Vinyl 101

Vinyl Flooring Education

Everything you need to know about vinyl

Many first-time flooring shoppers are already familiar with traditional categories – everyone knows hardwood, carpet and tile!

Flooring is a constantly evolving industry, however, and vinyl floors are the perfect example of how far technological innovation has brought us. Beautiful, high-performance flooring like vinyl is becoming more durable – and more affordable – all the time. But what exactly is vinyl flooring?

It starts with a layered construction.

The Layers of Vinyl

Vinyl tiles and planks typically have 4 main layers:

• Base WPC Core – the bulk of the floor is the core, a sturdy, waterproof combination of wood and plastic that creates a stable, comfortable layer to walk on
• Vinyl top coat – the next layer is a thin piece of vinyl, adhered to the core layer
• Decorative layer – a photo-realistic design that mimics the look and texture of natural wood and tile floors
• Wear layer – the final layer sits on top as a transparent, scratch and stain-resistant shield for the design beneath

Designing with vinyl

Vinyl is designed to realistically mimic natural flooring products such as real hardwood, stone and ceramic tile. This opens up a world of possibility when it comes to design, since you can fully customize the look of your floors with a variety of colors, textures and patterns.

Because vinyl is not real wood, the looks of typically expensive exotic species are made more accessible and affordable. The same applies to stone tile. In addition to the range of colors and patterns available, the style and texture of your tiles and planks is customizable. Get hand-scraped or worn-in wood looks out-of-box!

Some luxury vinyl tile (LVT) products are even designed to be used with real, color-coordinating grout, further solidifying the realism of handcrafted stone or ceramic tile looks on your floors.

Because of vinyl's versatility, you'll run into very few obstacles when installing. Vinyl can be installed on, above or below grade – a feature not shared by real hardwood. It can withstand moisture and a variety of common wear and tear experienced by floors in high-traffic areas. Because of this, vinyl will retain its beauty for many years without the need for refinishing!

Still have questions about our vinyl products? Visit our About Vinyl page or our blog's waterproof category for more information, you can also contact the team here at Znet Flooring – we’re always happy to help!