For this time of year, the offer of apartments is broad, both residential and commercial, which is why selecting the suitable apartment for your project can be complex. At some point, you will find yourself indecisive about choosing a vinyl, ceramic tile, wood or carpet floor, but the solution will depend on the primary needs of the place, the budget and your taste.
One of the preferred flooring materials for home remodelling today is luxury vinyl plank (also known as architectural LVT ), thanks to the quality of the material, good looks, and ease of use. Well, this type of floor makes any room or office look elegant and attractive at a low cost and in a short time.
However, despite being an excellent floor option, some details must be taken into account so that the selection is accurate and according to the needs of the place. Therefore, below, we will give you some tips to make this job more manageable. Let us begin!
- Detail the characteristics of the floor
LVT flooring (luxury vinyl flooring) has physical characteristics that make it an excellent option for high, medium and low traffic spaces. That is why it is usually installed in residential and commercial establishments without inconvenience.
When selecting, check that the product is resistant to stains and scratches but is waterproof and easy to maintain. It is assumed that this type of flooring has these properties. However, it will always be essential to verify that you have the right product.
- Appearance
Thanks to technological advances, the appearance of architectural LVT planks is hyper-realistic, so they can quickly go unnoticed and be mistaken for wood or natural stone floor.
As if that were not enough, these are offered in different shades and textures, complementing the decoration of your home and adjusting without problem to your preferred decoration style.
If possible, ask the supplier for commercial samples that you can take home so that you can compare different shades of flooring with the design and style of your home. This will make the decision more accessible since the colours change according to the lighting, the accessories (furniture, wall colours, accessories, etc.) and the shape of each room so that you can see the floor in one tone in the store but different when installing it.
- Installation pattern
Forget the traditional and dare to create new patterns in installing your floors. By creating innovative shapes, you can give a dynamic look to any space; for example, you can make a zig-zag (herringbone), a diagonal layout or even transition between two different types of floors to modernise and personalise the space with style. The transition from one environment to another. Here are eight-floor transition ideas to inspire you.
Installing a vinyl floor is a straightforward and fast process; however, when creating non-traditional patterns, you must rely on the knowledge of an expert installer to take care of buying the right amount of material and make a neat, elegant and no waste.
- Identify the proper thickness.
It is possible to find architectural LVT boards of different thicknesses on the market, from 7 mm to 18 mm, depending on the use to be given to the floor and the resistance required.
Said thickness depends on the number of layers the floor has; Architectural LVT is typically made up of 3 layers, but sometimes additional features are added to make every step comfortable and stable. These are:
- Layer for stability. Created from natural materials combined with polymers that support each tile, as well as prevent damage from the base floor from being transferred to the surface layer of each plank.
- Support layer and balance. This is indicated to structure the floor and “quilt” each step. In addition, it works as the primary fire retardant.
- Printed layer. With more than 300 million pixels, a hyper-realistic impression with the appearance of wood or stone is obtained.
- Covering. This is the protective layer that guarantees that the print remains intact for years, also providing physical resistance to each plank against scratches and stains. In addition, it is responsible for giving a glossy or matte finish.
- UV filter. The surface layer is a UV coating that helps keep the floor from being damaged or discoloured by sunlight.
It is worth mentioning that the thickness of the floor is not a measure of the quality of the product; it is only a characteristic that determines the use of the tiles and the installation area. We recommend that you visit experts such as VINISOL with the list of needs to be resolved and allow them to provide you with sound advice depending on the type of space to be remodelled.
- Budget
In the market, you can get different qualities of vinyl floors and, therefore, different budgets. However, consider that even though architectural LVT flooring is not one of the cheapest options, purchasing it can be an excellent long-term investment.
Well, with total confidence, we can guarantee that this floor has a useful life of up to 10 years, or more, depending on the care it is given.
Now, the higher the quality of the floor, the more comfortable the cleaning and maintenance process will be; therefore, you will be saving on products, and it will only be necessary to resort to one or another cleaning implementation. And on the other hand, the thickness of the floor helps to make the installation process more straightforward and the cushioning better, making it unnecessary to install an extra underlayment, whose purpose is to improve the support and prolong the useful life of the tiles.
In addition to what has already been said, keep in mind that:
- It is essential to purchasing “spare” boards to use in case any panels are damaged during the installation process or need to be repaired.
- Get advice from experts so that they can take care of the purchase and installation of the floor; in this way, the waste of material is avoided, and the job is guaranteed to be well done.
- If you get tired of the routine, make sure you get a floor in a neutral colour and easy to combine so that you only have to change the colour of the walls, and the bottom does not become a style impediment.
- The cleaning elements must be those recommended by the manufacturer; in this way, you ensure the useful life of your floor.
