Vinyl flooring encompasses a range of options, including vinyl sheets, planks, and tiles. It became more popular in the s, and that popularity has only grown since. In addition to the more budget-friendly price, vinyl offers cutting-edge stone looks, wood looks, and decorative designs. The printed visual layer is protected by a durable surface wear layer.
Vinyl planks and tiles are pretty distinct from linoleum, but sheet vinyl is a bit tricker. The biggest reason people confuse vinyl and linoleum is that they can both come in sheet form. However, though they might look similar, there are big differences between linoleum sheets and vinyl sheets. The new generation of vinyl sheets offers convincing natural wood looks, stone looks, and even decorative looks.
Today vinyl sheets also often come with durable fiberglass backings that make installation more DIY-friendly, because you can simply float the sheet over your floor — no adhesive necessary. Vinyl Flooring Pros What are the advantages of vinyl flooring? Vinyl sheets with fiberglass backing are also simple to install on your own. Easy to maintain: Vinyl flooring is easy to clean and care for. Especially if you choose a waterproof option, the floor basically does the hard work for you!
All you need is the occasional vacuum and damp mop to keep your vinyl sparkling. This material is comfortable and easier on your joints and feet than other hard floor types, such as tile. You can find a wide variety of luxury vinyl flooring colors, patterns, and textures. Your vinyl floors can be totally submerged without being damaged. Shop All Vinyl. Vinyl Flooring Cons What are the disadvantages of vinyl floors? Here are a few things to consider: Easy, DIY installation: Production causes more of an effect on the environment: Vinyl flooring takes more energy and non-renewable resources to construct than linoleum.
Shorter lifespan: These floors typically last up to 20 years. The image is only on the surface: While you have several design options with vinyl, the aesthetic is only as strong as the wear layer over the print. The color may fade over time as the top layer wears down. Vinyl vs. Linoleum Flooring: The Showdown There are a lot of factors to consider when trying to determine whether sheet vinyl or linoleum is the better flooring for you. Another big difference is the installation.
Vinyl comes with more ease of installation and ease of maintenance. Vinyl Flooring. Cost Typically vinyl is less expensive than linoleum upfront. Winner: Vinyl. Vinyl uses printed imagery to create a realistic image on top of the plank or tile, or sheet similar to laminate flooring, while in linoleum, the color goes all the way through the tile.
This means that linoleum will maintain its color although fading and yellowing may occur , whereas vinyl begins and ends with that image layer, as far as looks go. Vinyl comes with more style and color options if you can dream it, they can print it! Installation When it comes to tiles and planks, vinyl and linoleum are practically tied in terms of installation difficulty. Those similarities disappear when you look at the installation options for linoleum sheets and vinyl sheets.
A linoleum sheet has to be glued down, and the stiffer material can be hard to work with, which is why professional installation is recommended. LVT stands for luxury vinyl tile. Every manufacturer calls it something different. Luxury vinyl floors are composed of rigid or semi-rigid vinyl planks or tiles designed to mimic other types of flooring wood, most often. And of course, their all-plastic construction makes them highly durable. Again: LVT is not one of the many types of tile. Ok, so what is laminate flooring?
Think of it like a cross between traditional linoleum and the best engineered wood flooring you can buy. Laminate is composed of three layers: a plywood or fiberboard base layer, a photo-realistic image layer, and a hard plasticate wear layer to protect against scuffs, dings, and dents.
When it comes to hardwood floor alternatives , laminate often looks and feels the most realistic even more so than LVT. And while it used to get a bad rap for looking plastic-y, many laminate products have become virtually indistinguishable from real hardwood in recent years.
Laminate is super affordable, you can use it to create gorgeous wood floor designs , and it can even go head to head with the most durable wood flooring in a battle of hardness.
By now, you should know that these materials are very different. Comparing the pros and cons of linoleum vs. It has lost most of its popularity to vinyl, which is plastic. Laminate is a wood floor substitute largely made of plywood. Ok, we all caught up? Who knew comparing linoleum vs. Now, the only thing left to do is find a flooring store in your area and get started! And for more information on flooring products, read up on:.
