For people who like wooden floors, there are several hurdles or difficulties in getting such floors. The two prominent difficulties include, an immense cost of production and installation and the high maintenance of the flooring. Apart from that, repairs, fragile surface and a very careful use are some additional drawbacks of the wooden surface. Vinyl flooring is a great option that you can consider here, as it provides certain advantages over conventional wood flooring techniques.
What is Vinyl Flooring?
Vinyl flooring is made of either vinyl or vinyl polymers. A standard vinyl compound is an organic compound that contains the vinyl group or ethyl. In scientific terms, the vinyl group or ethyl is a derivative of ethane, where one hydrogen atom is replaced with another group. The anatomy of the vinyl compound and vinyl group is complicated, but the fact is, it is a great polymer or rather a plastic that can be used for flooring. The two most common vinyl polymers include, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polyvinyl fluoride (PVF). Ever seen a flexible, roll-able chessboard? That's exactly how a basic vinyl plastic or polymer would look like. For flooring however, thicker and sturdier plastics are used.
Vinyl Flooring that looks like Wood
The flooring that resembles wood is available in two forms - in the form of tiles or planks, and sheets.
Tile or Plank Flooring
Installing vinyl flooring in the form of planks is simple as they can be laid down and installed just like tiles. There are a considerable number of advantages of such flooring plans. The first is, of course, that it is cheap and easy to install and maintain, as vinyl floor repair and cleaning vinyl tile floors is extremely easy. Secondly, it is available in several different options and varieties. You can choose from textures such as oak, maple, pine, etc. The vinyl plank flooring that looks like wood is also cut and shaped in such manner that is actually resembles a plank of wood. The usual dimensions of such a tile are about 6 inches by 36 inches, which makes it look exactly like a plank.
Sheet Flooring
Your second option is the sheet flooring. This is a thin flexible polymer which is just spread out like a carpet on your floor. It is held down either by a powerful glue or is screwed on to the ground. The big disadvantage is that though, this sheet looks like wood, it is not that authentic, as it does not have the physical texture like that of the tile. The second disadvantage is that it also does not have a feel, which is similar to wooden planks. There are however, two excellent advantages of this kind of vinyl flooring. Firstly it is easy to clean and wash, with the help of an ordinary vinyl floor cleaner. Secondly, sheet vinyl floor installation is very easy. Another merit of this flooring is that it is quite soft and tear proof, being a polymer.
For both the types of flooring, you will incur an expenditure of about $50, for every square foot. The vinyl flooring that resembles wood is no doubt charming. As rightly pointed out by some, its biggest advantage is that you don't need to care for it every now and then, as its sturdiness and resistance makes it carefree.
