Luxury Vinyl Tiles, Everything You Need To Know For LVT Flooring Dublin, Domestic And Commercial
- December 6, 2021
- 2 Comment(s)
LVT flooring stands for Luxury Vinyl Tiles and they’ve grown in popularity due to their luxurious look and feel, quality, durability and ease of installation. You may also hear them referred to as Luxury Vinyl Planks (LVP).
You can modernise your home in a matter of hours installing new LVT flooring.
LVT’s main benefit are that they offer a wide range of designs and styles… from stone-look, wood-look and tiled-look designs. There are LVT flooring patterns that have been designed to fit every room in your home.
For LVT flooring Dublin, look no further than Deco Designs. We have the experience and expertise to give you the best advice on the type and style of flooring you need for your home.
Transform any space in your home quickly and easily and create a unique feel for each room in your home, or use the same design throughout to create a consistent theme across your home.
There are literally hundreds of different LVT flooring styles with various textures, edgings, patterns and designs to choose from.
What Is LVT Flooring?
LVT is a material that looks and feels like natural wood or stone. It can give your home the same elegant and sophisticated look given by natural materials without the downsides.
With natural wood or stone, there’s more maintenance and they’re harder to keep clean (stone) and natural wood requires ongoing buffing and polishing to remove scratches.
You won’t have to worry about this with a luxury vinyl tile.
Buy LVT flooring and transform any space in your home quickly, easily, and create a unique feel for each room in your home. You may also decide to use the same design throughout to create a consistent theme across your home.
LVT Flooring Pros And Cons
There are many pros to having LVT luxury vinyl tile installed in your home or commercial premises.
In fact, there’s hardly any “con” to it.
Pro #1 – Variety of Design
The biggest benefit of LVT flooring tiles is that they are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. You can choose from stone-look, wood-look, and tiled-look designs.
There are many interesting LVT flooring designs that you can choose from to give your home a unique and authentic look. Guests won’t notice they aren’t standing on natural wood but on LVT wood flooring!
A LVT tile can replicate the feel and texture of natural wood. Manufacturers can do this by having the wood grain pattern embossed on the surface of the tile.
Installing the correct underlay for LVT flooring tiles will absorb noise and improve the acoustics of your room.
And LVT can be used with underfloor heating, up to 27°C, so it’s a fantastic option in colder climates such as Ireland.
Pro #2 – Durability
A LVT tile is made of higher quality and more durable materials than a VCT or Vinyl Composite Tile. LVT vinyl flooring is designed to allow the tile to maintain its shape.
LVT flooring on stairs is a popular option thanks to the durability of LVT in high-traffic areas and the fact it doesn’t scratch or scuff easily.
In addition, with so many types and styles of Luxury Vinyl Tiles available, you can easily match your stair flooring with your other decor.
Pro #3 – Affordable
It may have the word “luxury” in it but an LVT luxury vinyl tile is one of the most affordable flooring options you can install in your home.
LVT flooring prices are much lower than natural flooring materials. Because luxury vinyl flooring is highly resilient and more durable, its maintenance costs are likewise much lower than most types of flooring materials.
Cleaning LVT flooring is easier and trouble-free. No need for frequent polishing to keep it shiny and looking brand new.
As an added value, many LVT flooring brands offer a 20-year guarantee on their products. The guarantee is further proof of its durability and high-quality.
With these in mind, the overall LVT flooring cost is comparatively lower than many types of hardwood materials.
Pro #4 – Easy to Install
Although you can find brands in the market that include LVT click flooring systems that make installation easier and more convenient, we advise getting an expert LVT flooring company when installing luxury vinyl tiles.
This is especially true when the installation process requires using LVT flooring glue.
There may also be situations where the surface is not receptive to adhesives and installation will need more preparation. Our LVT specialist may recommend floating LVT flooring installation.
Also called “Loose Lay”, this is a process where the luxury vinyl tiles are loosely laid on top of the subfloor but are kept in place by a series of planks or tiles that are glued around the perimeter of the space.
Wood-Look Luxury Vinyl Tiles
For LVT hardwood flooring, choose a wood-look design of popular timbers such as Maple, Oak, Ivy, Acacia, Applewood, Beech, Birch, Chestnut, Elm, Eucalyptus, Fruitwood, Hickory, Mahogany, Pecan, Pine, Teak, Tigerwood and Walnut.
