How to Choose the right Vinyl Flooring for Your Home

Today’s vinyl flooring is quickly becoming the go-to option for DIYers, remodelers, and busy families on a budget. Affordable, durable, and easy to maintain, vinyl floors look great in any space. Modern styles and finishes resemble costlier counterparts such as hardwood floors, ceramic tile, marble, or natural stone.

But with so many vinyl flooring options, how do you know you’re getting the right product? Engineered Vinyl, Rigid Core, Wood Composite, Eco-Resilient - every manufacturer has their terminology, and the options can be dizzying. What does it all mean?

While I have a list of pros and cons of vinyl flooring, this focuses more on making the features, types, and styles of vinyl flooring more relatable for homeowners.

Benefits of Luxury Vinyl Flooring

Luxury vinyl flooring offers several benefits that make it a great option for many homeowners:

• Ease of Installation: Both LVP and LVT offer easy installation options suitable for DIY enthusiasts. Check out my our step by step guide on Beginner’s Guide to Installing Click Vinyl Flooring and Installing Glue Down Luxury Vinyl Floors.
• Variety of Designs: Available in a wide range of colors and styles, luxury vinyl flooring can mimic natural materials like wood and stone at a fraction of the cost.
• Durability: With a protective wear layer, it can withstand daily wear and tear, making it ideal for high-traffic areas. Some even have UV filters to resist fading and color change.
• Water Resistance: Perfect for high-moisture areas, luxury vinyl flooring has a waterproof top layer, but that doesn’t mean it is completely waterproof.

Types of Vinyl Flooring

Sheet Vinyl Flooring

Luxury vinyl tile is made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for a flexible layer under the printed design. Typically, traditional luxury vinyl doesn’t have a separate core material. This is usually a glue-down installation since the material is flexible. LVP refers to planks, whereas LVT refers to a tile look.

Luxury Vinyl Planks (LVP)

If you like the look of natural wood, but want a more durable and affordable flooring option, luxury vinyl planks are for you. This material is available in a variety of colors and styles. It’s a popular choice for high-traffic areas and commercial spaces.

LVP is often installed using a click-lock system, which makes for easy installation, especially for DIY enthusiasts. For additional stability in high-traffic areas and large spaces some brands offer glue-down LVP. Examples of luxury vinyl planks include Traffic Master LVP and Shaw Flooring Olympus.

Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT)

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is designed to replicate the look of natural stone or ceramic tile.

LVT can be installed using a glue-down method or a click-lock system. However, the click lock style only comes in rectangular sizes, like planks. Square or hexagon shapes are installed with glue.

What is Luxury Vinyl Flooring Made of?

Vinyl is a 100% synthetic flooring material. Vinyl flooring has multiple layers, such as the wear layer, a printed or decorative layer, and an inner core of varying types such as those below. The flooring may or may not include a cushioned backing.

PVC

All luxury vinyl tile is comprised of Polyvinyl Cloride (PVC). The most basic construction has a stabilizing layer under the printed design, providing a high-quality, durable flooring option. This layer can be flexible or rigid and varies across products.

Wood Plastic Composite (WPC)

WPC is a type of vinyl flooring that combines real wood with a composite material to create a rigid core beneath the vinyl surface. This flooring type offers a firm yet cushioned feel underfoot and is generally thicker but less dense. Renowned for its durability and comfort, WPC vinyl is an excellent choice for residential spaces. Notable examples of WPC vinyl include OptiMax and NuCore.

Stone Plastic Composite (SPC)

The SPC core is created by mixing limestone powder with stabilizers to make a dimensionally stable and waterproof foundation. It is excellent for below grade basements, bathrooms, and kitchens. SPC vinyl is known for its excellent durability, making it ideal for high-traffic areas. All SPC vinyl is a click-lock installation, which streamlines the installation process. Notable examples of SPC vinyl include CoreLux and Home Decorators Collection.

Here is a sidelook at the SPC vinyl plank we used:

Hybrid Vinyl

Hybrid vinyl is the latest innovation in flooring, featuring a blend of attributes from various vinyl types. It often includes textured surfaces, such as hand-scraped wood or slate, which closely replicate natural materials. This flooring is highly durable and versatile, making it ideal for a range of applications from below grade basements to kitchens. One example of hybrid vinyl is DuraVana.

Features of Vinyl Flooring to Consider

How and where you want to install vinyl flooring will make certain features very attractive.

Core Thickness

In the past, thicker vinyl plank typically meant a better floor. However, today’s manufacturers include denser materials like stone composite in their cores, so it’s not always an apples-to-apples comparison between different cores. The denser cores have enhanced dent resistance and cover up minor imperfections in the subfloor.

Wear Layer Thickness

The wear layer is a durable coating on the top of your floor that protects the flooring surface from scratches, scuffs, and stains. The thicker and higher quality the wear layer, the better protection and longer lasting the flooring will be.

Wear Layer Ratings (for residential applications):

1 mil = 1/1000th of an inch

• 4 mil (Ok): Only use in low-medium traffic areas.
• 6 mil (Good): Residential use.
• 7-8 mil: Good for higher traffic areas or heavy furniture.
• 10-12 mil (Best): Residential or light commercial.

Waterproof

While the top side and wear layer are waterproof, not all vinyl flooring is 100% waterproof throughout.

Even if the tiles themselves are waterproof, the seams may allow standing water to penetrate to the subfloor. Always double check claims made from brands and pay attention to proper installation advice such as whether you need a waterproof subfloor.

UV Filters

Some manufacturers offer a clear UV filter as part of the wear layer. This helps to prevent fading or greying/yellowing of the product over time.

Glue Down Vs Floating

There are two types of vinyl flooring installations: Floating and Glue Down. You can choose a tile or plank design in either type, and the box will tell you which kind it is. Both types work well with a variety of subfloor types including concrete, suitable plywood, and over existing floors. We’ve installed and used both; each has its pros and cons.

More Information on Flooring Options

We chose Luxury Vinyl Tile and a glue down installation for our kitchen renovation. You can see the entire completed kitchen makeover in this post. We have also used groutable vinyl tile and wrote about the installation here.

We also have tutorials on click lock or floating floor planks, as well as traditional tiling of walls and repairing tile floors. If you have any questions about your installation, ask a question below and I can do my best as products are always innovating.