Carpet One-Luxury Vinyl Tiles, by Tom Britt, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).
Doubts On LVF’s Higher Quality
Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVF) has merits in aesthetic variations, enhanced composition, rigid core, flexible installation and other features. These features generally account for its higher costs compared to standard vinyl flooring. Despite its higher costs, housing and commercial estate owners prefer to invest in LVF as its features bring long-term benefits with higher resale value. However, these features may not always equate to overall higher quality, as they have corresponding drawbacks. Here are key factors that cause the superior features of LVF to have a contrary effect and bring disadvantages.
Moisture and Heat Exposure
Generally, with its synthetic materials composition, vinyl repels water and resists heat. However, constant contact with water and without wiping off may lead to moisture seeping into the subfloor. Underfloor heating systems, direct sunlight contact or frequent temperature without protection will gradually cause wear on the surfaces. Even though LVF can withstand moisture and heat longer, prolonged exposure to harsh elements would cause damage.
Standard vinyl is typically in thin tiles or sheets, which are less impact resilient, and its glue-down installation can be difficult. Conversely, a sturdy glue-down leads to fewer seams between planks or tiles and closes the void between them and the subfloor. Luxury vinyl has a predominantly inter-clicking and locking mechanism that facilitates flexible installation. It also allows ideal room for effective expansion and contraction with humidity changes. This feature entails better protection against warping or buckling in areas with constant temperature fluctuation. Contrarily, the click-locking mechanism creates grooves and ridges between floor pieces and hollow space underneath them, causing the floor to float. Along with the seams between each floor piece, the hollow subfloor may accumulate moisture and lead to mould growth in high humidity environments.
Moisture Damage to Floor, by Mr.TinMD, licensed under Creative Commons NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Foot Traffic Impact
Another factor to consider is the level of foot traffic. High-activity and fast-paced workplaces such as mailrooms, newsrooms, healthcare areas and retail shopfronts have intensive foot traffic from occupants and visitors. Along with high human flows, moving equipment and carts with frequent usage cause a significant impact on the walking surface. Hence, a glue-down vinyl flooring is ideal for high-traffic environments as it provides extra support in keeping the flooring in place. Installing floating planks is practical in less traffic-intensive residential and commercial settings. LVF has a strengthened composition and higher durability to provide a better strength to withstand direct and heavy impact. Contrarily, its floating nature makes it vulnerable to high-activity and fast-paced environments. In addition, though floating floors have a hollow cushion on the feet, it can amplify footsteps and cause undesirable noises. Before confirming which food type is ideal, seek your flooring contractor to advise traffic and load limits and perform stress tests.
Maintenance and Replacement Feasibility
As discussed in the previous factor, high-traffic environments increase maintenance frequency and replacement likelihood of floor pieces. The floor is probably the largest surface area to clean and maintain for any setting. The constant impact from human traffic and equipment flows accumulates dirt and may cause scratches or dents. One advantage of deploying the glue-down method is the relative ease of replacing individual planks or tiles one at a time. Isolating damaged spots to prevent hazards to occupants and visitors and replacing affected pieces is uncomplicated. However, it can be messy and time-consuming due to its strong adhesive.
Click-locking LVF planks and tiles are systematic to install and straightforward to maintain and replace without gluing. However, its systematic click-locking causes the interdependence between each piece. Some LVFs may need to remove several pieces systematically before reaching the affected ones to replace. While being conscientious in installing and caring to sustain the shelf life, wear or tear is inevitable. Therefore, check with manufacturers or contractors on the installation and replacement processes.
Crystal Flooring, by Crystalflooringsydney, licensed under Creative Commons ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
To tackle the drawbacks of vinyl, NBL Express produces Premium Resilient Floorings (PRFs) with Uniclic plank locking, Irradiated Cross-Linked PolyEthylene (IXPE) subfloor underlayment and other enhanced resilient properties. We welcome you to explore our blog page for informative product applications. Feel free to reach us for more information.