Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring was first invented back in 1933. From its introduction to the market until the present day, this flooring type has held a reputation for being resilient, kind on the budget and easy to install, with offerings in the category improving vastly since inception. Today we’ll be exploring what Vinyl floors are made of, the benefits these floors can offer in your home, tips for installation and maintenance, and more. So, let’s jump in:
What Are The Benefits Of Luxury Vinyl Plank Floors?
Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring offers a whole host of benefits including the seven outlined below:
100% Waterproof Surface And Water-Resistant System
The construction of Luxury Vinyl Plank (more on that further down in this article) means that you get a floor which has a 100% waterproof surface, and creates a water-resistant system once installed. This means that your Luxury Vinyl floors will more easily withstand everyday life, and also makes them the ideal choice for bathrooms, laundries, and other wet areas where you want that luxurious look and feel without having to budget for a full tile installation.
Assists In Creating A Quieter Space
Noise pollution can have pretty serious health consequences when you’re exposed to it at a high enough volume for a long enough amount of time. While you’ll never be able to create a completely quiet space without significant soundproofing, you can help turn down the volume in your home by installing Luxury Vinyl Planks. This is because these floors are naturally quieter underfoot thanks to their softer feel.
Acoustic compliance is also particularly important in multi-residential buildings, as you may not be able to install floors that transmit noise beyond a certain level.
Softer Underfoot
Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring offers a softer feeling underfoot than many other types of floorboards. This helps create a sense of luxury within the space and can really level up a room.
Warmer Feeling
In addition to feeling softer underfoot, Vinyl also feels warmer. This is great for those cold Winter mornings where the last thing you want to do is swing your feet out of bed onto an icy floor.
Resistant To Staining And Fading
Stains are especially common on floors in homes with children and pets, but they can happen anywhere. While they may not be completely avoidable, having a stain resistant floor – such as Vinyl – can help minimise the aesthetic impact of daily life. Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring is also quite resistant to fading, so you can enjoy vibrant colours for longer.
Low Maintenance
While you do still need to care for your Vinyl floors (more on how to do that below) they are inherently low maintenance meaning you can spend less time cleaning, and more time doing what makes you happy.
Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring Composition:
Luxury Vinyl Plank floors are crafted from a PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) base combined with a décor film and protective coating. Construction varies depending on the manufacturer and whether the product selected is a single layer floorboard (such as our Naturale Plank 3.0 and Naturale Plank 5.0 collections) or multi-layer option (like our Oatlands range). The below construction guide will give a general idea of how Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring is composed and is correct for all Imagine Floors by Airstep Vinyl floors. However, if you want to know the specific construction of other types of flooring, we suggest checking with the manufacturer.
DesignDefence UV Coating
This is the top layer of your Vinyl floorboard. As the layer that you live and walk on, the purpose of this section is seal off your floorboard and enhance the protection that the wear layer offers. Protection varies based on the coating that is used, with all Imagine Floors Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring featuring our superior DesignDefence Coating. This is situated within a PUR top layer which enhances resistance to scratches and damage.
Wear Layer
The wear layer provides the vital function of protecting the rest of your floorboard. As a general rule, thicker tends to be better in this regard, which is why all Imagine Floors by Airstep Luxury Vinyl Plank floors have a wear layer that is at least 0.3mm thick. This is also the layer that helps to prevent your new floors from staining and fading, while reducing the maintenance requirements of your floor.
PVC Décor Film
The PVC décor film is where the design magic happens. Not only is this the layer of your floorboard that creates your beautiful true to life timber pattern and chosen flooring colour, but it is also the section which contains our woodgrain embossing to enable a more natural feeling texture underfoot.
Core Layer(s)
The core layers of your Luxury Vinyl Plank floor are where your chosen floorboards get that soft, quiet and warm feeling underfoot. The amount of layers in this section will vary depending on which product you choose, but all options have a water-resistant nature making them ideal for installation in wet areas.
Balancing Layer
The balancing layer is the very bottom layer of a Luxury Vinyl floorboard. Designed to keep everything stable and enhance the water-resistant nature of the floor, this layer is the one that is adhered to your underlay when installing the flooring.
Do Vinyl Floors Need Underlay?
