Vinyl plank or Vinyl tile flooring is a highly resilient floor.  These types of floors are photographs or designs of hardwood or tile imprinted onto a strong inner core, are generally waterproof material, and then coated with a protective wear layer.

Luxury Vinyl Plank or Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVP/LVT) products have a center core material made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), similar to the same materials used for plumbing pipes, which is essentially plastic.  This center core being solid plastic makes the product flexible.  The benefit to these types of products are that they are relatively inexpensive.  The downside to these types of products are that they are very sensitive to sunlight and tend to expand and contract easily, leaving gaps and waviness in the flooring when exposed to direct sunlight.  These types of products are better suited for smaller isolated areas that don’t have any direct sunlight (bathrooms, laundry rooms, etc.).

Rigid Vinyl Plank or Rigid Vinyl Tile (RVP/RVT) (which also includes Engineered Vinyl Plank/Engineered Vinyl Tile) products have a center core material made of either a stone polymer composite (SPC), or a wood polymer composite (WPC).  Both of these types of center cores provide stability in the flooring that helps minimize the issues with expansion and contraction and the impacts of direct sunlight. These types of products are quality products that can be considered for larger areas which may have direct sunlight.

Maintenance is very simple and requires no long term care.  Simple vacuuming, sweeping or periodic applications of a light spray approved floor cleaner are all you need to do for the life of the floor.

These products are generally installed as a click together or floating installation method.  They generally are installed over a pre-attached cushion or a separately purchased cushion underlayment.  Over concrete slabs it’s generally required to add an additional moisture barrier (6 mil poly sheeting). For commercial or heavy use applications it’s best to select a product that can be glued down directly to the subfloor (check the product installation instructions to verify the product can be glued down before purchasing.  Not all vinyl plank or vinyl tile products are approved for glue down).  Matching trim and moldings are offered by the manufacturer to provide a quality finish.