Vinyl Flooring 101: What Is Vinyl Flooring and Should You Get It?
You’ve worked for years to turn your house into a home.
You remember the joy of picking out your bedroom’s paint colour, choosing envy-inducing furniture, and even installing a beautiful chandelier to give your dining room a special focal point.
But even though you take great care of your home, things don’t look quite as fabulous as they did when you first moved in. You know that your home needs a bit of an upgrade, and you want to start by transforming your floors.
You’ve read a lot about the different options available to you and have one major question:
What is vinyl flooring, and why has it become so popular in the past few years?
Perhaps you’re getting ready to put your home on the market, and want to learn more about the most effective ways to increase its value.
Maybe you’ve recently added to your family and are looking for a floor that’s a bit more durable.
Whatever the reason you’re rethinking your floors, you’ve come to the right place for advice. Here, we’ll cover the benefits of vinyl flooring, how to maintain it, and much more.
What Is Vinyl Flooring?
Before we discuss the top benefits of vinyl flooring, let’s make sure you’re clear on its definition.
So, what is vinyl flooring in the first place?
Vinyl is a type of flooring that is made out of synthetic materials such as fibreglass, PVC vinyl, and a plasticizer. It’s especially durable because it’s made from multiple layers and has a thick core to keep you comfortable when you’re walking.
Vinyl flooring is especially celebrated for its resistance to moisture. Many homeowners conflate vinyl and laminate flooring, but the truth is that they’re quite different.
Though laminate flooring has long been a popular flooring option, the rise of luxury vinyl flooring completely transformed the way consumers evaluate vinyl vs. laminate floors.
Today’s vinyl flooring is thicker than in the past, meaning that it’s not just resistant to water — it’s usually entirely waterproof. Usually, vinyl flooring can be up to 5mm thick.
Unlike laminate flooring, vinyl floors also offer some serious versatility. You can use vinyl floors in your kitchen, mudroom, bathroom, living and dining room, and even in your bedroom.
Plus, today’s vinyl flooring looks nearly identical to wood, ceramic, tile, and stone — and comes in numerous textures and shades so you’ll never feel limited in your design choices.
Now that you know the most important basics of vinyl floor options, let’s talk about the different types of vinyl flooring.
The Main Types of Vinyl Flooring
When we speak about the types of vinyl flooring available today, we’re not actually referring to the look or texture of the flooring itself.
Instead, we’re referring to the way in which the vinyl flooring is installed in your home.
You’ll be able to choose between two main kinds: sheet vinyl flooring and panel flooring. If you’re looking for a floor that mimics the appearance of ceramic flooring or wooden slats, you’ll likely want to go for the panel option.
Panels are also an excellent option for busy/high-traffic rooms, or in rooms where you expect to deal with a lot of moisture.
If you’re looking for a vinyl floor with a simple installation process, then we suggest you opt for sheet vinyl.
No matter which option you choose, never place a new vinyl flooring over an old one, and ensure that the base later is as smooth as is possible. For this reason, most experts suggest that you place plywood underneath your vinyl floors.
You should always remove any carpeting, linoleum, and cork before putting down your new vinyl floor.
Additionally, always ensure that your base later is strong, dry, and doesn’t contain any cracks or protrusions for the best results.
Understanding the Benefits of Vinyl Flooring
Now that you know more about what vinyl flooring is, you have one more question:
How is vinyl flooring helpful?
There are countless benefits of choosing vinyl flooring over any other kind of material. In this section, let’s take a closer look at some of the top reasons why vinyl is the way to go.
By the end of it, we bet you’ll be especially convinced to give vinyl flooring a try.
It’s Affordable
Especially if new flooring is just one of many future home improvement projects you need to complete, we know you’re looking for options that will help you to keep your costs down.
Vinyl flooring is much more affordable than wood, stone, and ceramic options.
However, today’s luxury vinyl flooring is so well-made that many people say they can’t even tell the difference between the two.
We suggest that you look for floors with V-Groove bevelled edges for an even more natural look.
There’s simply no reason for you to pay more when vinyl is just as good as those pricier flooring materials.
It’s Easy to Install
Whether you’re a DIY expert or if your home improvement projects always seem to end in disaster, you should consider going with vinyl flooring because of just how easy it is to install.
Look for planks that lock and click together, shaving hours of frustration off of your flooring installation time.
Especially if you’re looking to keep your costs down, rely on luxury vinyl flooring for an installation process that even you can manage on your own.
Enjoy Countless Design Options
Though wood flooring is beautiful, you can quickly start to feel like you’re a bit limited in your design options.
That’s not the case with vinyl flooring.
