When renovating your home, one of the most important things to consider is what type of flooring you will use. Broadly speaking, you could go with tiling, carpeting or hardwood flooring. However, choosing artificial materials for your flooring, such as vinyl or laminate, is an increasingly popular alternative.
As expert Gold Coast renovation builders, we believe there are many benefits to be had by choosing these options. So, let’s take a look at what both vinyl and laminate flooring are and what they have to offer.
Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl flooring is made from synthetic materials such as polyvinyl chloride. The fact that it is made from polymers makes it somewhat more cost-effective than real wood, as it can be pre-fabricated and installed at a low cost.
Vinyl flooring typically comes in two main styles: luxury vinyl tile, which is designed to look like natural stone or ceramic, and vinyl plank, which is the more popular version designed to look like hardwood. Vinyl flooring comes in a wide variety of styles, colours and patterns and can thus be customised to suit a wide variety of aesthetics for your home.
Compared with laminate flooring, vinyl flooring does look a little more realistic. Vinyl flooring features a photographic layer and then a level of embossing to create a realistic grain effect on the flooring itself.
One of vinyl’s greatest features is its durability and resistance to moisture. This makes it a great option to have in virtually any room in the house, as it is resistant to spills and humidity. It also resists scratches really well, making it easy to maintain. Vinyl flooring is also easy to install, as it can simply be glued in place or clicked together as a floating floor. In some cases, it can even be installed as peel-and-stick tiles or planks.
The major benefit of vinyl flooring is that it is relatively cheaper than laminate flooring in most cases, though there are significantly more expensive versions depending on the degree of realism that you wish to achieve.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is made up of multiple layers. Typically, it features a high-density fibreboard core with a photographic layer and a protective wear layer on top. The photographic layer features any number of design patterns, ranging from wood or stone to any other design that may be desired. Like vinyl flooring, laminate flooring also comes in a wide array of styles, colours and patterns, but is not as realistic-looking as vinyl.
Laminate flooring is durable but not as resistant to moisture as vinyl, making it possible to suffer damage through water exposure. This makes laminate flooring unsuitable for bathrooms or other areas of high humidity, as the high-density fibreboard core can swell with moisture and cause warping to occur.
Laminate flooring is generally in the moderate price range, but higher-end versions cost more than vinyl in most cases. Like vinyl, laminate flooring is very easy to maintain, but it requires a little more TLC than its counterpart, particularly when it comes to moisture.
Don’t waste your time looking far and wide for Gold Coast renovation builders when you can contact the best at Varli Building! We will get the job done to the highest standards of quality with the best customer service in town.