Exploring Luxury Vinyl Flooring
Another fast-growing trend that is taking over the flooring industry and intensifying in popularity, is replacing old floors with the new and updated Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) or Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT).
Luxury vinyl flooring has come a long way since the days of regular laminate or vinyl. It’s durability and beautiful look have helped create the ever-growing hype over this amazing product.
Many new homes are being built with luxury vinyl already installed, and with its growing popularity, most renovators are leaning towards using LVP/LVT as a cost-efficient and durable alternative to real hardwoods.
What is Luxury Vinyl?
Luxury vinyl is an affordable realistic-looking flooring that is highly durable and water-proof (or highly water resistant). It’s easy to install and creates a warm and inviting atmosphere, for less than the cost of hardwood.
As the name implies, LVP looks like planks of real hardwood, while LVT look like a natural stone, or tile.
Luxury vinyl is constructed in layers and is much thicker than the typical glue-down variety of past. It’s usually around 8mm thick, with the top layer being vinyl, the middle a high-density core board and the last layer an attached back underlayment (e.g Cork) to provide cushioning.
Laying vinyl is much like laying laminate, in that it is clickable, separate pieces that are very easy to install and remove if needed.
Pros:
- Waterproof or highly water-resistant – a definite plus for kitchen and bathroom areas prone to flooding
- Amazingly realistic to real wood or tile/stone – most people cannot even tell the difference
- Feels comfortable on bare-feet – much like walking on real wood floors
- Can be installed on top of virtually any surface – no need to rip up existing flooring and move pre-installed cabinets, as long as it even and smooth
- Cost – generally less expensive than hardwood or tile
- Relatively easy to repair if damaged – pop the damaged plank out and replace with a new one
- Easy to clean with most all-purpose cleaners – no need for speciality/expensive cleaning solutions
Cons:
- Home value doesn’t increase as with hardwood floors – but it’s certainly preferable over replacing with laminate or cheap vinyl
- It can scratch – it is definitely more scratch-resistant than real hardwood floors, but can still scratch with heavier objects such as appliances
- May require a lot of floor prep if your floors are uneven – the shape of the floors will telegraph through, so some prep work will be needed if this is the case
P&R Property Consulting Group can assist from start to finish with improving your properties flooring. It can be preferable to have professionals install luxury vinyl over doing it yourself to ensure the work is done correctly, and quickly! Creating a new and unique space with updated flooring can really change the entire look of a home, and luxury vinyl is definitely a great choice!