In addition to vinyl planks that imitate the look of numerous stains of wood flooring, we also offer options to mimic the look of ceramic. Choose from whites, blacks, browns, and much more.
You shouldn’t have to choose how you want your home to look based on limited flooring options.
It’s Comfortable
We know that you want to feel comfortable in your home.
Especially in the wintertime, however, it can be a bit chilly to walk on your floors in your bare feet. Vinyl flooring won’t leave you feeling freezing.
Best of all, however, is the fact that many vinyl planks come with an extra padded underlayer. This allows you to be especially comfortable when you’re walking — something that can be tough with ceramic and wooden flooring.
If you have younger ones that are prone to a few slips and falls, this softness can make all the difference.
Plus, that comfort comes with some serious durability to match.
It’s Resistant to Stains
Do you have children, pets, or simply messy people in your home?
If so, we know that the last thing you want to do is spend all of your time cleaning your new floors.
With vinyl flooring, you won’t have to. It’s naturally resistant to stains. If you act quickly, all you’ll need to do is wipe them up.
And if you’re worried about scratches? Look for planks that have an extra layer of polyurethane, which helps to prevent scratches. Your floor should make it easy to protect your investment. ‘
It’s Eco-Friendly
Especially in today’s world, everyone is a bit more cautious about their impact on the environment.
Our vinyl planks are made with the future in mind, so they don’t contain phthalate and have passed rigorous antibacterial testing.
They also earned an A+ rating on the VOC test.
It’s Durable
Perhaps the best out of all the benefits of vinyl flooring is its overall durability.
Whether you use it in a commercial space or in your home, we’re able to offer you a competitive warranty on the vinyl flooring that you purchase from us.
We suggest that you use it in rooms that are prone to spills, such as your laundry room, bathroom, or kitchen.
Remember that, if you choose to go with the planking system, you can replace one plank if one gets damaged in some way. This means you don’t have to worry about replacing the floor or covering it up with a rug if you run into a problem.
Potential Disadvantages of Vinyl Flooring
Admittedly, there aren’t too many downsides to vinyl flooring.
However, if you aren’t willing to take the time to properly prepare your base layer before installing the vinyl flooring, you could run into some trouble.
That’s because if you have grains, protrusions, and uneven surfaces in the base layer, they’ll wear down the vinyl flooring. Though it will take quite a while to happen, you may start to see lumps and bumps appearing in your vinyl flooring without proper base layer prep.
When in doubt, always let a professional prepare the surface for you.
If possible, don’t expose your vinyl flooring to constant direct sunlight, as this may lead to discolouration. Invest in blinds and drapes to protect the flooring and to keep everyone in your home safer and more comfortable.
The good news is that investing in luxury, high-quality vinyl floors from the start means that you’re much less likely to deal with any kind of discolouration.
How to Maintain Your Vinyl Flooring
Now that you have a beautiful new vinyl floor in your home, we know you want to earn how to take proper care of it.
The good news is that vinyl flooring doesn’t require intense maintenance, and, thanks to its durability and resistance to water, isn’t likely to need serious repairs.
That being said, common-sense rules still apply.
Wipe up water spills as quickly as possible, and put felt pads on the bottoms of your furniture legs to prevent scratches. Because rubber and PVC aren’t especially compatible, avoid using rugs that have rubber linings or furniture that has rubber wheels.
Whenever you need to move your furniture, use a cloth to avoid damaging the floor.
You can easily maintain your floors using a mop and vacuum cleaner, but refrain from waxing your vinyl floors to avoid damaging them.
Interestingly, apple cider vinegar is a safe and effective cleaning agent for your vinyl floors, because the acidity within the vinegar can cut through dirt. Just make sure you use only gentle cleaning agents on your floor if you’re going to opt for something you can buy at the store.
This post has a few other excellent tips on the best way to keep your vinyl floors in tip-top shape.
Either way, we know you’ll love not having to do nearly as much maintenance and cleaning as you did in the past.
Ready to Experience the Benefits of Vinyl Flooring for Yourself?
Not only has this post helped you to answer the question, “What is vinyl flooring?” but it also taught you more about the numerous benefits of installing vinyl floors in your house.
Vinyl flooring can be quite luxurious while still being affordable, it works for any room in your home, and you have seemingly limitless style options. No matter your decor scheme, you won’t have any trouble finding flooring to match.
However, it doesn’t mean that vinyl flooring is right for everyone.
Maybe this post has made you realise that vinyl flooring isn’t the best choice for your current home.
Don’t worry.
We have plenty of other flooring options that are a perfect fit, including wood parquet, decking, laminate flooring, and much more.
Reach out to us today to learn more about any of our incredible products, and to get advice about how we can help you to transform the look of your home.
