The Benefits of Installing Vinyl Wood Plank Floors over Ceramic Tile
When it comes to installing a new floor homeowners have a lot of options to consider when selecting the right type of flooring product. There are several things that have to be considered such as the room the floor is to be installed in, the design and color scheme desired, and of course, the cost of the product. Taking all of these factors into account, a homeowner will discover there are inherent benefits to installing vinyl wood plank floors in lieu of ceramic tile.
Ceramic tile is most often installed in potentially wet locations such as basement, kitchens, and bathrooms due to the exceptional ability to resist moisture damage. However, most people would not want to install vinyl wood plank floors in their bathroom for obvious reasons. Although somewhat moisture resistant, it offers far less protection against water damage than a ceramic tile floor. However, that does not mean that homeowners can’t consider vinyl wood plank floors for their basements or kitchens.
Anyone undertaking a kitchen or basement renovation is going to be concerned, first and foremost, with the overall cost of the project. Installing ceramic tile floors are very labor intensive and require a high degree of skill to not only lay the tile floor but to grout it as well. The labor costs, in addition to the cost of the material, can make installing ceramic tile floors a costly proposition. Depending on your selection, some tiles can cost upwards of $10 per square foot. Homeowners who choose to incorporate accent tiles or borders in your tile pattern will find that this drives the cost up even higher. Custom accent and border tiles can cost up to $12 per linear foot.
Vinyl wood plank floors not only cost less than ceramic tiles per square foot, they also take considerably less time to install. These floors require no mortar bed like ceramic tile nor do they require expensive equipment to complete cutting the tiles. All that’s required to install these floors are a minimal number of tools and very little experience. Vinyl wood plank floors do require an underlayment that will have to be installed between the sub floor and vinyl wood floor. This underlayment acts as both a vapor barrier and a sound barrier beneath the vinyl floor. After the underlayment is installed, the vinyl floor planks fit together using interlocking seams. No glue or nailing is required to install these floors. The material itself can cost $2 to $5 a square foot which offers some big savings over ceramic tile floors.
Today, companies are capable of producing vinyl wood plank floors in a variety of designs and colors. Species such as maple, oak, walnut, cherry, mahogany and bamboo are commonly produced using a variety of stain options to give the homeowner even more selections. The techniques used today not only produce realistic looking and feeling wood floors, they also produce a durable floor. Most companies stand behind their product by offering 15 and sometime 25 year warranties.
Maintaining vinyl wood plank floors is much easier than maintaining a ceramic tile floor. Cleaning a vinyl floor only requires a good cleaning solution and a damp mop. Also, vinyl floors are much more resistant to impact damage than ceramic tiles, which chip and crack quite easily. Replacing damaged ceramic tile is also much more labor intensive than replacing a damage section of vinyl wood flooring.
Despite all the apparent advantages of installing vinyl wood plank floors over ceramic tiles, there are still a few disadvantages as well. The major disadvantage of installing these floors is their inability to withstand water damage. Excessive moisture will lead to these floors warping and delaminating over time. In most cases, due to the ability of water to work its way into the smallest openings, these floors will have to be replaced rather than repaired.
Renovating your basement or kitchen or any floor for that matter can be a stressful task. Not only are homeowners concerned about the overall look of the final project but equally important is the final cost of the project as well. By carefully reviewing their options, homeowners and consumers can find both a cost effective and beautiful floor.
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Tagged With Vinyl Wood Plank Floors