Bathroom

Luxury Vinyl Tile VS Ceramic Tiles

Filed Under: Buying

Ceramic tiles have always been a popular choice for household flooring, particularly in warmer climates and rooms such as the kitchen or bathroom. However, new materials such as luxury vinyl tile offer many advantages over ceramic and are easily accessible at any home improvement store or over the internet. They are also easier to install as a DIY project than tiles, as they come in self-adhesive formats that don’t require thin-set or grout which may be difficult to handle for those new to DIY home improvement.

Open Studios Day 5 - Classic Vinyl Flooring — Open Studios Day 5 – Classic Vinyl Flooring (Photo credit: Jacob Whittaker)

There are many other benefits to luxury vinyl tile besides the ease of installation. For example, did you know that this material is soft and warm under your feet, naturally? This makes it perfect for a bathroom or other areas where you will be walking barefoot. It can also be installed with or without grout, in case the idea of cleaning grout regularly doesn’t appeal to you. If you install vinyl tiles with grout most people will confuse them with high quality porcelain, just softer and warmer and less likely to cause people to slip.

Cleaning luxury vinyl tile is also a breeze. This kind of flooring material comes with stain resistant finishings, and fade or wear through warranties that make them a great investment. If you buy an extra pack of luxury tiles when you install the floor you can also use them to replace any tile that chips or cracks. With ceramic tile, if a chip or crack occurs you are stuck with it, and if it happens in a very visible part of the room you may end up having to replace the entire floor which isn’t cheap or convenient. Vinyl is also resistant to water and humidity, so you won’t need to fear accidental spills like you would do if you had installed wood or natural stone tiles.

Luxury vinyl tiles are very versatile. They come in a variety of styles and colours, from 70s psychedelic patterns to more traditional wood and stone imitation. They can be installed with or without grout, though if you choose to install them without the space between the tiles may accumulate dirt, so you will need to be extra careful about keeping it clean. This effect is particularly visible on light coloured vinyl tiles. You can also choose to install a combination of different colours to create a unique pattern on your floor. And if you want, you can combine vinyl luxury planks with tiles to create a wood and tile look that will look like you hired a team of professionals to design your house.

The fact that luxury vinyl tile is affordable doesn’t mean you are more limited in terms of design than when using real tile. You can create inlays, borders and any design your imagination can come up with. This material has excellent flooring properties, and they don’t look cheap or fake looking like older and cheaper vinyl tiles. It is well worth keeping your options open when choosing a new type of flooring tile for your home, as luxury vinyl tile is a great alternative to more traditional materials and offers many benefits.

Bathroom Flooring: Vinyl Floor Tiles Or Ceramic Tiles?

Filed Under: Buying

There are several flooring options for bathrooms that can be installed by anybody with a certain degree of familiarity with DIY, but two of the most popular ones are without a doubt vinyl floor tiles and ceramic (or porcelain) tiles. Both have their advantages and their disadvantages, and choosing one over the other will depend on your needs and DIY skill level.

Bathroom Vinyl Tiles

Vinyl tile (or sheet vinyl flooring for that matter) is a popular choice for bathrooms for many reasons, but the main one is without a doubt its great pricing. Even luxury vinyl tiles are considerably more affordable than any other flooring material, and with adequate care and a proper installation can last for years.

Laying vinyl floor tiles is something that anybody can learn, as it’s a very accessible DIY project (however, in order to avoid having the bathroom out of use for days it’s worth getting help if you are new to DIY). Self-adhesive vinyl doesn’t even require the use of adhesive, and if you are after a traditional look for your bathroom you can also install vinyl tile with grout instead of as a seamless surface.

Laying Vinyl Flooring (Photo credit: Jacob Whittaker)

Once installed, vinyl can last for a few years as bathroom flooring, and it’s a very comfortable choice as, unlike porcelain or ceramic, it’s warm to the touch and can be purchased with effective non-slip coatings, perfect to avoid accidents after a bath. However, you will need to be careful about your cleaning methods, as harsh cleaners will take away its glossy appearance.

