Luxury vinyl floors are very different than the vinyls of many years gone by. Instead, they boast of believable looks of natural wood and stone materials. The types of woods are teak, maple, oak, walnut, and pine. The stones cover several types of stones, slates and marbles. Luxury vinyls can also be found in sheet goods, featuring less seams and alternate attractive designs.
Aren't Vinyl flooring just a picture on a backing?, True, but these ?pictures? are very realistic-looking due to high res photography, and also are indented into the vinyl at a much deeper embossed rate than the original vinyls ever were for a more realistic look and feel.
The wood-looks are always made of vinyl, however some of the stone-looks may be vinyl combined with other materials, such as limestone. The limestone is its base, while the vinyl is still the top layer. The ?all-vinyl tile? products have four layers, listed from top to bottom: Aluminum Oxide, Clear Film, Design Layer and Backing Layer.
Every manufacturer have several lines and qualities of vinyl flooring, so many types of wood and stone are represented. They range from 2 mm to 6.5 mm total thickness. The dimensions are usually square, either 12" x 12" or 16" x 16", sheet-vinyl is typically 12' wide while plank-shaped around are 3" to 7? wide and from 36" to 48? long
The brands that carry these luxury vinyls are (and in no particular order):
Hallmark Flooring
Armstrong Luxe Plank
Armstrong Alterna
Coretec form Us Floors
Tarkett: Sheet, tiles and planks
Timeless Designs Flooring
Mohawk Flooring
There are different levels of quality ratings, going from Good, Better, Best and Superior. The ratings are determined by the quality and realistic nature of the ?picture?, the embossed depth, the types of joints or edges, and the dimensions.
I was impressed to see this statement:
?Meets requirements of commercial flammability codes, slip resistant requirements?and a menu of other safety codes?. http://www.wfca.org/Pages/WhatYouDontKnowAboutLuxuryVinylTileFlooring.aspx
Easy to clean with a simple damp mop, water resistant, coated with urethane to resist scratches, stains, dents and scuffs.
Taking all of these factors into consideration, of course, determines the cost of each product. Prices may range anywhere from $2/square foot to $7/square foot. These costs reflect a HUGE difference when compared to the cost of actual natural wood and stone products. Warranties may range 10 years to lifetime wear in residential environment.
http://homerenovations.about.com/od/vinylflooring/ss/Luxury-Vinyl-Tile.htm
http://www.wfca.org/Pages/WhatYouDontKnowAboutLuxuryVinylTileFlooring.aspx
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