Vinyl Cushion Flooring

Ever popular for its trendy patterns, resilience and ease of maintenance, vinyl flooring has been a huge success since its arrival in the late 1950’s. With a large range of realistic reproductions of natural products and modern plain designs, mottled or crazy loud patterns available, people were quick to get this incredibly useful floor covering into their homes. Nowadays, things haven’t changed that much, the way it is made is very similar, but it has become tougher, it has well sculpted surfaces that match the patterns perfectly and this also incorporates good slip resistance when wet. Vinyl flooring is available in different overall thicknesses with differing cushioning on the reverse side, some are now available with a felt backing. Also what varies is the thickness and durability of the wear layer, this is the very thin (0.20mm – 0.45mm) top part of the vinyl which is embossed/sculpted to help create the realism of the printed pattern underneath, this is the part of the flooring that you’ll actually be walking on.

Commercial vinyl flooring

Commercial vinyls are a little different, they tend to be much thinner with less cushioning on the reverse side and have a slightly different surface on them that allows most commercial vinyls to be hot or cold welded at any point where seams are unavoidable so as to ensure a sealed and water tight surface from wall to wall. Most commercial vinyls also incorporate a much higher rate of slip resistance to help reduce the risks of slipping where floors are installed in wet or high traffic areas where footfall brings along with it general grease and grime.

If well looked after, vinyls can last a very long time in the home, with some manufacturers offering up to 25 year guarantees, provided you’ve had it installed correctly and haven’t mistreated it in any way. Manufacturers of commercial vinyls tend to offer 10, 12 or maybe 15 year warranties, depending on the quality.