Vinyl Floors: reviews. Vinyl Flooring

What will be the coverage of the floor in the room, depends on the operational requirements and financial capabilities. In the apartments predominantly linoleum, lay a laminate or parquet. Today, the building materials market offers many options for floor finishing. An alternative to expensive floor coverings is vinyl tile, which by its characteristics is not inferior to elite materials, and at a cost - cheaper.

What is vinyl flooring?

Vinyl coating is a multilayered fabric, in the lower part of which there are quartz crumbs with a polymer, and in the middle part - a polymer plate with ornament. From abrasion and mechanical damage it is protected by a dense film. Prefabricated vinyl flooring in the form of small rectangles, which are attached to the floor surface on the adhesive base. The coating is soft to the touch, but at the same time its performance is higher than that of the laminate. It is in rooms with high humidity most often use vinyl floors: customer reviews confirm the ability of vinyl to absorb moisture. For the kitchen, the corridor and the bathroom, this is the ideal cover.

Characteristics of vinyl floors

Before laying the tile, you need to level the surface. Screed or other building mixes will get rid of unevenness. Experts do not recommend laying vinyl on a wooden floor, which can be damaged from the inside. It is necessary to remove all damaged by a fungus or decay of a board, to clean construction debris. No need to level the surface if it is level. It is enough to put under it a substrate, plywood or sheets of particle board, and then vinyl floors. Plates have a small thickness, so it is better to pre-heat floors, especially in the children's room.

Vinyl for durability is divided into maximum, medium and intensive. They differ in the density and thickness of the protective film. In rooms with a large flow of people, it is better to use a coating with maximum wear resistance in order to retain the appeal for a long time. In addition, if it gets wet, the floor will not spoil and will not swell.

If you do not know how to lay vinyl flooring, you can see the photo of their installation in this article.

Styling Features

You can lay vinyl floors yourself, without resorting to help from strangers. The details are cut with metal scissors.

Gone are the days when the store offered only one-color linoleum and white tiles. Today the construction market presents a wide range of materials that many are unfamiliar, for example, quartz, vinyl floors with glue base. This is a new development, using which you can make the floor beautiful and environmentally friendly in a short time. Selecting the material is not a problem, the difficulties lie in the installation of the coating, since the proper operation depends on the correct placement.

Base under cover

Quartz, vinyl floor tiles are laid on a clean, dry and even base. If it is not good to dry the surface of the floor, the moisture will gradually destroy the glue and coating. In the kitchen, in the bathroom or in a room with high humidity it is recommended to waterproof the floor beforehand. Dust can become an obstacle to the full adhesion of the adhesive base of vinyl to the surface, so you need to wash it thoroughly.

The laying process

To lay the vinyl cover, you first need to purchase a special knife with trapezoid blades, which in the process of changing to hook-like. The first type of blade is required for marking the material, and the second for cutting.

If the tiles are laid diagonally, then you need to be prepared for a lot of waste. The amount of material is determined by measuring the area of the room. Many people have themselves mounted vinyl flooring. Reviews of self-made masters say that this process is quite simple.

At the first stage, note the central point on the surface of the floor, from it guide straight lines, which will produce the laying. Next, the tile is smeared with acrylic glue, which is most suitable for this job, and begin to lay out. Around the obstacles and near the walls, the material is cut with a clerical knife. If desired, you can use curved patterns, if there are columns or steps that interfere with stacking. Once the material has been laid, it is rolled with heavy rollers or a cork board for better bonding to the base and preventing the formation of bubbles. In rooms with high humidity, the joints of the tiles are treated with cold welding.

Self-adhesive vinyl tile

The base of vinyl tiles can be not only simple (standard), but self-adhesive, that is, with a sticky base. The population is very popular with vinyl floors, reviews about them are only positive.

The process of laying self-adhesive vinyl tiles is very simple. It is enough to remove the protective film from the back and press it firmly against a dry and cleaned substrate. In addition, the tiles can be laid on the existing coating - parquet, linoleum or laminate. Put all the cracks and irregularities with putty, followed by grinding. For maximum strength, the coating is primed with an acrylic base coat.

What do I need to know?

The consumer should know that self-adhesive vinyl flooring has its drawbacks. The fact is that the adhesive base at low temperatures loses its properties, so use this coating only in heated rooms. On the back of the material are the arrows indicating the direction of packing. If you do not follow the instructions, the pattern will be broken, and the overall picture will lose its appeal. Along with other advantages, self-adhesive vinyl floors are easy to fit and inexpensive.

Advantages of vinyl floors:

1. Wear resistance. This coating is ideal for rooms with high humidity and intensive load. Vinyl floors perfectly withstand the endless walking of people, moving furniture, sports training, corporate holidays.
2. They do not fade, do not crack and do not chip.
3. The material is not afraid of water.
4. Ecological compatibility. Vinyl floors are made of environmentally friendly materials that do not contain heavy metals and do not emit volatile components into the air.
5. Range. In the store you can find matte, textured, glossy and smooth vinyl floors. They perfectly imitate valuable woods, sandstone, green grass, a shackled wooden floor or antique wood.
6. The material is easily glued to the surface and smoothed by a roller. When installing vinyl tiles, you do not need to dismantle old floors or take out furniture.
7. Light weight and hidden seams. The tile is easily cut and when laying creates a whole surface in a room with inconspicuous seams.
8. Durability and easy maintenance. For vinyl it is not necessary to look after carefully - the dirt is easily washed off by usual water, and strong stains can be deduced by means of household chemical goods.
9. Affordable price and ergonomics. Vinyl flooring and the cost of its care will cost the buyer inexpensively.
10. Heat. Unlike tiles and stone, which in the winter become cool, this material is very warm.

The disadvantages can only be attributed to an artificial origin. Such a minor disadvantage is covered by a number of advantages, which have vinyl floors, customer reviews confirm this fact.

Constructive material types

Despite modern modernization, this coating in terms of its characteristics resembles linoleum. As well as the predecessor, wear resistance of vinyl tiles is expressed in figures. The longest in use material belongs to the 43rd class and has a protective layer thickness of 0.5 mm. Vinyl floors with such figures refer to the commercial category and are recommended for sports and industrial premises. Materials 32-34-th grades with a coating thickness of 0.3 mm are classified as a household category and suitable for finishing the floor in residential buildings.

New on sale

Coatings of vinyl on the domestic market appeared quite recently, but in such a short time they managed to win the respect of consumers. With vinyl floors, you can easily decorate a house in a modern style, using a material stylized with embossed leather or long oak. Thanks to a large selection of colors, you can realize your most original fantasies. Vinyl coating is a vivid example of successful implementation of design ideas. In addition, it is a reliable and high-quality material for any premises. The floor is comfortable and easy to maintain, well washed and not afraid of water. In order for the room to shine with freshness and cleanliness, it is easy enough for wet cleaning.