Buying Guide for Sheet Vinyl, Luxury Vinyl Plank, Luxury Vinyl Tile, and Waterproof Core Flooring

The first version of vinyl was sheet vinyl, which comes in large rolls that are cut to fit the space and glued down. Sheet Vinyl flooring is waterproof, but it is prone to scratches and dents, especially from rooms with heavy furniture or heavy traffic. Sheet vinyl comes in a huge variety of styles and patterns with photo realistic prints and is often used in places like bathrooms or laundry rooms.

Sheet vinyl has layers to make it resistant to staining, but discoloration over time due to sunlight exposure should be expected.

This last category goes by many names with small differences between them but ultimately all produce a rigid core LVP product. They are all made of different layers of materials with a vinyl photo on top to create the desired appearance.

Most products use a plastic or stone core, but there are other versions as well. They are all designed with a core that will not absorb moisture, a common issue with hardwood and laminate products. This is what allows the flooring to be rigid like hardwood or laminate, but be waterproof like other vinyl products. Similar to other products, there is a vinyl photographic layer that makes the flooring look like a natural product, and can even have embossing for a realistic feel.

With the flooring being thicker due to the additional layers and waterproof core, this flooring can be installed with a click or snap system. This is why the flooring is commonly called click-together and is often marketed as being very easy to install because there is no glue or specialized tools required to put the planks or tiles together. This sounds like the easiest flooring to install but there are other requirements that make it more difficult as described in the installation section below.

Gluing down Sheet Vinyl can be done in a few ways, making this one of the most DIY friendly options. Sheet vinyl can be installed by securing it to the subfloor with a single line of glue at the entryway, gluing the entire perimeter, or how S&G always does it, gluing down the entire sheet to the subfloor. As with all vinyl flooring, this does require the floor to be level to avoid the sheet vinyl from showing dips or bumps.

Installing Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) or Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) is similar in that it requires glue, but it requires more skill than laying sheet vinyl. Installers need to consider what patterns to place next to each other, glueing the planks together without gaps, and ensuring the arrangement is correct. It also requires a heavy roller to ensure the glue properly adheres to the subfloor so the flooring stays there for years to come.

Sheet vinyl flooring is affordable and makes a great waterproof floor option. The primary downside of sheet vinyl is it’s susceptible to cuts, knicks, and tears. This is most apparent in rooms like kitchens where traffic can be high, dropped items can cause damage, and if there are pets in the home that run through the space they are very likely to tear the flooring. Depending on the pattern chosen, things like small cuts may be hidden, but it’s important to know how the flooring is going to perform and choose what’s best for your space.

For these reasons sheet vinyl is recommended for spaces like kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and pantries.

Installing sheet vinyl is likely to show many marks and tear if installed in higher traffic spaces like bedrooms, stairs, dining rooms, living rooms, mud rooms, commercial spaces, or when accommodating wheelchairs.

Waterproof Core products can feel more like natural products because of Embossed In Register (EIR), and it comes on a rigid plank instead of the flexible LVP/LVT and sheet vinyl.

Waterproof Core is limited in the areas and applications due to the floating installation and click-system. Waterproof Core is great for bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, stairs with squared noses, dining rooms, living rooms, laundry rooms, pantries, and mud rooms.

Rigid core products are not recommended for commercial applications or if wheelchairs or other heavy equipment regularly travels over the flooring. The click-together systems fail in these scenarios and the planks will start coming apart.

Using walk off / door mats at every entrance to the home means most soil will be caught before it gets inside. You want these to get all the gritty things that could get stuck in your shoe and cause scratching when you walk around in your home.

When choosing indoor mats, pick ones that do not have rubber, latex, or cocoa fibers as the bottom. Using products like these could cause the flooring to discolor.

All vinyl flooring is susceptible to fading and damage due to direct sunlight over time or extreme heat. We recommend using blinds or curtains to protect your flooring. Sometimes the fading isn’t obvious until you move a mat or see it side by side with another piece of flooring, but it’s something to be aware of and take steps to mitigate.

Maintaining vinyl flooring varies depending on what kind of flooring you have. Sheet vinyl is very forgiving and can be wet mopped without issues. In contrast, click-together systems cannot be wet mopped and must be washed using a floor cleaner and a dry mop. We often recommend the Bona system, but any ph neutral floor cleaner should work.

It’s important to sweep, dust mop, or vacuum regularly. If you choose to vacuum be certain to turn the beater bar off so it doesn’t scuff your flooring. For a deep clean use a ph neutral floor cleaner such as Bona, or Mannington. Spray it to the mop head and wipe the flooring making certain to wipe in different directions.

If you use a conventional mopping system make sure to not oversaturate the water. Do not use aftermarket cleaners, they often have soaps and detergents that will stick to or damage your flooring. Do not use the abrasive side of the sponge or mophead as it could cause damage to the flooring.

We recommend these steps for cleaning your vinyl flooring including sheet vinyl, LVP, and waterproof core products:

• Sweep or vacuum
• Dry mop with a ph neutral cleaner
• Dry with a towel if needed (such as after mopping sheet vinyl)