So, you have decided to opt for vinyl plank or tile effect flooring? Excellent choice! Super durable, Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) are an excellent choice of flooring for all areas of the home.
But the world of vinyl flooring can be overwhelming, with a maze of different brands, all showcasing their own unique offerings. This post aims to arm you with the knowledge you need to answer that burning question once and for all – “What is the best vinyl LVT flooring?”
Looking for the best vinyl flooring? View our full range of luxury vinyl tiles online.
How to choose the best LVT flooring
Wear layer thickness
LVT is made up of multiple layers. The wear layer is a protective layer that sits on the surface of the flooring to protect the floor from any scratches and marks.
Think thicker flooring is naturally more durable?
Sometimes other natural materials are. However, with luxury vinyl flooring, you can expect a thicker wear layer determining the floor’s overall durability. The best chance for an ultra-sturdy and durable floor is to pick a thick floor with a matching thick wear layer.
The embossing quality
The quality of the embossing is important when choosing the best LVT flooring. Paper and luxury vinyl tiles can be embossed in the same way.
Luxury vinyl tile embossing is simply adding texture to the planks or tiles.
There are two kinds of embossing, namely registered and blind embossing.
Registered: This is where a texture has some logic behind it. This usually involves embossing that replicates a pattern that matches an image. This image can express delicate textural detail, which the process of registered embossing replicates.
Blind: This type of embossing doesn’t follow an image, but uses a pre-set mould or punch to achieve some detail. However, blind embossing is mostly used for bold, 2D elements.
Texture is an important sign of quality and embossing is there to replicate the true wood or stone effect textures on LVT flooring.
Design & quality of the visual layer
At the end of the day, we are all looking for flooring that looks beautiful in our residential or commercial spaces. Nothing less. The visual layer is what gives your flooring solution the overall look. Vinyl flooring can be engineered to be sturdy, durable and realistic while also being pleasing to the eye, whilst also being water resistant.
Company reputation
After considering all of the technical features and designs, a company’s reputation goes a long way. If a company is creating bad vinyl flooring, then its brand reputation will precede them – it is a very small industry, and word travels fast. Effectively, no one wants to buy flooring from a company that has a bad reputation. Do your research to ensure you’re buying from a reputable and trusted company. These products require professional installation.
Warranty
Some flooring manufacturers provide customers with an extensive warranty. This can be an extra bonus when choosing the best vinyl flooring for your project. But, it’s also an indicator of the company’s faith in the quality of their own products.
Reviewing Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring brands
It’s important that you do some thorough research into LVT flooring brands before purchasing your chosen luxury vinyl planks. Different brands offer different features. However, does one LVT brand take a clear lead? Let’s have a look at some LVT flooring reviews.
Karndean review
Design-wise, Karndean’s luxury vinyl tile range has a truly beautiful visual layer. The extensive range is inspired by nature to mimic natural materials and it does this so well.
The embossing of Karndean’s luxury vinyl flooring further reflects this natural stone and natural wood style almost to perfection.
Karndean flooring is very thick, the wear layer itself is up to 0.7mm thick. The company has a great reputation with a 4.1/5 star rating on TrustPilot. Warranty-wise, Karndean offers an amazing lifetime warranty for residential use and up to a 20-year warranty for commercial use on some of its vinyl plank flooring products.
- Thickness: 10/10
- Wear Layer: 10/10
- Embossing Quality: 10/10
- Design and Visual Layer: 10/10
- Company Reputation: 9/10
- Warranty: 9/10
- Overall: 10/10 – A clear winner from Karndean that ticks all of our boxes with merit. When stunning designs and style meet functionality and resilience in flooring like this, you have a solid base to build your project around.
Shop Karndean here or visit us in-store to view our luxury vinyl floors in person.
Amtico review
Amtico’s designs and visual layers have a nice contemporary and authentic feel. Their LVT’s wear layer is typically 0.55m thick, paired with an impressive rigid core.
Amtico also offers a lifetime warranty on their signature range. With Amtico’s fantastic reputation, you can be sure that you’re buying flooring from a high-end LVT manufacturer.
- Thickness: 9/10
- Wear Layer: 9/10
- Embossing Quality: 10/10
- Design and Visual Layer: 10/10
- Company Reputation: 9/10
- Warranty: 10/10
- Overall: 9/10 – A solid choice of vinyl flooring for your home. The designs are simply stunning and great for building modern aesthetics. If you want shiny floors that wow guests, then Amtico is the perfect LVT flooring option for you.
View our stunning range of Amtico Flooring Products.
Moduleo review
Moduleo’s designs focuses on curating a realistic appearance and boasts a registered embossed texture on their LVT floors that emulates real hardwood flooring.
This vinyl tile flooring has a solid wear layer of 0.55mm, making it an excellent choice for those looking for durable flooring. However, with a 10-year warranty, this luxury vinyl flooring falls a bit short when compared to some other luxury vinyl tile flooring options.
Considering their luxury vinyl flooring reviews, there are a lot of delighted customers. However, some customers are unhappy, citing the floors rolling up at the edges. This is most likely due to poor craftsmanship when fitting the flooring. Make sure you go with a professional flooring contractor that’s very well-known in the flooring industry.
