Luxury vinyl flooring is making waves in the industry; it is growing rapidly both in popularity and innovation. Vinyl flooring has come along in recent years. The checkered past of glue on cheap-looking vinyl flooring is a distant memory. Luxury vinyl flooring is not only more cost-effective than its alternatives but also looks and feels like the real thing (hardwood).
Luxury vinyl flooring (LVF) offers homeowners a durable, water-resistant, and low-maintenance option suitable for high-traffic and moisture-prone areas like kitchens and bathrooms. It provides diverse aesthetic choices, effectively mimicking natural materials such as wood and stone at a more accessible price point than genuine alternatives. However, potential drawbacks of LVF include its higher cost compared to traditional vinyl, susceptibility to dents from heavy objects, and environmental considerations regarding its manufacturing and disposal. My Next House Project details these factors to assist homeowners in making informed flooring decisions.
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It is durable, beautiful, modern, and affordable. It seems almost too good to be true, right? Well, you can be the judge of that once you are finished reading this article. We will give you a comprehensive look at the pros and cons of going for Luxury vinyl flooring, but before we get into it, let’s take a quick look at the types of luxury vinyl flooring that are available in the market:
LVT – Luxury vinyl tile is the most commonly used type, mainly because of the wide variety of designs that it comes in. LVT consists of 5 layers: the top layer is the polyurethane coating, the second layer is the protective coating, the third layer is the print film, the fourth layer is the vinyl core, and the last layer is the tile backing.
LVP – Luxury Vinyl Plank is a type of vinyl flooring that consists of planks that imitate hardwood. It is also very popular among homeowners.
EVP – Engineered Vinyl Plank is the creme de la creme of vinyl flooring. It has the best quality when compared to other types and imitates hardwood the best as well. It is also waterproof.
Now that we know about the different types of luxury vinyl flooring let’s get into the pros and cons:
Luxury vinyl flooring — Pros
Luxury vinyl flooring is versatile, affordable, and easy to maintain. Let’s take an in-depth look at what has made them the fastest-growing flooring type in the world.
Cost-Effectiveness
The biggest selling point of luxury vinyl flooring is its value-for-money aspect. They allow you to achieve an almost identical hardwood appearance at a huge bargain of a price. Hardwood flooring is an excellent choice for any house by all means. It comes in a variety of qualities, styles, and colors. It is also incredibly expensive, costing anywhere between $10-$30 per square foot.
When you compare this to luxury vinyl flooring, which only costs $3-$6 per square foot, and the end product you get, it is the best value for you. When we talk about the end product, luxury vinyl flooring helps you get the exact same look as hardwood floors. This is because there is an image of the wood printed between the layers of the tile. You can go for any type and color of wood that you desire, and it will look just like the real thing.
Water-resistant
Vinyl flooring is water-resistant, while luxury vinyl flooring is waterproof. There are clear benefits associated with them being waterproof. It makes them a great choice for areas that are most prone to water spills and moisture in your house. You can install them in your kitchen, mudrooms, laundry rooms, and bathrooms. Other more expensive flooring types will get ruined over time because of water damage; with luxury vinyl flooring, you don’t have to worry about this problem.
Easy to maintain
Stone and natural wood floorings are hard to maintain. You have to take special care of them and treat them differently; otherwise, all that money you spent on these premium materials will go to waste. Luxury vinyl flooring is one of the lowest maintenance choices on the market. It has a protective layer called the wear layer, which is designed for the purpose of removing the need for polishing or waxing.
All you have to do to make the tiles look brand new is clean them with regular floor cleaners. You can get up to 10 years out of a good quality luxury vinyl floor, and the best part is that if due to any reason, a tile or plank gets damaged, you can replace it with a new one without going through any additional hassle.
Choice of design
Luxury vinyl flooring offers the most choice for the design than any other form of flooring currently available. You can choose to go for any structure, color, and style that your heart desires. You can select the design to reflect any stone or wood. There is also the possibility even to imitate the texture of wood or natural stone.
Comfort
LVF is significantly more comfortable than other cheaper alternatives on the market. They come with the additional advantage of both sound and temperature insulation. You will never need to worry about the loud footsteps or the dreaded cold winter floors ever again.
Ease of installation
Luxury vinyl flooring is easier to install than most other types of flooring. There is a unique method of installing LVF called “floating”; this essentially means that the tiles or planks will not be attached to the floor but would instead rest on top of it. This means less work for the layperson and no need to hire any installation experts. Plus, it makes it easy for you to replace them. They can be installed on most types of surfaces. By going for LVP, you will save both time and money.
Luxury vinyl flooring — Cons
Nothing is perfect. Some cons are associated with luxury vinyl flooring as well.
It is not scratch-proof.
Vinyl flooring can get scratched if heavy objects are placed on it. However, it is still more scratch-proof than hardware. If you have extra tiles, you can easily replace the scratched pieces with the extra ones.
The quality of Vinyl can be inconsistent
One downside with this flooring type is inconsistency in the quality of the tile. Even the luxury vinyl flooring can be of varied quality. Even the big names are unable to keep the quality stable. When choosing the vinyl tiles, keep a lookout for the thickness and construction of the tile. It will help you verify the quality of the luxury vinyl flooring.
The thickness can range from two millimeters to eight and above. The thinner the Vinyl, the more the chances of indentation, and it is getting damaged. The thicker vinyl planks have better stability as well as cushioning.
Luxury Vinyl flooring requires a flawless substrate
Another disadvantage comes when you opt for Luxury Vinyl flooring because it can allow its layers to show through. As a result, any imperfection to the substrate will eventually be visible if they are not fixed timely. Also, this type of flooring has the tendency to fade when it is continuously exposed to sunlight. Hence, it is best not to use luxury vinyl flooring in your sunroom or deck area.
Higher safety and health risk
When talking about safety risk, it is no brainer that any hard surface flooring is more likely to cause injury as compared to carpet flooring. Slipping and falling is one of the leading cause of accidents in the workplace as well as houses with kids. Thanks to the waterproof PVC used in luxury vinyl flooring to make it more durable, it is capable of absorbing moisture. During humid weather, the vinyl surface tends to get slippery, increasing the stumbling and falling risk. Moreover, falling on the hard floor even increases the risk of getting injured.
However, when compared to other hard floor options, Luxury vinyl flooring is more resistant to slippage and is, therefore, the best option among the hard surface flooring.
There are a lot of options when it comes to flooring that you can choose to go for in the market. However, considering all the pros and cons that are associated with luxury vinyl flooring, they seem to be the best out of the bunch. They are affordable, allow you to get the look and feel of high-end materials, and give you the option to go for any style that you want.
Like everything, it has some shortcomings too. It can scratch under certain conditions, and it can have some inconsistencies when it comes to quality. Now that we have discussed both the advantages and disadvantages of vinyl flooring at length. We hope that it helps you make up your mind and decide whether you want to go for luxury vinyl flooring or not. Best of luck!
