The Best Kept Secret in the Flooring Business: Luxury Vinyl Tile
Everyone knows about ceramic tile, hardwood, sheet vinyl, linoleum, and carpet, even cork and bamboo. But it’s surprising how few of our clients have heard of a category of flooring called “luxury vinyl tile” (LVT).
It’s a relatively new category, although it’s been around for at least a decade. And people are hearing about it; it’s the fastest growing category in the flooring industry. But it’s still relatively unknown. We love it.
So, what is LVT? Most importantly, it’s a very resilient and attractive flooring. It resistant to scratches, including those cause by pets. It resists stains, fading, and water damage.
Oddly, it’s not truly a “luxury” product, even though that word is in the name; it’s usually moderately priced. It’s called luxury vinyl tile to distinguish it from “sheet vinyl.” Sheet vinyl comes in a roll and is installed by rolling it out in a continuous sheet across a flooring area.
LVT, by contrast, comes either as separate tiles or, for wood-look flooring, in planks. In fact, to be perfectly correct, luxury vinyl tile refers to vinyl tiles that look like or imitate ceramic tiles. Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) refers to hardwood-look vinyl that comes in planks. Here, we are using LVT to refer to both tiles and planks, for the sake of simplicity.
Basically, LVT is NOT sheet vinyl. However, “not sheet vinyl” is a terrible name from a marketing standpoint. Hence the name, “luxury vinyl tile.” That’s marketspeak for “not sheet vinyl.”
LVT comes in both a ceramic tile look and a hardwood look. For people who want a ceramic tile look, there are numerous LVT products that come in tiles and look like ceramic tile. Some LVT can even be grouted like ceramic tile
For people who want a hardwood look, there are numerous LVT products that come in “planks” and look like any number of wood species.
These products are quite realistic. At a trade show we exhibited at recently, we used a variety of LVT as the flooring for our booth, including both a wood-plank look and a vinyl-tile look.
People were amazed that the flooring was all vinyl. They bent over to look at it more closely or even stooped down to touch it.
One testimony to LVT’s durability and realism is it’s increasing use in restaurants. The Outback Steakhouse in our neighborhood has wood vinyl planks, as does the Mio’s restaurant. And that’s because LVT can stand up to a punishing amount of traffic.
We often install LVT in kitchens and bathrooms because it is warmer than ceramic, doesn’t crack like ceramic can, and is softer underfoot, so all-day cooking sessions are easier on the feet and knees.
LVT is also a great choice for a basement. Want a hardwood floor in your basement? Hardwood is not recommended because of moisture and humidity issues that can cause it to warp. LVT is water-resistant, and there are some beautiful hardwood-look LVT planks out there, even with a hand-scraped look.
Anyone who is thinking about a laminate floor should seriously consider using LVT instead. Laminate often has a cheap, hollow sound when it is walked on. And the pressed fiberboard core of laminate can swell when it gets wet, causing the flooring to warp. LVT, by contrast, sounds fine when walked on and is water-resistant.
What about cost? We can only speak in averages, since every flooring type comes at various price points. That said, generally speaking, the product cost of LVT is a bit more expensive than most laminates, and less expensive than most hardwoods. While the product cost of ceramic can run the gamut in price range, LVT is much less expensive to install. So the overall cost of LVT is typically a bit higher than laminate , but often lower than hardwood or ceramic.
We encourage you to ask your flooring store about LVT. You might be pleasantly surprised at how much you like this new flooring category.
Next week: Our favorite LVT tile product: Alterna.
If you’re in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area, see our Web site: Floor Coverings International, Cincinnati East. Or call our 24-hour appointment desk at 513-729-7499 for a free in-home consultation. And if you’re from outside Cincinnati, Floor Coverings International has more than 100 franchise locations across the U.S. and Canada, so check if there is one near you.