What is Luxury Vinyl Tile?

A lot of people are asking about LVT flooring and when we start to talk about the options, the next question is often, “Isn’t that just my mom’s old vinyl with a higher price tag?” The answer to that is, “Not at all.”

Resilient Flooring

To really understand what luxury vinyl flooring is you need to understand the classification of flooring known as resilient flooring. Most flooring companies categorize all the floor types that aren’t carpet or hardwood flooring as resilient flooring. That means that not only would LVT fall into that category but so would linoleum, and vinyl sheet tile, cork, and poured seamless floors (also called decorative concrete flooring or stamped concrete). When you are speaking with a flooring company you will want to specify what you are looking for in the resilient flooring category.

Luxury Vinyl Tile

One of the most popular flooring trends is luxury vinyl tile. The reason for its popularity is the wide variety of options and relatively low cost when compared to hardwood flooring, laminate, or tile. LVT flooring comes in many different iterations and what makes it “luxury” is the use of 3D printing technology that gives the texture, pattern, or dimension to the planks or tiles. Advances in photography allow for the intricate patterns that previously weren’t available. This is what makes the LVT plank flooring look like real hardwood or tile style actually look and feel to the touch like tile with the many bumps and ridges.

Some brands and styles of luxury vinyl sheet flooring have a cushion backing that gives it a softer feel when standing or walking on it. The wear layer is almost always greater which means it will look good longer than vinyl we may be accustom to.  Some luxury vinyl flooring is up to 12mm thick; compare that with old bargain vinyl that averaged about 2mm. You can see why some manufactures can offer warranties of 20 years!

If you’re looking to install LVT flooring in your home, Seer Flooring can assist you with any information regarding style, cost, and installation. Call us today for more information at 727-785-1930.