What is Luxury Vinyl Flooring?

Luxury vinyl flooring is made from PVC, which stands for Polyvinyl Chloride. PVC is a common synthetic plastic polymer. It can be mixed in various ways to change the durability of the material, making it stronger or more flexible. Different compounds are heated and pressed to form the board.

It is then made into a series of layers. The first is the wear layer which sits at the very top. It is a coating that protects against stains, fading, and scratching. Under this is an ultra-high resolution digital image that is printed to the board, often mimicking the visual effect of wood or stone. The stability layer, or vinyl core, as mentioned above, makes up the bulk of the board, this is what provides its stability. It can be either durable or flexible depending on the compound and thickness, and is always completely waterproof. The backing layer allows the product to firmly attach to the subfloor, this layer is also waterproof and prevents the formation of any mold.

The patterns on the board and the high resolution image replicate authentic wood grains brilliantly

What is Luxury Vinyl Flooring used for?

Luxury Vinyl Flooring (also known as LVT) is popular in homes and commercial properties for many reasons. Firstly, it is fully waterproof, this already puts it near the top of the list for flooring that can go into bathrooms or kitchens. Another reason why luxury vinyl flooring is so great in bathrooms is that it's slip resistant, reducing any hazards while the floor is wet. However, it doesn’t just have to be installed in such rooms where there will be an increased chance of spillage.

Vinyl flooring can be installed anywhere in the home, and it is suitable for offices or commercial properties as it will stand up to high foot fall due to its strength and durability.

Not only can it be installed in any room, but installation is a simple process, not requiring extensive technical knowledge of flooring installation. With modern click systems (which many luxury vinyl floors are now manufactured with), anyone can fit a vinyl floor with limited knowledge and tools! Perfect for a DIY enthusiast. A DIY’er can also fit with the traditional glue down method, but this method is a little more technical and is often best left to a professional, unless you really know what you are doing.

LVT flooring will feel softer underfoot than other traditional waterproof flooring solutions, however this will depend on the type of vinyl floor you have, and the subfloor it is fitter over. Regular luxury vinyl planks will be fine over any subfloor (concrete or wood), but a thin luxury vinyl floor over a concrete subfloor will feel hard underfoot, and possibly uneven if the installation is wrong.

On top of all of its other qualities, luxury vinyl flooring does have an aesthetic appeal that draws many buyers to it. With ultra-high resolution digital images, the effects of wood, stone, and tiles can be printed to the board and give it an almost indistinguishable look from a natural product. They also come in a variety of colours, for example, the wood colours can go from natural light oaks, to darker woods, and even grey and white ones. To someone who wasn’t looking for the minor differences, the product would look identical to a natural wood or stone floor. 

Luxury vinyl flooring doesn’t require as much maintenance as traditional wood flooring, or a carpet. Care should be taken when moving heavy furniture so as to not dent the floor, but aside from that, regular mopping and less frequent cleaning with a damp cloth should keep the floor in tip top shape for years to come.

When winter comes and everything gets cold, luxury vinyl flooring will accommodate you well as it can be fitted with underfloor heating, with no risk of it moving or warping.

The one problem with luxury vinyl flooring is fading. UV light will fade the colour of the floor, so if the floor is being placed in an area that is frequently exposed to sunlight, then the frequent moving of furniture, the use of rugs, or keeping the curtains closed more often than not will help keep the colour longer.

Advantages of Luxury Vinyl Flooring

• 100% waterproof

• Warm underfoot + suitable with underfloor heating

• Low maintenance

• Broad range of colours and visual patterns (wood, stone, etc)

• Versatile - can be installed in any room in the home

Alternatives to LVT: SPC Flooring

There are variants of luxury vinyl flooring. One such is SPC flooring, or rigid core vinyl flooring would be another name for it. This is a good alternative to traditional luxury vinyl flooring. It has much of the same qualities, in that it is 100% waterproof, has high resolution images printed to make the boards look like real wood or stone, the main difference is the composition of the core. Whereas traditional luxury vinyl floors have a PVC core, SPC floors have a core made of stone-plastic composite (SPC). Since stone is added to the plastic compounds in the core, this makes SPC floors more durable than normal LVT floors.

Because of the stone core, made with limestone powder, SPC flooring will be a bit more versatile in terms of the subfloor it can be laid over. Because some SPC flooring will come with built in underlay, such as the Timba Floor Aquacore range, it can be fitted over an imperfect subfloor and you won’t be able to tell due to the strength of the boards holding themselves in position. 

Because of the stronger core, SPC will be more resistant to dents, so the moving of furniture will be less likely to damage it. For this reason a rigid core vinyl floor would arguably be more suitable for commercial environments than a normal luxury vinyl floor, being able to stand up to the high foot fall and the constant shifting of furniture even better. 

If you want to find out more about SPC floors, click here.