How to Choose the Best LVT Flooring

LVT stands for Luxury Vinyl Tile, and it’s a flooring material that is a large upgrade to domestic sheet vinyl and boasts a wide list of pros. Amongst these are its high-water resistance, scratch-resistant surfaces, ease of maintenance and powerful visual quality. Luxury Vinyl Tiles and Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring are becoming some of the hottest flooring types around. 

Here at Luvanto, we supply LVT floors and Vinyl Planks that are not only visually stunning but are more robust than the industry standard when it comes to residential areas. We often receive questions from our customers on how to choose the best LVT flooring out of our extensive range. In this guide, we will outline LVT, where it is best used, and how to choose the best luxury vinyl flooring for you and your situation.  

Understanding LVT Flooring 

It’s best to understand the capabilities of the flooring before thinking of what the best luxury vinyl tile option is for you. The following are the main qualities that makeup Luvanto’s LVT Flooring:  

• Water Resistant – Making a spill onto a carpet or wooden floor will not only soak but potentially stain. But with luxury vinyl flooring, spills will simply rest on the surface. This makes them easy to spot and clean up, and even if you take a little too long to notice it, it’s less likely to discolour than carpet or wood. 

• Scratch Resistant – All Luxury Vinyl Tile has a wear layer at the very top surface that protects the material from scratches. With Luvanto, the wear layer is thicker than standard, providing much more protection with 0.55mm thickness as opposed to 0.3mm for standard domestic LVT. You will be hard-pressed to find LVT flooring brands that offer this as standard. 
• Ease of Maintenance – Luxury Vinyl Tile Flooring is simple to clean. Sweeping and mopping with light soap is usually more than enough to clean the mess off your floor regularly. The use of a cleaning, care and maintenance kit can also prolong the look and lifespan of your floor. 
• Comfort – Luxury Vinyl Tiles are very comfortable and soft underfoot. They are warm to the touch, which you can feel as you walk on the surface.  
• Affordable – A lot of high-end flooring that is coveted mostly for its looks cost far, far more than LVT. LVT is a more affordable alternative that not only perfectly mimics materials such as stone and wood but also has superior defences and functionality.  

How to Choose the Best LVT Flooring 

There are several steps to choosing the best vinyl flooring for you. This is divided into three main categories, as you will see below.  

Choosing the Right Design for Your Rooms 

Design is something that starts with the walls and floor of your room, as this will set the backdrop and tone of your home. As such, you must have an idea in mind for what you want your room to look like from the very beginning.  

Think of the feeling you want to evoke. For a child’s bedroom, for example, you may want vibrant, eye-catching patterns that will inspire their imagination and free spirit. Alternatively, a home office might require a more sophisticated focus that natural wood provides and would be a far better fit. 

Remember that a balance is crucial, however. Too much of one theme or colour could be overwhelming. That being said, understand that there are wildly different effects that can be achieved by playing with the balance. For example, light floors will almost always make a room look bigger, whereas the opposite is true for darker floors.  

Outside of mere colours we have the option of patterns, of which LVT has many categories. Staggered patterns, such as herringbone, often lend airs of elegance and movement.  

Choosing your level of protection 

The top layer of your LVT is a wear layer. This is what guards your floor against scratches and dents. Typically, LVTs that are made for residential homes have a wear layer of 0.3mm, which is already considered a decent thickness in terms of protection, as it’s designed for light commercial buildings.  

However, Luvanto’s floors each come with a minimum of 0.55mm wear layers. This measurement is considered suitable to be used in medium-traffic commercial areas, where foot traffic is high and the potential for damage is higher. With this extra bit of defence, your floor will be highly resistant to scratches and dents, reducing the effect of wear and tear over time.  

If this isn’t enough, Luvanto has a stronger version of their flooring called “Luvanto Endure Pro”. This version has a whopping 0.7mm wear layer. This thick wear layer offers protection that is usually reserved for heavy commercial areas. It is often described as Rigid Core LVT, due to the combination of materials that provide strength. This is perfect for homes with heavy foot traffic, or if you simply want protection that will give you peace of mind.  

Choosing Between Click and Glue Down LVT 

There are two types of installation for LVT.  