Savannah is a midwestern writer who dabbles in blogging, poetry, and news. Older types of vinyl use felt as the backing layer, which can be susceptible to water damage. Newer vinyl uses fiberglass backing, which is entirely immune to water and mold damage.
Sheet vinyl is most water-resistant than vinyl because it has fewer seams that can allow water through to the underlayment. Although it is water-resistant, linoleum is not impervious to damage from moisture and it needs to be sealed periodically to protect it against liquid penetration. If flooding occurs, a linoleum installation can be ruined, and excessive humidity can sometimes cause individual tiles or the corners of sheets to curl.
Of the two materials, linoleum has better heat resistance. Hot skillets or curling irons do not generally melt linoleum immediately, as they do with vinyl flooring. And linoleum does not readily burn and emit toxic fumes in a house fire, as vinyl does.
Vinyl flooring is more impervious to water than linoleum, which needs to be regularly sealed. However, be aware that linoleum is somewhat more resistant to damage from heat. Vinyl is one of the easiest floors to keep clean. You can sweep and vacuum vinyl regularly, or mop it with any of a variety of detergents without having to worry about the material discoloring.
Resistant to moisture, mold, and mildew, vinyl can be simply wiped clean periodically to keep it looking its best. Linoleum is nearly as easy to care for as vinyl, which is why it has long been a favorite flooring for schools, hospitals, and other public properties.
Just sweep and or vacuum it periodically. Stains can be hand-cleaned with a rag and a mild detergent. Manufacturers recommend using a cleaning solution made for linoleum, since off-the-shelf detergents may have high pH levels that can damage the surface.
Both vinyl and linoleum flooring are equally easy to clean. Because vinyl flooring is constructed with a design layer adhered over a solid PVC layer, there is the potential for the design layer to wear through, exposing the solid core layer. Modern vinyl flooring has a very tough protective wear layer, so no waxing or sealing is every necessary. Linoleum is considered the more durable flooring material, thanks to the construction that features solid material through the thickness of the flooring.
Both types of flooring are fairly easy to maintain, but unlike vinyl flooring, linoleum requires periodic sealing to keep it resistant to moisture and stains. Linoleum is a slightly softer material than vinyl, and it can be more easily scratched and gouged. Small damage is somewhat less evident, though, since there is no core layer to show through. Linoleum is the more durable material, but vinyl is easier to maintain since it never requires sealing. Both linoleum and vinyl flooring require a very smooth and flat underlayment, since they are thin, flexible materials that allow flaws in the underlayment to telegraph through to the surface.
Sheet vinyl flooring is usually installed with a full glue-down application, and installation is somewhat awkward for DIYers. Cutting large sheets to a precise fit is difficult, as is joining the seams between pieces. Because professional installation is rather cheap, most people opt for this method.
Vinyl tiles, on the other hand, are quite easy to install, making them a favorite among DIYers. Vinyl tiles can be installed with a full glue-down bond, but most forms of vinyl tile now sold at home improvement centers are peel-and-stick, in which the adhesive has already been applied to the tiles; you simply peel away the protective backing paper when its time to install the tiles.
Installing linoleum can be very similar to installing vinyl, but sheet linoleum can be even harder to work with than sheet vinyl; it is almost always installed by professionals. Sheets are somewhat tougher to cut than vinyl, but a sharp linoleum knife usually works.
The sheets are applied with a glue-down bond, and seams are welded together. Linoleum also comes in tiles and planks that are easier for DIY installation; they may use a "click-lock" joining method that allows the tiles or planks to float over the subfloor without any adhesives, much the way that luxury vinyl or laminate planks are installed. Vinyl flooring is a softer, more pliable flooring material, making it easier to work with.
Much higher costs are possible for designer styles sold at specialty flooring stores. Again, higher costs are possible with designer styles. Vinyl flooring is less expensive than linoleum. The cost difference between vinyl and linoleum is offset to some degree by their relative life expectancies.
While vinyl costs less than linoleum, it will last an average of only 10 or 15 years. But vinyl flooring tends to maintain its glossy appearance right up until the top layers suddenly wear through, exposing the core. A linoleum floor can last 20 to 40 years or more. But linoleum will show its age over time, weathering away and gradually looking older and older until it needs to be replaced.
Some people like the patina of an aging linoleum floor; others dislike it.
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