- Thickness: 9/10
- Wear Layer: 9/10
- Embossing Quality: 9/10
- Design and Visual Layer: 8/10
- Company Reputation: 7/10
- Warranty: 5/10
- Overall: 7/10 – Moduleo is a great option for natural-looking flooring with a brilliant range of wood and stone effects. It falls short regarding the warranty and reputation. However, their reputation issue comes down to the installation of the flooring and not their manufacturing process.
Colonia review
The Colonia collection by Polyflor offers beautiful marble, slate, wood, and stone effects that mimic natural material and look excellent once installed. The design is subjective, but Colonia does not have the modern shine that Amtico has or the proper natural effect that Karndean offers.
Coupled with a low 0.2mm wear layer and a very low 7-year guarantee, Colonia does not fare well against other brands and flooring options. A good saving grace for Colonia is the company’s reputation. The brand has a perfect 5-star rating on Houzz.
- Thickness: 4/10
- Wear Layer: 4/10
- Embossing Quality: 6/10
- Design and Visual Layer: 6/10
- Company Reputation: 10/10
- Warranty: 3/10
- Overall: 5/10 – Colonia offers some really good colours suitable for any home. However, a low warranty and thin wear layer make this luxury vinyl flooring incomparable to other LVT flooring brands. It does come in cheaper than more premium LVT floors, so it could be a nice choice for vinyl tile flooring on a budget.
So what are the best luxury vinyl tiles?
Overall the competition for best LVT flooring is almost equally matched between Karndean and Amtico. They’re both extremely good choices. Moduleo is also an excellent choice of luxury vinyl tile. But overall, the best quality vinyl flooring would be the one that aligns with your usage and budget needs.
Yes, there are quite a few eco-friendly flooring options.
Certain LVT flooring brands focus on sustainability and their environmental impact when manufacturing their products. This consideration sets them apart from other brands and can establish them as an industry leader.
Let’s dive into some of the companies we’ve discussed and their outlook on sustainability.
Karndean has adapted certain sustainability practices such as reducing their carbon footprint and conserving natural resources when creating their collections.
Amtico Flooring reviews its impact on the planet and focuses on employing sustainable strategies to reduce waste. They use 100% of pre-production waste in flooring products and fight climate change by setting achievable carbon reduction targets.
Polyflor offers collections that can be recycled, and the company focuses on reducing overall waste during the manufacturing process.
Moduleo produces earth-conscious floors with designs that last a lifetime. They also choose to use green energy as their main power source.
LVT and LVP (luxury vinyl plank) flooring introduce users to an array of benefits. Some advantages include:
Stain resistance
Water resistance
Hard-wearing surface layer for high-traffic areas
Dampens sound
Affordable, low-maintenance alternative to real wood
Simple installation methods and lower installation costs
On top of all of those benefits, vinyl flooring is suited to various types of commercial and residential use. It works well in different interiors too. From kitchens to bathrooms due to its water-resistant nature and high foot traffic areas like commercial waiting rooms or hallways.
Vinyl plank flooring is often created with a wood design. Whereas, vinyl tile flooring features a tile shape replicating marble and stone effect flooring or ceramic tiles. Both LVT and LVP flooring materials still offer design versatility and stylish vinyl floor finishes.
The wood-effect vinyl planks come in realistic wood colours and textures and even successfully mimic the rustic graining we associate with real wood flooring. These wood-look planks are excellent for curating farmhouse aesthetics.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective ceramic tile replica, that’s where LVT floors come into play. Opting for luxury vinyl tile flooring allows you to enjoy the aesthetic of real stone without the hassle of extensive upkeep or maintenance. A single luxury vinyl tile is also easy to replace if damaged.
Vinyl flooring is easy to maintain and clean. However, there are certain chemicals that can be harmful to your vinyl floors.
If you want to keep your flooring in peak condition for as long as you can, avoid using ammonia or ammonia-based cleaning products. These can cause the vinyl plank to break down and crack. It’s also best to deter from using wax or solvent-based polishes to polish your vinyl planks.
To ensure your luxury vinyl tile surface is long-lasting, never scrub it with abrasive scrubbers. It’s also important to remember that sustained contact with rubber, as on a bicycle wheel or rubber-backed mats, can cause permanent marks and discolouration. Additionally, do not use furniture polish to shine your commercial or residential vinyl floor.
For the best results, be sure to check manufacturer-specific cleaning recommendations.
To ensure your vinyl planks are comfortable underfoot, you cannot simply install the planks over a sub-par floor — that’s where an underlay comes in handy. Some of the best vinyl plank flooring comes with a helpful built-in underlay. However, if the built-in underlay is not included, you will need to choose the correct underlay to suit your needs.
The underlay is essential to your luxury plank flooring as it contributes to noise reduction, moisture resistance and sound insulation. Moreover, adding underlay below your planks can also ensure your space is kept warm and cosy during cold weather due to the thermal insulation it offers.
Wrapping up
It’s understandable if you’re still a bit confused or on the fence about the best LVT flooring for you. We can help simplify your choice.
At AllFloors, we are experts in all things carpet and flooring and have a combined experience of over 50 years in the industry. Our expertise is at your disposal so don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us to further discuss the right type of flooring for your needs.
