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Cost of Vinyl Floor Tiles - Vinyl Flooring AdvantagesShould you get a vinyl floor? Vinyl Floor Costs:So you need to replace the flooring in your guest bathroom or laundry room. Maybe it is water damaged, maybe it is old and peeling. What do you replace it with -- wood, tile, vinyl? If you can afford it, ceramic tiles, slate, and other natural materials sure look terrific and add to your home. But an affordable alternative, and surprisingly good-looking alternative, is vinyl flooring. Keep in mind that vinyl is totally different from linoleum -- vinyl is a man-made material that comes from petroleum byproducts (plastics), while linoleum comes from linseed oil (hence the "lin") and has been around for more than 150 years. Why install vinyl flooring in your home? Vinyl offers a number of advantages compared to other flooring materials. First of all, vinyl flooring is tough, especially when installed in sheets. It protects high traffic areas that may also suffer abuse from water and the elements -- we're talking playrooms, bathrooms, laundry rooms, mud rooms, entry halls. Second, maintenance for vinyl flooring is often minimal -- just a quick sweeping and occasional mopping. Third, it's softer than hard flooring, making it easier to stand on for long periods of time (they call it resilient flooring). Fourth, with new embossing techniques, new vinyl is not like the old vinyl you might know. Today, vinyl can mimic the feel, texture, color, and patterns of slate, tile, hardwoods -- just about anything. And finally, vinyl costs less than most flooring alternatives like ceramic tile or hardwoods, so if you are not going for elegance, you can save a lot of money.
Ok, so the drawbacks of vinyl? It is cheaper, so it will be considered cheaper when selling your home -- it won't "wow!" like real slate or tile might. Also, since vinyl is softer than other materials, it is more likely to get gouged or scraped or torn -- you have to be a little more careful with it. You'll want to sweep it regularly to keep sand and dirt off of it, otherwise it acts like sandpaper when you walk on it and drag it around, scratching and marring the surface of the vinyl. And while vinyl tiles are fairly easy to install (you've probably seen the peel and stick variety, anybody can do it if you keep your lines straight), the popular vinyl sheeting (without all the seams) requires more skill to install -- you'll probably want a pro to do it. The tile vinyl also does not last as long as other flooring material (5-20 years for vinyl tile vs. 20-30 years for vinyl sheeting and lifetime for well-maintained hardwoods), and it can build up dirt between all the seams. If you are worried about how your vinyl will hold up, look into the options for the wearlayer (coating on the surface) -- no-wax finish is the least durable while enhanced urethane is the toughest. Congoleum (Xclusive, Ultima, Bravada, Fast Track, Highligh are some of their designs) and Armstrong are 2 popular makers of vinyl flooring products.
Cost of Best Vinyl Floor Tiles - How Much Does Vinyl Flooring Cost?When you are planning to replace a floor, cost is a big factor for most of us. What kind of prices can you expect for vinyl flooring? Let's start with the material costs -- we'll cover installation later. For hardwood floors, you can pay $3-$15 per square foot, depending on the thickness and type of wood you choose. Laminates are cheaper, from about $1-$7 per sq foot. Ceramic tile can be $1-$12, but can go much higher if you use any specialty designer tiles. That brings us to vinyl -- vinyl sheeting can cost from 50 cents to $5+ per sq. foot (normally comes 6' or 12' in width), while vinyl tile is a little less (the tiles are usually 12"x12" or 18x18), from 35 cents to $4 per sq foot. So think of it this way -- your most expensive vinyl product will be as much as the very cheapest hardwood solution -- or an expensive hardwood solution will cost nearly 3X an expensive vinyl flooring product. For installation, hardwood can be $3-$8 per square foot, laminates $2-$5, ceramic tile $2-$5, and vinyl $1-$4, whether for tile or sheeting, more for professional installs. So let's say you have a 10x10 bathroom, that is 100sf. At $3 for materials and $3 for installation, an approximate cost for installing a vinyl floor would be $600 (keep in mind this varies from region to region depending on type of vinyl and installer costs).
Vinyl Flooring That Looks Like Wood: Choose the best vinyl floor for your needsArmstrong makes what they call vinyl plank flooring products -- basically vinyl products designed to look like wood. Empire Bamboo Caramel, Amendoim Natural, English Walnut, Jatoba Mahogany, and Kendrick Oak are just a few examples. The faux-wood vinyl comes in different sizes vs. tiles -- 48" or 36" long and 6 inches wide -- to make it look more like wood planking (some are even narrower at 4"). Some designs require dry-back, full spread installation (harder), while others are self-adhesive, floating installs (easier). Most of the wood-style vinyl comes with a tough urethane finish, with specially ground edges that make for precision, seamless fits. Of course, the feel of vinyl won't be confused with the feel of hardwood, but the look can actually be quite convincing -- check out a showroom near you if you are interested in this look. We found Armstrong Wood Maple Honey (and other varieties) selling for $2.40 per square foot, as an example of how much it costs. Check out FloorMall.com for additional pricing info.
Vinyl Flooring InstallationSome people like working with vinyl flooring because it is easier for do-it-yourselfers to install. This is especially true of vinyl tiles. Most vinyl tiles come with self-adhering surfaces -- just peel off the protective backing and stick the tile on the floor. Since they are all uniform shape, you just keeping working row by row and lining them up, cutting when needed to fit into edges and corners -- much easier than working with hard wood materials. This also makes it easier to replace a scratched or damaged tile -- be sure to save your extras, you may need them in the future. Congoleum provides professional vinyl flooring installation information on their website. You need to prepare the underfloor first to be smooth and clean. It is possible to install vinyl directly over existing vinyl or wood floors if you use proper glue and filler - check with the manufacturer for specs. It may be safer to put down a layer of plywood to assure a smooth surface (should be graded for underlayment). Cutting, gluing, and sealing seams can be challenging for beginners, so most often a professional installation is recommended when using vinyl sheets.
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