Advantages & Disadvantages of Vinyl Plank Flooring

Professional Floor Installation in Houston

First Things First: What is Vinyl Plank Flooring?

You may already know this stuff already, but we want to make sure you have all the information you need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of vinyl plank flooring below.

So: what is vinyl plank flooring, exactly?

Vinyl plank flooring is a synthetic material made up of several different layers. It comes in planks—just like hardwood—but it’s made primarily of PVC (a type of plastic).

The most basic vinyl plank flooring comes in three layers. From the bottom, they are:

  • A core or base layer that provides foundation and underfoot feel. It can either be rigid or flexible, depending on the product.
  • A pattern or design layer that gives the vinyl plank its look and feel. This layer can mimic natural wood, tile, stone, or pretty much anything else.
  • A wear or surface layer to protect the vinyl plank from any kind of damage, including UV fading. This layer is transparent.

Many of the best vinyl flooring products have one or even two extra layers to help with anything from soundproofing to underfoot feel.

What’s the Difference Between Vinyl Sheet and Vinyl Plank?

When many people picture the disadvantages of vinyl plank flooring, they’re actually picturing the disadvantages of vinyl sheet flooring.

And that’s understandable. Often mistaken for linoleum—an older, similar product—vinyl sheet was the go-to kitchen and bathroom flooring for generations.

You can probably picture it now: your parents’ or grandparents’ decades-old, floral-printed vinyl sheet kitchen floor. It was freezing in winter, and weirdly sticky in summer. And if you happened to gouge it, well, good luck fixing it.

But that’s not the vinyl plank flooring we’re talking about here! Nope!

Luxury vinyl plank flooring could not be more different. Rather than being sold in a roll, it’s sold in planks like real wood. It’s thick, with texture and bounce just like real wood. In fact, it’s much more similar to the best engineered wood flooring than it is to vinyl sheet flooring.

Can you still find vinyl sheet flooring? Absolutely! And it’s fantastic for more utilitarian roles, like basement flooring and bathroom flooring. Just remember: vinyl plank flooring is an entirely different type of floor than vinyl sheet is. And that means the disadvantages of vinyl plank flooring have nothing to do with the disadvantages of vinyl sheet!

What’s the Difference Between LVP and LVT?

A quick search for “vinyl flooring” will almost always reveal a confusing list of initials like LVP and LVT.

The truth is, you need to understand the difference—because some disadvantages of vinyl plank flooring will apply to one of these products, but not the other.

So, what’s the difference between Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) and Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP)?

It’s simple: appearance.

Luxury Vinyl Plank (aka vinyl plank) looks like a wood plank! And Luxury Vinyl Tile looks like (you guessed it) a tile!

Other than that, there usually aren’t really any significant differences. These days, “vinyl plank” and “LVT” are the most common generic terms to describe all types of luxury vinyl, including plank-look and tile-look products. It’s kind of like how we describe all modern athletic shoes as “tennis shoes”! Think of LVT and vinyl plank as the “tennis shoes” of the vinyl flooring world.

Source: flooringstores

06 Professional Floor Installation in Houston

About Fantastic Floors, Inc. We are a successful company with more than 25 years of experience in the market. We have the infrastructure, high quality equipment, materials and supplies to achieve and exceed the expectations of our customers, allowing us to gain the confidence and loyalty for our services. We have more than 500 residential, 300 properties and 25 commercial customers totally satisfied with our services.

Professional Floor Installation in Houston

Fantastic Floors, Best Carpet Installers in Houston, Best Floor Installers in Houston, A/C Duct Cleaning in Houston, Best Carpet Cleaning in Houston, Best Carpet Installation in Houston, Best Carpet Shampoo in Houston, Best Floor Installation in Houston, Carpet Cleaning Companies in Houston, Carpet Cleaning in Houston, Carpet Installation in Houston, Carpet Sale in Houston, Ceramic Tile Sale in Houston, Commercial Carpet in Houston, Commercial Flooring in Houston, Emergency Water Damage in Houston, Floor Installation in Houston, Flooring in Houston, Flooring Companies in Houston, Hardwood Floor Installation in Houston, Professional Carpet Installation in Houston, Professional Floor Installation in Houston

Add comment

Free Estimate

Remember we offer very good quality services.