The first is LVT Click. Click Vinyl Flooring allows your flooring joints to be clicked into place at the edge and end of the plank or tile. This is typically a much faster, and easier way to install your tiles – making it highly popular amongst competent DIY enthusiasts.  

Glue-down LVT has adhered directly to the subfloor with a special adhesive. This makes it more stable than click, although it’s a lot harder to install, with it being time-consuming and highly dependent on skill. This is a useful flooring option for heavy traffic areas due to the increased level of stability. And, if the flooring gets damaged, it’s easier to repair.  

Regardless of whether you choose a click or glue-down LVT, you must ensure that the subfloor is prepared per the manufacturer’s fitting guidelines. 

Where is LVT best used?  

LVT is flooring that is designed to be useful in absolutely any room. Not only can the material boast any design that you like, from stone to geometric patterns, but its resistance and comfort make it a solid match for nearly every area in your house.  

There are certain rooms in the house where LVT thrives in. Take a look below at which ones may be better than ultimately traditional options.  

Kitchens and Bathrooms 

LVT has high durability against the heavy foot traffic that kitchens often bring, not to mention resistance to any hard things falling off the counter, as they may cause dents. Also, the water-resistant material is king here, as spills simply rest on the surface. 

The traditional option the flooring industry offers for a kitchen is either porcelain/ceramic tiles, hardwood or laminate flooring.  

Ceramic or Porcelain has similar water-resistant properties, which is why it’s the most prominent choice – but LVT does the job better for several reasons. One, it’s more cost-effective for a similar look. And secondly, LVT is far more comfortable. It’s soft and warm underfoot, whereas ceramic and porcelain are quite cold and hard against your foot.  

Hardwood, when exposed to water, actually has a chance of warping or staining if the water sets in. This makes it a fairly troublesome choice for kitchens despite their prevalence. LVT, of course, doesn’t have these issues. On top of that, whilst hardwood may be physically more impervious than LVT, LVT is more resistant to scratches and dents.  

As for Laminate, LVT is highly water resistant. Most laminates, however, can be damaged by standing water and environments with high moisture as they often have a highly absorbable MDF core. When pairing up both, LVT is a better fit for Kitchens due to its better resistance. Laminate is also colder than LVT and generally noisier underfoot.  

Living Rooms 

Living Rooms are where you represent your vibe. It’s supposed to be a place of maximum comfort. Comfort is crucial in a room where you and your family likely spend a significant amount of time. Thankfully, LVT delivers in this aspect too. Despite its durability, LVT is softer and warmer underfoot than natural stone or ceramic tile, making it more comfortable for everyday living. 

Living rooms have traditionally been dressed in a vast range of floorings such as hardwood, carpet, ceramic tile, or even stone. While these options undoubtedly have their merits, Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) flooring emerges as a strong contender that boasts several advantages. 

Hardwood has long been favoured for its timeless beauty and natural warmth. However, it comes with a high price tag and demands regular maintenance to prevent or repair damage from scratches, dents, or moisture. LVT, on the other hand, can convincingly replicate the wood effect at a fraction of the cost and with minimal maintenance. It’s also more resistant to general wear and tear, making it a more durable choice for high-traffic living rooms. 

Carpet is another traditional option, offering comfort and warmth underfoot. However, it can be challenging to clean, tend to accumulate dust, dirt, and allergens, and is prone to stains – issues you don’t necessarily have to worry about with LVT. Moreover, LVT is softer and warmer than many hard flooring options, so it still offers a level of comfort comparable to many thinner carpets. 

Ceramic tile and stone bring a luxurious touch to living rooms, but they are cold underfoot and can be slippery when wet. They’re also harder materials, which can be less comfortable for extended standing or walking. LVT can emulate the sophisticated look of ceramic tile and stone, but it’s warmer, provides better traction with its slip-resistant properties, and offers a softer surface for everyday comfort. 

Conclusion 

Choosing the right LVT flooring requires you to consider many different factors to ensure that you get the right option for your particular room or space. At Luvanto, we like our customers to be fully informed of their choices, and fully believe that our flooring options are among the best on the market.  

Contact us for more information – our team are experts that care for our customers.