Ceramic Tiles For Bathrooms

Ceramic has always been a popular choice for bathrooms, and the fact that properly installed it can last for decades makes it a cheap choice in the long run. It won’t increase your home equity as marble or granite would, but it’s a good choice in the medium price range. Porcelain is also totally waterproof, immune to humidity and impossible to scratch, though it can crack if something very heavy lands on it.

In terms of cleaning, you can clean porcelain and ceramic with almost anything and it will still look good. This is one of the reasons it’s a material used in schools, hospitals or public places, as it can be disinfected easily. Vinyl is much more delicate in terms of handing.

Porcelain and ceramic flooring for bathroom has a beautiful, stone-like appearance and can look similar to more expensive materials such as granite. If you are after a classic look for your bathroom, grouted ceramic tiles will give it and if you are good at DIY you may want to try and install it yourself. However, keep in mind that botching the job can be expensive, and unless you measure things carefully you may end up with uneven rows of tiles.

If you are unexperienced at DIY, looking for a very cheap solution for your bathroom or want to create a really funky look with textures that aren’t found in ceramic, vinyl tiles are probably the best choice. If you have more money to spend, want a more classic look or want a DIY challenge, porcelain tiles are a classic that never goes out of fashion and will give you great service for years.

Cheapest Vinyl Flooring: A Quick Style Fix For Your House

Filed Under: Design

Successful home remodelling on a budget often involves searching around for the best prices on materials, and choosing styles and elements that don’t carry hefty installation costs. Vinyl flooring gets high marks on both regards: the cheapest vinyl floor tiles can cost as low as $1 per square foot, and it can easily be installed by yourself without the need of paying a specialist. Vinyl flooring also offers the benefit of an endless variety of colours and styles that fit any home décor style. If you are looking for the cheapest vinyl flooring, the Internet is often the place to find the best deals.

Vinyl Flooring For Bathrooms

Vinyl has become a popular choice when talking about bathroom flooring for many reasons. Bathroom vinyl flooring is resistant to water and warm to the touch, and comes in many finishes including non-slip or rubber bathroom flooring, which is an added benefit, particularly for the elderly or people with children. Most people prefer to use bathroom flooring vinyl tiles because they are easier to install than rolls, and often can be made to match the ceramic tiles on the walls. Vinyl is also comfortable to walk on, which means it’s nicer than porcelain tile when you need to walk on it barefoot, so this makes it perfect for a bathroom.

When installing vinyl tile in bathrooms it is extremely important to make sure the base surface is perfectly dry, which can be an issue if your bathroom is not very well ventilated or somebody has used it to take a bath just a few hours before you start working. Either do it first thing in the morning, or make sure everybody knows that the bathroom is off limits until you have finished installing your new vinyl floor. Some people opt to put heaters to dry the room before starting work.

Vinyl Bathroom Flooring Ideas

The sky is the limit when talking about the range of colours and textures of bathroom vinyl floor tiles. From ultra-modern, glossy finishes in primary colours to marble imitation, vinyl caters to all tastes. If you love the look of ceramic tile, remember that you can install groutable vinyl tile that looks very similar, but it’s much easier to install.

Light coloured, glossy vinyl tiles can make a small bathroom look much bigger, particularly if you combine them with bright colours on your towels, and light wood textures on cabinets and furniture. While vinyl can imitate natural stone, the cheapest vinyl tiles are not going to trick anybody so it’s better to embrace the natural texture of this material and play the bright colours and glossy textures to your advantage, instead of trying to get a bad imitation of granite or marble that won’t fool anybody.

Vinyl Flooring That Looks Like Hardwood

Love the look of wood, but can’t afford it or are worried that your dog will make a mess of it? Wood vinyl tiles are a popular and affordable option for homeowners looking for pet friendly flooring on a budget. While is true that really cheap vinyl floor tiles won’t fool anybody, vinyl wood planks (particularly hard-wear floating models) imitate wood much better and are easy to clean or even replace if an accident happens.

Wood Vinyl Tiles

You can find vinyl flooring that looks like hardwood, bamboo or even exotic woods that wouldn’t normally be used for flooring. Most people choose to install this kind of flooring instead of laminate wood, as it’s easier to install and cheaper. Keep in mind that it’s very difficult to imitate the natural grain of real wood, where each plank is different, but you can accomplish a similar effect by making sure the tiles are distributed in random patterns, or mixing tiles from different packages.

