor or underlayment and then adhering the pieces of Luxury Vinyl to that subfloor or underlayment, or floating floors which can be click-locked together, glued together, or even loose laid. Some Luxury Vinyl products can actually be grouted, making them virtually indistinguishable from ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone tiles.
The durability of Luxury Vinyl floors can vary greatly, partly determined by the thickness of the product’s wear-layer. At Floor Coverings International – Cincinnati East, we carry Luxury Vinyl products that range from 6-mil wear layers to 30-mil wear layers. The thicker the wear layer, the more durable the product.
The benefits of Luxury Vinyl floors are many: they are warmer, softer, and quieter than hardwood floors or ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone tiles. Luxury Vinyl floors also lend themselves more easily to do-it-yourself projects, as they are relatively easy to cut and install. And finally, Luxury Vinyl floors are incredibly water-resistant and can therefore be a great choice for basements or bathrooms. But don’t limit yourself to just those areas of your home, as Luxury Vinyl floors can be beautiful in every room.
When you are ready to begin your next flooring project, give us a call at Floor Coverings International – Cincinnati East, where we help you every step of the way from design and product selection to installation.