Vinyl Flooring Buying Guide

Vinyl Flooring Is Easy-to-Install

Vinyl Flooring

Easy, do-it-yourself installation can save you the expense of hiring a professional installer and further reduce your initial costs. Vinyl flooring can be installed as either sheet or tile:

• Sheet comes in 6' or 12' widths cut to measurements or in prepared rolls. The adhesive types and methods will vary by floor style.
• Tiles are manufactured to exact dimensions (12" or 18" squares) and thickness to give the finished floor a seamless, uniform appearance. Self-adhesive tiles are the easiest to install. Different patterns can be mixed for variety. Precision cut tiles also make replacing damaged tiles easy.

Vinyl Flooring Is Versatile

Vinyl offers a variety of colors and patterns to match your decorating style. With proper surface preparation, it can be installed over any standard underlayment, concrete, old ceramic tile, wood or non-cushioned vinyl flooring. Stability and water resistance make vinyl a good choice for any room at, above or below grade level.

Vinyl Flooring Is Low-Maintenance

No-wax surfaces and easy cleanup are also advantages of vinyl flooring. Regular sweeping and occasional damp mopping are all you need to keep your floor looking bright and new. Spills are no problem, simply wipe them away with a damp cloth.

Vinyl Flooring Is Durable

Aside from obvious color and pattern variations, the biggest difference between vinyl tiles is the surface coating, or wearlayer. Tiles are covered with one of three surface coatings to resist dirt, stains and scuff marks:

• Vinyl No-Wax is good for areas with light traffic and minimal exposure to dirt.
• Urethane is good for areas with normal to heavy traffic. Urethane also resists scuff marks, scratches from sliding chairs and cleans up easily.
• Enhanced Urethane is considered the highest quality surface coating. Enhanced urethane holds up to the heaviest traffic, offers the greatest stain and scratch resistance and maintains its original luster longer than other coatings.

Types of Vinyl Flooring

There are two types of vinyl flooring: inlaid and printed.

• Inlaid vinyl imbeds color granules into the vinyl sheet for a richer finish. Colors are an integral part of the floor.
• Printed vinyl is produced much like a magazine page. Colored inks are printed onto the flooring sheets.

Protective Backing for Vinyl Flooring

The backing is the final element of a vinyl floor, providing additional moisture and mildew resistance. Backing also provides the resilience that vinyl is noted for and determines the type of adhesive required for installation. In general, a thicker floor is a better floor.