Stone-Look Luxury Vinyl Tiles
Choose a stone-look design of popular stone floors such as Limestone, Marble, Travertine, Granite, Flagstone, Slate, Cantera, Sandstone and Concrete.
Tile-Look Luxury Vinyl Tiles
Choose luxury vinyl floors with a tiled-look design in just about any colour and texture you can think of including Terracotta, Ceramic to Porcelain.
LVT Flooring Options
Let’s get practical first and discuss the 3 installation options for luxury vinyl tiles.
1. Glued LVT
The first option is having the vinyl planks glued to the floor using a strong adhesive.
When opting for the LVT glue down flooring method, keep in mind that the adhesive will need two days of curing before you can walk on them.
2. Glue-less LVT
A second option involves choosing a brand with an LVT flooring click lock feature that attaches the planks together with the use of a tongue-and-groove joint.
No need to apply any LVT flooring adhesive. These can be walked on immediately after the planks have been laid.
3. LVT with Underlay
A third option uses underlayment for LVT flooring that reduces noise. Installation is a matter of sticking the LVT to the underlay.
There are 3 types of laminate flooring textures…
Smooth
Smooth laminate is designed to not just look sleek, but the added benefit is that it’s easier to maintain as there’s nowhere for dirt, dust and grime to settle within.
Smooth textured laminate is generally suited for living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms.
Embossed
Embossed luxury vinyl tiles allow for different patterns raised slightly from the surface to give the illusion of wood or stone.
This can create a sophisticated look to complement or raise the impression of the room it’s laid in.
Hand-Scraped
Hand-scraped luxury vinyl tiles give an interesting antique-finish to your flooring making it look like natural wood grain that you’d get from hardwood flooring.
The Best LVT Flooring For Each Room
LVT vinyl plank flooring can change the look and feel of any room thanks to the various options of look-a-like products available.
Whether you want a timber look for the lounge room, a marble look for the dining room or a porcelain look for the kitchen or bathroom floors, you can make it happen thanks to LVT laminate flooring.
Entryway
Your home’s entryway is where first impressions happen.
If you’ve got a dedicated entryway, this is a great opportunity to impress with perhaps a marble-look laminate?
Hallway
Your hallway is going to get a lot of foot traffic so it’s important to choose the right design, texture and colour of luxury vinyl tiles to reduce the look of wear and tear over the long term.
Talk to our flooring specialists at our showroom or arrange an appointment at your home to have a chat about your options and get expert advice on the best LVT product, texture and design for your home.
Lounge Room
The right LVT flooring in your lounge room can give it a feeling of warmth where family and friends come together to talk, laugh or just hang out and watch a movie.
Timber look flooring such as Maple and Oak are popular choices and can complement almost any décor you have in your lounge room.
You might want to consider white LVT flooring to create an illusion of space as well as contrasts to the shape, styles, and textures of the decor in your lounge area.
Dining Room
LVT flooring in your dining room offers an opportunity to create a feeling of togetherness where family meet over a meal to discuss their day.
Choose a laminate flooring design such as wood-look Acacia, Applewood or Chestnut or a tiled-look to perhaps compliment an adjoining kitchen.
Bedrooms
The best luxury vinyl tiles for bedrooms are timber-look. So, depending on your bedroom décor, you can choose from a light, medium or dark shade for your LVT plank flooring.
From there, select a pattern such as herringbone, chevron, diamond and honeycomb to change the feel of each bedroom or make it consistent across each bedroom.
Our flooring specialists will use only top quality LVT flooring underlay to ensure comfort and a noise-free environment.
Kitchen
While practicality comes into it when choosing LVT for your kitchen, it doesn’t mean it can’t look amazing.
For wet areas, a tile, stone or marble look laminate will look best.
Choose from popular designs and styles such as terracotta and luxurious marble effect flooring to lift the feel of the kitchen and to complement a new kitchen cabinets or stainless steel appliances.
Grey LVT flooring can give your kitchen an elegant “industrial” look to it. A wonderful complement to steel kitchen equipment and marble countertops.
Bathroom
The most popular luxury vinyl tiles for bathrooms is porcelain look-a-like in a range of colours from a crisp white to a sophisticated black and while tiled look.
Our waterproof LVT flooring means you can have the look you want without worry about moisture getting into the floor.
Things To Consider When Buying LVT
On this page we’ve provided you with a detailed outline of the many choices you have when it comes to choosing luxury vinyl tiles for your home.
