Vinyl flooring is quickly becoming one of the most popular flooring despite the wide array of flooring options available to choose from depending on your needs, preferences and budget. It is the choice for most homeowners looking to renovate their homes because it sits at the intersection of affordability, durability and aesthetics. Giving you the luxury of hardwood but at a more affordable price.
One reason for this is its ability to imitate the natural look and feel of organic wood.
Vinyl planks can imitate solid hardwood options like oak, maple and cherry. To make these realistic styles, the tiles come with grout and the vinyl planks are shaped to look just like hardwood strips.
Companies now have options in almost every width and colour stain for waterproof vinyl plank flooring as you can see here.
However, a lot of people are choosing Vinyl without getting the right information about it.
There is a lot of misinformation on the internet concerning Vinyl flooring, so we have taken it upon ourselves to write this informative piece.
Here are 4 misconceptions about Vinyl wood flooring:
- Vinyl is waterproof, hence it is indestructible
Contrary to what many people believe, Vinyl can be affected by moisture. Especially over concrete that is emitting moisture, as moisture and alkalinity can affect the plasticizers used in the manufacturing process of vinyl, creating changes in the material.
There can be presence of stress on the luxury vinyl that causes curling, cupping, lifted edges and dimensional instabilities, particularly if the material is not properly annealed, has recycled content or has no stabilizing material. These issues are very common and generate large numbers of claims.
- Luxury vinyl plank floors are cost-friendly when compared to Solid or Engineered Hardwood
As true as this might sound, it isn’t. In the short term, luxury vinyl plank floors seem more cost-friendly when compared to Solid or Engineered Hardwood.
However, Solid wood can last 5 times longer and offer a better resale value.
- Vinyl can be used for all Surroundings
According to popular belief, Vinyl can be used in all parts of your homes including Kitchens and bathroom. While this might be true, there is a caveat. Vinyl is not recommended for outdoor or places exposed to direct sunlight.
The look of Vinyl is basically a photographic image which makes it easier for the colours to fade with exposure to too much direct sunlight. The floors can also be damaged by extreme temperatures.
- Anyone can tell the difference between Real Hardwood and Vinyl Wood Planks
As technologies behind photography and manufacturing evolve and advance, it is becoming less easy to tell the difference between real Hardwood and Vinyl Wood Plank.
With nature-realistic imaging now possible through modern photographic and editing techniques which create wear layer texturization. This process makes sure that the Vinyl floor will feel like the natural hardwood that it’s imitating.
So, unless you are inspecting it up close in your hands or bending on your knees, luxury vinyl tile cannot be differentiated from real hardwood.
