Vinyl flooring is affordable and durable at the same time. They are not only scratch and stain resistant but also waterproof, making it a practical solution for high traffic areas and rooms like the kitchen and bathroom.
Vinyl flooring is produced either in the form of solid sheets or tiles and plank. What most people don’t know is that these types differ greatly in characteristics and applications as well as the manufacturing method. To help you decide on the flooring, we are reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of vinyl and vinyl plank flooring:
Look & Style
One of the main reasons that people choose Vinyl flooring is that it can mimic the look and feel of more expensive floorings thanks to a printed photographic layer right under the top wearing layer. This illustrative layer can be used to make the flooring look like a vast number of materials including the most popular styles today, hardwood and natural stone.
While both sheet and plank vinyl flooring are available with different material textures, their appearance and realism are not the same. The sheet flooring does not create the exact feel and look of a real hardwood or stone flooring. On the contrary, a vinyl plank flooring especially luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring is not distinguishable from natural stone or hardwood just by looking. Though, in this category credits goes to plank flooring.
Design Options
Vinyl plank flooring usually comes in the form of tiles or planks and installed plank by plank to create the look of natural wood or stone. That gives you the chance to create any desired pattern by mixing and matching the color, size or image of the tiles. It’s even possible (and quite easy) to slice individual plank and create aesthetic custom shapes, designs, and patterns.
That is not the case with a vinyl flooring that is shipped in the form of rolled sheets. As bulky and expensive presses are required to make the sheets and each press is only capable of produce one style of vinyl sheet, offering a wide range of styles would be costly. Though, the number of styles and patterns of vinyl sheet flooring available in the market is limited.
Durability & Stability
While there is a wide range of quality even among the higher quality vinyl tiles and sheets, vinyl planks and tiles are typically more durable and more stable than vinyl sheets. The reason is that vinyl tiles are reinforced with a rigid fiberglass layer on the back, unlike the vinyl sheet that needs to be rolled out, making any rigidity impossible.
Repair & Maintenance
In terms of repairability and ease of maintenance, vinyl tiles have a distinct advantage over vinyl sheets. When the flooring is severely damaged, with vinyl sheets, your only option is to replace entire the flooring, or at best, you can cut the affected area and replace it with a patch. However, finding a piece of the sheet that matches flooring design and making the patch follow the overall pattern of the floor. Besides, repair needs seem that makes the floor more vulnerable to water penetration.
With vinyl plank flooring, on the other hand, you have to only remove and change the planks in the damaged areas, and this task can be accomplished by yourself most of the time; therefore, the time and budget are reduced dramatically.
DIY Installation
It is not a secret that vinyl planks are more DIY-friendly than sheets. Vinyl sheet installation requires accurate measurements and precise cuts to fit into space, a nightmare task for a DIY installer with moderate skills. The worse is that any mistake during the process can lead to a large waste of material.
Conversely, installing a vinyl plank flooring is one favorite project among DIY installers. Some vinyl planks have tongs and grooves at the edge and all you need to do to make a seamless and smooth surface is to lay tiles on the floor and simply click them together. There is another type of vinyl plank flooring that should be glowed down to the underlayment with the help of special adhesive, but its installation process is DIY-friendly and takes only a day or two to complete the job. The best is that you can save money and don’t need to hassle with an installer!
Moisture Resistance
Probably the biggest advantage of vinyl sheets over planks is that they are installed in the form of solid sheets, making them less water-permeable. That’s why the vinyl sheet is a better option for moist areas such as a bathroom or an underground basement.
Cost
Because vinyl sheets can be mass-produced in the form of huge rules without having to worry about the precision cuts and waste, they are usually more affordable than plank flooring with the same color and pattern. But, as you know, you should hire an expert to cut and install the flooring. Add to that many hidden costs such as the price of repair/overhaul, shorter life span, etc. which can raise the price tag of vinyl sheets much higher than vinyl planks or tiles.
As you can see, both vinyl sheet and tiles have their advantages. Is One Better than the Other? The answer boils down to what is important for you and how the flooring is going to be used. For wet areas, vinyl sheets provide a better barrier against moisture, otherwise, vinyl plank flooring seems to be a more logical choice.
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