So you have decided to go for vinyl plank or tile effect flooring? Excellent choice! Super durable, vinyl (LVT) makes an excellent choice of flooring for all areas of the home. But entering the world of LVT vinyl flooring can be a maze of different brands all with their pros and cons. This article aims to arm you with the knowledge you need to answer the question once and for all – “What is the best LVT flooring?”
Looking for the best vinyl flooring? Find out more about our range of LVT flooring.
How to Choose the Best Vinyl LVT Flooring?
LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tiles) can all seem similar on the surface. However, if we dig a little deeper there are several key features to consider when deciding on the best LVT flooring for your home.
Vinyl Flooring Wear Layer
Think thicker flooring is naturally durable? Sometimes it is. However, with vinyl flooring, it is the wear layer that determines the overall durability of the floor. The best choice for ultra-sturdy and durable flooring is to pick a thick floor with a thick wear layer to match.
The wear layer itself is a protective layer that sits on top of the flooring. This protects the floor from any scratches and marks.
Registered Embossing Quality
Luxury Vinyl Tiles can be embossed the same way paper can. Embossing is simply adding texture. Now there are two kinds of embossing; 1) registered and 2) blind.
Registered: Registered embossing is where a texture has some logic behind it. This usually involves the embossing replicating a pattern that matches an image. This image can express delicate detail, such as texture, which can be replicated using registered embossing.
Blind: Blind embossing does not follow an image, rather a pre-set mould or punch. Some detail is achievable, but blind embossing is used mostly for bold, 2D elements.
The quality of registered embossing is important when choosing the best vinyl floor. The texture is an important sign of quality. Embossing is there to replicate the true wood feel on LVT flooring.
Design and Quality of Visual Layer
The visual layer is what gives your flooring the overall design. Vinyl flooring can be engineered to be both sturdy, durable and realistic but at the end of the day, we are all looking for flooring that looks beautiful in our homes. Nothing less.
Company Reputation
After considering all of the technical and design features, a company’s reputation goes a long way. If a company is creating bad vinyl flooring, then their reputation will follow them – it is a very small industry and word travels fast. At the end of the day, no-one wants to buy flooring from a company that has a bad reputation.
Warranty
Some flooring manufacturers give a warranty. This can be an extra bonus when choosing the best vinyl flooring.
Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) Brands in the UK
Different brands obviously offer different features. However, does one LVT brand take a clear lead? Let’s have a look…
Karndean Review
Design wise Karndean’s luxury vinyl tile range’s visual layer is truly beautiful. The whole range is Inspired by nature (both wood and stone) and it truly shows. The embossing of Karndean flooring further reflects this natural style.
Karndean flooring is very thick, the wear layer itself is up to 0.7mm thick. The company has a great reputation with 4.6/5 on Feefo. Warranty-wise, Karndean offers an amazing 20-year warranty on some of its 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 design and style meat functionality and durability in flooring like this you have a solid base to build your family life around.
Find out more about Karndean Flooring or visit our showroom for advice.
Amtico Review
Amtico’s design and the visual layer has a nice contemporary design and authentic feel with. Their LVT’s wear layer is typically 0.55m thick which is impressive. Amtico also offers a lifetime warranty on their signature range. Amtico also has a fantastic reputation with 9.4/10 on Flooring Megastore.
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 LVT for your home. The design is simply stunning with a clear contemporary feel. If you live in a modern apartment and want shiny floors that wow guests then Amtico is the perfect option for you.
Find out more about Amtico Flooring or visit our showroom for advice.
Moduleo Review
Moduleo’s design layer focuses on realistic appearance and has a registered emboss texture. This flooring has a solid 0.55mm wear layer making it a decent choice for those looking for durable flooring. With a 10-year warranty, this flooring does fall a bit short compared to some other options.
Review wise, 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.
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 will be down to the installation of the flooring and not the product itself.
Colonia Review
Colonia by Polyfloor offers beautiful marble, slate, wood and stone effects that 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 has. Couple this with a low 0.2 wear layer and a very low 7-year guarantee Colonia does not fare well against other 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 flooring incomparable to other flooring options. It does come in cheaper than more premium LVT options so could be a nice choice for fitting flooring on a budget.
So what are the best luxury vinyl tiles?
Overall the competition for best LVT vinyl flooring is very, very close between Karndean and Amtico. Both are extremely worthy choices. Moduleo is also a brilliant choice of luxury vinyl tile.
