Modern Vinyl Flooring

The vinyl flooring that is manufactured today is a durable, stylish and economical choice for any room in your home. New technology has helped it evolve into a modern floor covering option that makes sense. Many of our suppliers actually call it "Resilient Vinyl" because of its fantastic ability to withstand high traffic areas, busy households, and wet spills. It has an incredible number of design options, from look-alike tile, to wood, to completely unique and eclectic choices. With a huge in stock selection of different patterns and styles at your local End Of The Roll Flooring Centre, it's worth taking a look at vinyl for your home.

This article covers the following topics:

• Finishes
• Durability
• Extreme Moisture Resistance
• Types of Vinyl
• Vinyl Maintenance and Care Tips
• Technology
• Budget-Friendly

Vinyl Finishes

The newest trend in today's vinyl flooring is the reproduction of natural looking ceramic, slate, and stone designs, offering the texture, richness and the feel of real ceramic or stone tiles, but with a much easier-to-maintain finish. There are three main types of finishes, including "no wax" (which is the most inexpensive), urethane, and enhanced urethane. All three provide stain resistance and easy cleaning with vinyl floor cleaners, however the urethane finishes do tend to outperform the "no wax" finish in the areas of scuffs, scratches and stains. All three finishes are designed to stay shiny and don't require any elbow grease in terms of polishing!

Durability

The durability of your vinyl floor depends in part on the quality of the vinyl and the finish used on it. In general, vinyl floors are very resilient, but you still get what you pay for to some degree, so be sure to talk to a Flooring Advisor in-store to go through the specific requirements in your home. Some types may stand up to kids better, others may work better for your pets! The other aspect of vinyl's durability is its water resistance. Where other floor coverings such as hardwood can be easily damaged by water, vinyl stands us to moisture.

Extremely Moisture Resistant

One of the main advantages of vinyl flooring is that it is extremely moisture resistant, so it can be installed in moisture prone "wet" areas that won't allow for laminate and hardwood floor coverings. Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms and basements are excellent areas for vinyl. Plus, in contrast to tile floors, vinyl offers some cushioning so it's easy underfoot.

Types of Vinyl

Vinyl Plank Flooring

Vinyl planks are a type of vinyl that mimic hardwood. They can look and feel like the grain in real wood, and there is a huge range of design options and qualities available. Some come with textures, and there is a large array of natural hues and shades, from light oak, to hickory and cherry, to dark mahogany, and even grey wood tones.

Vinyl Sheet Flooring

Vinyl sheet is the kind you see on rolls. These are usually designed to look like stones and come in a huge selection of tile sizes and colours. Sometimes they are textured to give a realistic feeling underfoot.Installation is usually quick.

There are two common types of backing on vinyl sheets: felt back and fiberglass back, also known as modified loose lay vinyl sheet. Felt is the most common and provides cushion and a degree of warmth. Fiberglass modified loose lay provides greater strength and stability.

Vinyl Tile

Vinyl tile is similar to regular tile in that it usually comes in 12" x 12" squares. This creates more seams than a sheet floor, however it more readily mimics large stone tiles, especially in cases where the photo replication processes are very realistic. You can use the flexibility of the 12" x 12" squares to create patterns and designs to suit the decor of your home and facilitate transitions between rooms.

Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) and Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT)

This is a new category of vinyl that has been getting a lot of attention. It is incredibly realistic, textured, and popular with interior designers. To find out more, have a look at our LVP/LVT page here. This stuff is amazing!

Vinyl Maintenance and Care Tips

Vinyl is easy to care for, and will not give you any problems around water spillage or damp mopping. The best product to use for cleaning it is a "no rinse" vinyl cleaner that won't leave a film. These and other floor cleaners are available in most of our stores. If you want to use other household cleaners for your vinyl floor, be sure to double check with your local Flooring Advisor at End Of The Roll. Some household cleaners may remove the shiny finish, so be careful!

Other Tips:

-Protect the floor with felt pads on table legs and chairs and avoid rubber which can sometimes stain the floor.

-Use floor mats at entrances, in the super high traffic areas, where stones or dirt may be tracked in on shoes.

-Clean stains off the floor as soon as possible, preferably using a vinyl floor cleaner.

Technology

The advances in vinyl technology are really something you have to see and touch to believe. Drop by your local End Of The Roll store today and run your hands over some of our products. Ask our in-store Flooring Advisors any questions you have, and what the top sellers are. When the time is right, we'll help you figure out the perfect match to suit your lifestyle and your budget!

Budget-Friendly

Among the most budget-friendly of all flooring types, vinyl floors can give you the look and feel of real hardwood or genuine tile flooring, without the price tag. The actual cost of vinyl material is less than solid hardwood or porcelain tiles for instance, and the cost of installation is dramatically less as well. One of the biggest savings here is that the cost to install vinyl is typically quite a bit less than other flooring types. Vinyl can be quickly and efficiently installed by one of our preferred installation partners and, by saving time, your budget will definitely benefit. Plus, with lots of modern and classic designs already in stock in our warehouses, your home will be looking fantastic sooner rather than later!

Contributed by Stephanie Gilchrist.