Thinking about new flooring in your restaurant, coffee shop, grocery store, or farmer’s market? Do you love the warmth and look of wood, but are worried about how it will withstand such a demanding environment? Don’t worry – luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is the answer you’ve been looking for! Check out these top five reasons why LVT is better than hardwood for commercial flooring applications:
-
Variety
LVT comes in thousands and thousands of different colours, styles, and sizes – the possibilities are endless! You can pick LVT that looks like a specific species of tree, or choose tiles based on their overall stain colour. LVT ranges from the totally-smooth right up to ones with ultra-realistic hand-scraped-wood textures! And you’re not limited to just a wood-like appearance – LVT can be had in stone, marble, and concrete looks too!
-
Scratch Resistance
LVT is inherently durable as it’s a fully-engineered, man-made product designed from the ground-up for commercial use. Unlike engineered hardwood, LVT has none of the weaknesses of wood or wood veneers – it has a solid core throughout, and is ultra dense to resist dents and gouges. Different manufacturers also apply different grades of scratch-resistant surface treatments for even greater durability.
-
Water Resistance
Unlike wood, vinyl tile is completely impervious to water…no matter how wet it gets! With LVT, you never have to worry about ambient moisture in your air, or any kinds of spilled liquid or flooding permanently damaging your flooring. While even engineered hardwoods can warp and twist after being soaked with water, LVT doesn’t distort at all – once it’s dry, it’s good as new!
-
Temperature Resistance
Because even engineered hardwoods are natural material at their fundamental level, they are susceptible to temperature fluctuations – even ones as minor as seasonal variations. Wood flooring can shrink (leaving gapping between planks, or between planks and walls), or grow (causing buckling and bulging), depending on the variations in ambient temperature. LVT is much more dimensionally stable and doesn’t swell or shrink regardless of the weather.
-
Size Options
Although the acronym “LVT” is commmonly used, you’re not stuck with standard square tile shapes for your vinyl floor! LVT comes in square tiles of various sizes like 12″ x 12″ and 24″ x 24″, but also in plank formats ranging from as small as 2″ x 24″ to common wide-plank sizes like 6″ x 36″ and 9″ x 48″! And because they can be had in a variety of sizes, that gives you the flexibility to lay your LVT out in unique patterns (like herringbone) or on a diagonal angle in your space!