Being armed with information before you visit a flooring store, call a company or have a flooring specialist visit your home can give you a feeling of satisfaction and allow you to ‘talk the talk’.
With so many LVT flooring brands on the market, for LVT flooring reviews Ireland, take a few minutes to read them on the web for other homeowner’s experiences and opinions.
Yes, price is an important factor but don’t buy cheap LVT flooring just because it saves you a few dollars.
Buying luxury vinyl tiles is an important decision as it will affect the look and feel of your home for many years to come.
So it’s important to make a wise choice with the colour, pattern, texture, edging and installation method.
Here are some more important things to know about luxury vinyl tiles…
LVT Flooring Patterns
Just like with wood flooring, stone or tiles, LVT come in a wide range of patterns. Check out some of our LVT flooring pictures to see which one fits the style and decor of your home.
Here are a few to choose from…
Benefits of Luxury Vinyl Tiles
Luxury Vinyl Tiles can give you a realistic looking of wood, tile or stone appearance without the hassle of cleaning soiled grout joints.
It is resistant to burns, scratches, and heat, and very easy to maintain. Of course, each flooring method has its pros and cons.
Several benefits of luxury vinyl tiles include…
- Easy installation (Glued, glue-less or click-together)
- Water resistant / Water proof / Moisture Resistant
- Noise resistant (with underlay)
- Neutral temperature (no more cold stones or tiles in winter)
- Can be installed with heated floors
- Low maintenance (easy to clean, hygienic, no polishing or waxing required)
- Scratch and scuff resistant
- Slip Resistant
- Eco conscious (50% recycled materials used)
- Durable and long lasting (up to 20 year guarantee)
- Natural to touch (looks and feels like the real thing)
- Impact resistant (perfect for kids)
LVT Edging Options
With luxury vinyl tiles, the edging of the planks can come in various types.
These include:
- Square Edge
- Bevelled Edge
- Feature Strips
LVT Flooring Colours
Choose from a wide range of colours for luxury vinyl tiles to compliment your existing décor.
By Shades
Laminate flooring colours are separated into shades such as light, medium and dark brown as well as by colour.
By Colour
You can also choose LVT by colour, such as…
- Grey
- Red
- Orange
- Brown
- Tan
- Yellow
- White
- Black
Luxury Vinyl Tiles Durability “AC Rating”
Laminate flooring comes in various levels of durability to suit different uses.
Everything from moderate residential use to heavy commercial for high foot traffic in a retail environment.
Commercial LVT flooring is ideal for retail stores, hotels, schools, gyms, banks, and busy corporate office, just to name a few.
The “AC Rating” is a scale of durability from 1-5. AC5 represents the most durable LVT suitable for commercial purposes, while AC1 is suitable only for moderate residential use.
AC Rating Scale for LVT Explained:
AC1 moderate residential: Suitable for light foot traffic such as bedrooms or closets.
AC2 general residential: Moderate foot traffic such as living and dining rooms.
AC3 heavy residential: High foot traffic residential areas, as well as light foot traffic offices.
AC4 general commercial: Full residential use as well as various commercial environments.
AC5 heavy commercial: Heavy commercial foot traffic.
Checklist for Choosing Luxury Vinyl Tiles
If you’re confused by all the above choices and variables of luxury vinyl tiles, here’s a quick checklist with the steps involved…
- Choose a room to focus on one at a time (eg. Living room, Bedrooms)
- Choose a look (Stone, Tile, Marble, Wood)
- Choose an installation type (Glued, Glue-less, Underlay)
- Choose a shade (Light, Medium, Dark)
- Choose a colour (eg. White, Yellow, Grey, Black, etc)
- Choose a pattern (eg. Herringbone, Chevron, Diamond, Hexagon)
- Choose a texture (Smooth, Embossed, Hand-scraped)
- Choose an edging (Square, Bevelled, Feature Strips)
- Choose a durability grade (Residential to Commercial)
- Choose an installation date
- Start enjoying your new flooring!
2 comments on “Luxury Vinyl Tiles, Everything You Need To Know For LVT Flooring Dublin, Domestic And Commercial”
Hello, I am interested in your LVT. I wouldn’t be looking for your wood effect tiles, more white and neutral. Could you provide an idea of cost? Install is not needed
Hi Sinead, thank you for reaching out to us. We do not provide LVT services anymore.