Classic Styles on Vinyl Flooring

Many people choose vinyl flooring tiles because they can be made to look like stone or ceramic tiles but are cheaper and easier to maintain, as well as more comfortable to walk on barefoot and less slippery when wet. If you are looking for a floor that won’t compete for attention with the rest of the room and will give your home a classic elegance, black and checkerboard vinyl floor tile are two very popular options, as they go with any wall colour.

Black Vinyl Floor Tile

Black floors are a classic, and black vinyl flooring tiles are probably some of the most popular ones on sale. Black vinyl tile flooring comes in different patterns and styles, from dark imitation marble and granite to deep black surfaces or modernist patterns. Even using cheap tiles can make your kitchen go from blah to wow! In a weekend.

Checkerboard Vinyl Flooring

Another classic, black and white vinyl floor tiles can be bought separately or as a pack to accomplish a perfect checked vinyl floor. If the size of the tiles is too big and you are looking for a busier checkerboard effect you can also buy black and white vinyl tile patterns which have two white and two black squares on each tile. Cheap black and white checkerboard vinyl flooring is perfect if you are looking to create a retro or minimalist effect on your home décor, with minimal expense.

Benefits of Vinyl Flooring For Bathroom

Filed Under: Information

One of the areas of the home where vinyl tile flooring really shines is on bathrooms and other rooms with high humidity levels. Installing vinyl floors on your bathroom is cost effective, easy to maintain and durable. And it also looks great, and can match the craziest or most conservative home décor styles. If you can design it, there is most likely a matching vinyl design to suit your flooring needs. The benefits of vinyl flooring for bathrooms are many:

Vinyl Flooring Is Non Slip And Comfortable

The bathroom is one of those places where you will spend a lot of time barefoot, navigating your way on a oftentimes wet floor. Vinyl flooring is perfect for bathrooms because it can be treated to be non-slip, making it a much safer alternative than other floor surfaces such as natural stone or even some ceramic materials. Vinyl flooring is also very comfortable underfoot and reduces noise, which is perfect when you are walking barefoot in your way to a bath.

Vinyl Floor Tiles Are Easy To Install

The installation of vinyl flooring is quite simple, with a large variety of self-adhesive, peel and stick tiles that can be installed by people without previous experience or training and is pretty quick. This means you can realistically have a new bathroom on a weekend, instead of having to spend several days without access to the bathtub.

Low Cost Bathroom Flooring? Sure!

Vinyl flooring for bathrooms is very low cost, both in terms of materials and installation costs if you do it yourself. You can buy tiles for less than $1 for square meter, though if you go after luxury bathroom vinyl tiles the prices will logically be higher. However, even high end vinyl flooring is much cheaper than ceramic, wood or stone, and easier to install.

Cleaning Vinyl Flooring Is Easy

The floor on your bathroom is subjected to lots of abuse, from spills to water pools after the children had a bath. It also needs to be kept clean because otherwise it can become a breeding ground for bacteria and mould. Vinyl flooring is easy to clean and doesn’t require specialist care or the use of difficult to find cleaning substances. Warm water and detergent works just fine, the milder the better. If you mop spills as soon as possible and vacuum regularly you shouldn’t need to use heavy duty stuff. If you install no-wax vinyl tiles don’t use products that contain wax and it will keep its shine through the year.

Vinyl Comes In All Colours And Styles

Do you want a retro bathroom? Modernistic one? Want to imitate the luxury feeling of natural marble and granite stones? Whatever effect you want to create on your bathroom, you will be able to find a vinyl tile to go with it. You can find high end vinyl tiles that look a lot like the real thing, without the maintenance. So if you always wanted a wood floor on your bathroom, but are scared of the costs and the maintenance then vinyl flooring can be your best alternative.

Vinyl Surfaces Are Water Resistant

Last but not least, one of the major benefits of vinyl flooring for bathrooms is that is highly resistant to water and humidity. Unlike natural stone or wood, vinyl is non-porous and impervious to water, provided it has been correctly installed and there are no gaps between the tiles. This means casual splashing from the bathtub won’t have you running for the mop, though you may want to clean up spills as quick as possible so they don’t dry into hard to remove stains.