What Is Vinyl Flooring?
Vinyl flooring is a modern type of flooring that is a synthetic material made of different sub-layers. These are commonly known as fake wood as their appearance looks like hardwood, but they are made of PVC material.
Vinyl flooring is commonly used in commercial and institutional areas. In this type of flooring, vinyl is used as the main component instead of rubber, linoleum, plastics, etc.
Some significant reasons to consider vinyl flooring are its high durability, versatility, water-resistant, stain-resistant, and cost-effectiveness, discussed in detail below.
Types Of Vinyl Flooring
There are two types of vinyl floorings
- Vinyl Sheet Flooring
- Vinyl Tile Flooring
- Vinyl Plank Flooring
1. Vinyl Sheet Flooring
Vinyl sheet flooring consists of multiple layers with a printed top layer. These are usually continuous, large flexible sheets. These are most recommended for areas where moisture content is moderate such as kitchen, laundry, etc.
Modern vinyl floor sheets are more durable, affordable, and have various color options. These sheets come in 6 to 12 different widths in pre-made rolls and cuts of required measurement.
2. Vinyl Tile Flooring
Vinyl tile flooring is multi-layered resilient and waterproof flooring. These are available as either flexible or rigid tiles or in the form of planks. These are thicker, which can bear extremely high traffic. Also, they are scratch-resistant.
Vinyl tile flooring comes in 12 to 18 inches squares. Some tiles that come with self-adhesive are easy to install compared to other types.
3. Vinyl Plank Flooring
Vinyl planks are designed to make your floors look like hardwood floors without cost. Vinyl planks are much more stain-resistant and easier to maintain than traditional hardwood planks.
Even though vinyl plank is engineered as an economical alternative to natural hardwood, varieties are made to cover almost all wood grains, textures, and colors.
Natural wood flooring is not water-resistant, whereas vinyl planks are waterproof and can be sealed to prevent moisture from seeping through the floor completely. Vinyl planks are great for basements, kitchens, bathrooms, and high-traffic areas.
Advantages Of Vinyl Flooring
1. Durable
The vinyl flooring has high durability, and it consists of a commercial or high-grade wear layer that can bear extreme high traffic. The layer is much more comfortable and produces fewer noises.
2. Less Maintenance Cost
Maintenance of vinyl flooring is comparatively easy to other types of flooring; The floor must be swept and mopped to keep it as good as new. It doesn’t require any special or expensive tools or products.
3. Cost efficiency
Vinyl floors’ high durability does not make them expensive. As we know, the material vinyl floors are made from cheap materials compared to hardwood, concrete, or stone tiles. Therefore, it is best to substitute for conventional flooring and tiling methods.
4. Easy To Remove and Replace
One of the best advantages of vinyl flooring is that it can be easily removed and replaced whenever needed. Before replacing a particular portion of flooring, one must ensure the installation must be done in the right way so later maintenance or repair work can be done quickly.
5. Different Colour Options
Vinyl flooring gives various options in colors and patterns, so one can choose based on the design they require. The color’s shade comes in different spectrums and is available at stores.
6. Easy Installation
The installation process of vinyl flooring takes significantly less time consuming and is easy to install; these are best suited for DIY projects as the need for professionals nor much required.
Vinyl flooring can be done on an existing vinyl floor or linoleum making the floor even more resistant to extremely high traffic. There is no need to remove or demolish the existing floors; we can easily install the new vinyl floor.
7. Water-Resistant
Vinyl floors can be considered for moisture areas like the kitchen, as they are water-resistant and easy to clean. Due to their water-resistance properties, they don’t require much attention compared to other flooring types.
8. Appearance
Luxury vinyl tiles give a great visual appearance and make it hard to distinguish from the natural material. Luxury vinyl tiles are a bit more expensive when compared to regular vinyl flooring.
Disadvantages Of Vinyl Flooring
1. Not Suitable For Outdoors
Vinyl flooring is not suitable for outdoors as there is a chance of color fade, and floors may get damaged due to direct sunlight or high temperature, respectively. So, it is recommended to use this flooring indoors.
2. Subfloor or Existing floor
The subfloor must be handled very carefully. Any types of particles or any bumps must not be present while installing the floor; failing to do so may result in lumps and can ruin the flooring. The subfloors must be leveled before installing if they are not even.
3. Emission
Vinyl floors are not completely volatile organic compounds free. They have some impact on the environment and ozone. All these effects mainly depend on what type of adhesive is being used.
Water-based adhesives can be used to avoid these harmful impacts on the environment and the ozone layer.
4. Not Recommended For Damp Areas
As mentioned above, vinyl flooring can be used in the kitchen only because it is a water-resistant property. Still, it is not recommended for bathrooms where more water staging may result in vinyl peel-off because it can resist the water to a certain limit but can’t completely act as a waterproof flooring.
5. Breakage
There is a chance of surface damage when gauged with a sharp object. So, any movement of furniture may lead to this problem.
Also Read
Difference Between Tile Flooring & Marble Flooring
Hardwood Flooring – Pros and Cons
Different Types Of Flooring Used In Buildings
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Excellent information