Luxury vinyl tile or LVT is not rolled vinyl flooring. LVT or luxury vinyl plank is a high-end flooring product that is several steps above typical vinyl sheet products or even many laminate floor products for several reasons. So before you discount luxury vinyl floors as an option for your next flooring project, it is important to understand what they are and why they have become so popular in recent years.

What exactly Is luxury vinyl / LVT Flooring?

LVT is a vinyl composite core flooring material that combines a rigid wood and plastic composite (WPC) base, with a wear layer that offers natural wood detail, color and texture. Luxury vinyl tile floor also delivers performance and benefits that you just can’t get with traditional wood-based floor materials.

5 Things You Should Know About Luxury Vinyl Tile

We have found that many people just aren’t aware of LVT flooring. When considering the flooring for the new home project, they typically determine the flooring that they want based on color, species, and style before performance, location and subsurface requirements. That’s why we spend a lot of time with our customers, trying to understand their needs beyond style so that they end up with a flooring material that will both look stunning and deliver the functionality that they require.

Here are 5 important things that you need to know about luxury vinyl tile flooring.

LVT is extremely popular right now

Did you know that Luxury Vinyl Tile now makes up a huge 6% of all flooring renovations? That means that of all floor replacements made during remodels, repairs or home renovations, LVT flooring is now selected 6% of the time. To be clear on just how popular luxury vinyl floor is, 6% of re-flooring equates to approximately 840 million square feet of flooring being replaced each year with LVT.

There are many reasons why luxury vinyl tile is becoming so popular.

Luxury vinyl tile looks and feels like natural wood.

Unlike the fake wood floor appearance of many laminate flooring products, LVT flooring can look and feel just like solid wood floors. The manufacturing process of LVT results in deep textures, grain patterns, and colors that were previously only available in solid or engineered hardwood flooring material. The innovative development of luxury vinyl has changed all that, making it one of the hottest new flooring materials for homeowners.

Water resistant or even waterproof

Unlike hardwood floors, engineered wood flooring or even laminate flooring, luxury vinyl tile floors can be installed in areas where there is moisture? In fact, most LVT floors are at least water-resistant and some that we carry are even considered to be waterproof. This unprecedented ability of LVT flooring makes them perfect for bathrooms, kitchens or even sublevel spaces such as basements. The water repelling benefit of luxury vinyl plank flooring is a perfect match for our damp Portland and Northwest climate.

LVT Installation options

Similar to many laminate flooring products, luxury vinyl tile can be installed easily and is typically installed as a floating floor option, not requiring it to be glued or fastened to the subflooring surface. Also, just like other flooring materials, it comes in planks of various widths and lengths, which snap or click together. The locking mechanism built into the product creates are a watertight seal, keeping water from penetrating through the floor while making it a quick and easy install for the professional and eager do-it-yourselfer alike.

Luxury vinyl tile is less expensive

Many of our customers who demand the look and feel of real hardwood floors are often surprised at the realistic nature or the LVT options available. When they realize the dramatic cost savings that can also come with this kind of flooring, they are willing to consider it for their entire project or for parts of their home that moisture may impact significantly. The fact is, compared to solid hardwood flooring, engineered or even bamboo flooring, luxury vinyl tile can save a homeowner hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the product as well as the installation costs.

The Benefits Of Luxury Vinyl Tile Floors

As with many construction materials, education is key for most homeowners. The fact that LVT plank flooring is a perfect fit the damp Portland area climate has significant cost benefits and has the appearance and feel or real wood flooring, the advantages begin to add up quickly. When you add the fact that luxury vinyl tile floors are incredibly durable for high traffic areas or homes with pets or active children, and the options for selecting LVT with up to 30-year warranties, it opens a world of opportunities.

Simple Floors Portland has literally hundreds of brands, styles, and color of luxury vinyl tile right in our Portland flooring showroom. We can help you find the perfect LVT floor for your project without any pressure and make the entire process simple.