Short answer – yes. It is always recommended to install underlay beneath any hard flooring that does not like a pre-adhered underlay. Traditionally, however, it has been hard to find an underlay that is suitable for Luxury Vinyl Plank floors that are installed in a direct stick manner. This is due to the fact that a direct stick floor acts differently to a floating floor, making it incompatible with many underlay types.
Underlay For Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring
As noted above, not all hard flooring underlays are suitable for use with Luxury Vinyl Plank floors that use a direct stick method of installation. We suggest the use of our Acoustalay underlay with all Luxury Vinyl floorboards of this nature, as the hard-set installation method of the product makes it the perfect candidate for the task.
How To Install Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring:
Imagine Floors Luxury Vinyl Plank floorboards use a direct stick installation method. This means that an adhesive is used to glue the floor directly to the underlay or subfloor. This method of installation allows you to forego expansion gaps, a significant benefit for those who do not wish to install scotia or skirting boards in their space.
This is also highly beneficial in the unlikely event that your floors end up damaged, as you will only need to remove the individual floorboards, rather than pulling up the entire floor.
For further information on how to install Imagine Floors Luxury Vinyl floorboards, please refer to the relevant Installation Instructions below:
Naturale Plank 3.0 Installation Instructions
Naturale Plank 5.0 Installation Instructions
Oatlands Installation Instructions
How To Maintain Vinyl Floors:
Maintaining your Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring is simple – sweep and/or vacuum regularly, mop up any spills as soon as possible, and follow the Cleaning, Care and Maintenance Instructions for your chosen floor. We have a general guide on cleaning Vinyl floors, as well as specific instructions for each of our collections, so you’ll be able to keep on top of things easily.
Why Choose Imagine Floors Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring:
While we cannot speak for all varieties of Vinyl flooring in terms of the below benefits, they are available with all Imagine Floors Luxury Vinyl floors:
Low VOC And Phthalate Free
We understand that creating a healthy environment within your home is important, that’s why all of our Luxury Vinyl Plank floors are low VOC and phthalate free. While VOCs are almost impossible to avoid given the amount of places they show up, anything you can do to limit your exposure is always a good idea and we are proud to be FloorScore certified.
R10 Slip Rating
All Imagine Floors Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring achieves an R10 slip rating. This is particularly important in wet areas but makes all parts of the home safer. This is especially beneficial to those who have individuals prone to slips or falls in their home, but anyone can have an accident so minimising risk is always a good idea.
DesignDefence Protective Coating
To help ensure that your floors stay as nice as possible for as long as possible we apply an advanced DesignDefence coating which enhances the protective layer on each floorboard. This means you can stress less and live more.
Low Allergenic
This point is particularly important for those who live with asthma or other allergies, but having floors that are low allergenic and do not trap dirt, dust and other debris will make anyone’s life easier. Not only does this make cleaning easier, but it also helps create a healthier interior environment.
True To Life Detail
An important aspect of creating a luxurious style within your home is, quite obviously, how everything looks. That’s why we use advanced printing technology to provide true to life detail across all of our Luxury Vinyl Plank décors.
Over Thirty Décors Available
Speaking of our range of décors, it includes over thirty options across three collections, so you’re sure to be able to find a design that suits your preferred interior aesthetic.
Woodgrain Embossing
Another element that really helps a space feel more luxurious is the way that things feel. To assist in this, all Imagine Floors Luxury Vinyl floorboards are woodgrain embossed. This means that in addition to effortlessly mimicking their natural counterparts in terms of looks, our floors also offer a more genuine texture to help take your design to the next level.
Glue Down Installation For A Seamless Finish
Finally, if you don’t want to install scotia or skirting in your home because you prefer a straight transition between your floors and walls, our Luxury Vinyl Planks are the perfect option. Thanks to their direct stick application all floors within our Naturale Plank 3.0, Naturale Plank 5.0 and Oatlands collections can be installed right up to your walls and other fixed vertical elements within your space. We also offer exact colour match stair nosing for all options so you can install the one type of flooring throughout your entire home if you choose to do so.
Want The Cohesive, Low Fuss Luxury That Vinyl Plank Floorboards Provide?
Our Luxury Vinyl Plank floorboards are available throughout the entirety of Australia. To find your closest stockist and create the design of your dreams with our Vinyl floors, head over to our Store Locator and drop in your postcode for quick and easy access to information about where to find our floors.
