Features Benefits of Vinyl

Types

Vinyl flooring can be installed as either sheet or tile:

Sheet comes in 6' or 12' widths cut to measurements or in prepared rolls. The adhesive types and methods will vary by floor style.
The backings of vinyl are either "flex" or felt. Flex is mainly available on only higher quality vinyl. It can be perimeter installed with special adhesives or can be stapled down. Felt backings can only be full spread glued down. Sheet vinyl has a top layer called a wear layer which is either PVC or Urethane, and ranges in thickness to over 20 mils. Urethane wear layers are better than PVC. Vinyl with a thicker wear layer performs better.
Tiles are manufactured to exact dimensions (12" or 18" squares) and thickness to give the finished floor a seamless, uniform appearance. Different patterns can be mixed for variety. Precision cut tiles also make replacing damaged tiles easy.
- Vinyl tiles are made for both residential and commercial applications. Residential tiles range from inexpensive self-stick do-it-yourself tiles to thick, heavy "luxury tiles." Inexpensive tiles usually have a range of visual looks from plain ceramic tile copies to better looking marble and stone patterns. Luxury tiles are much heavier tiles and have very sophisticated natural visuals with surface textures like slate, wood, or quarry tile

Features and Benefits

Vinyl tiles are a very low cost durable floor, however in some installations dirt can accumulate at the edges of the tiles and if water gets under the tiles it will curl the corners and eventually loosen tiles.
Old tiles were made with asbestos (VAT - vinyl asbestos tile). These tiles are generally 9" x 9" and they cannot be pulled up except by a licensed asbestos abatement company. For this reason most old tile is not lifted. It is covered over (encapsulated) with a new floor.
Subfloor is an important element in hard surface installation of vinyl, ceramic, hardwood, and wood laminates. Imperfections in the substrate can telegraph through to the new floor and result in unsightly bumps and ridges. Most installations require subfloor or floor preparation. The more you spend on subfloor and preparation the better the finished job will look.