Vinyl Floor Or Not?

Why Vinyl?

Not to be mistaken for laminates, vinyl has been gaining popularity over the years. Vinyl has many qualities that homeowners are looking for such as scratch and stain resistance. They can also be laid over tiles and are generally easy to install since wet works are not required. There is simply no mess and installation can be completed in a fraction of the time needed for tiles. Furthermore, there are more and more varieties of vinyl nowadays. Consumers are simply spoiled for choice.

What to look out for

While vinyl is a very attractive option, there are some important factors to consider when choosing vinyl. Following is a list of considerations that we have gathered over the years in our experience with vinyl. We hope this list will be of help to you when deciding whether to choose vinyl for your new flooring.

What Vinyl to Choose?

When using vinyl, the choice of vinyl is perhaps the most important. Make sure to visit the showroom and feel the vinyl for yourself. Pick up a piece of the vinyl and check if it is soft. An issue with soft vinyl is that, they follow the contour of the flooring underneath. Whether is it tiles or cement screed, there will always be imperfections which can be felt if a cheap and soft vinyl is used.

Ask the salesperson if the vinyl is scratch (stain and water) resistant and how is the vinyl installed. Go to their website and do a little research on the product to see if it is value for your money. As this is a long-term investment, avoid cheap and low-quality vinyl unless you are ready to change your flooring often.

Overlay Or Not?

Vinyl offers the option to overlay over existing tiles. Overlaying is a budget friendly and convenient option which many home-owners have chosen. However, when overlaying, we need to be wary of the condition of the existing tiles. Your Interior designer should ensure that the existing tiles are not “hollowed out” underneath so that they do not “pop” later when overlaid with vinyl.

If you have chosen to overlay vinyl, and you are not going to change the doors under which the vinyl run, then the height of the door from the floor needs to be considered seriously. Vinyl can be as thick as 6mm and therefore, the door must have enough allowance for this.

Many homeowners also like to retain their living room floor but change the flooring of the bedrooms. In this case, overlaying cannot be done since the level of the bedroom floor will then be taller than the living room floor. We will usually have to hack off the bedroom floor, apply a layer of cement screed before laying the vinyl.

Easy to Replace

One of the advantages of vinyl is that, each piece of the vinyl is easily replaceable. As vinyl are installed with an inter-locking system, they can be easily unlocked and replaced. This is useful because, accidents occur and a few years down the road, some of your vinyl may be damaged. Just call the vinyl company and the replacement can be done easily.

Room Skirting

Finally, Vinyl brands usually come with room skirting options. We have come across many homeowners who asked about the purpose of room skirtings. Besides aesthetics to hide the joint between the wall and the floor, skirtings also prevent scratches on the wall which are usually caused by careless mopping or vacuuming of the floor. Skirting can be created by the same vinyl that is used to lay the floor. This is an expensive option as extra vinyl will have to be used. Besides this, vinyl brands should offer cheaper skirting options which will not look exactly like the vinyl floor but close.

Conclusion

Everything considered, vinyl is indeed an attractive option for flooring. Overlaying over existing tiles is also attractive but make sure to talk to your Interior Designer about whether you should do that. If your existing tiles are in good condition, it is worth considering. Lastly, believe it or not, vinyl can also be used as part of a feature wall. See picture below for a project that we did.

Any questions, feel free to contact us at hello@deloft.com.sg or WhatsApp at 9820 2070. We are always ready to assist in your design and renovation needs.