Vinyl
We sell vinyl flooring from the 4 major manufactures, Mannington, Congoleum, Tarkett and Domco.
Our selection is made up of over 200 in-stock rolls of sheet vinyl at warehouse prices. We display over 350 vinyl remnants from $10.00 to $199.00 plus luxury vinyl tiles like Congoleum Durastone and Duraceramic.
We maintain a complete vinyl department with full size special order displays of the major vinyl manufacturers. If you can't find your pattern or color in stock in our warehouse, we can special order it.
We install all of our vinyl flooring subject to certain minimums. We guarantee vinyl installations for one year. Ask our salespeople for details.
We will beat any competitor's price on equal flooring products.
Vinyl Flooring - General Information
Vinyl flooring is made from layers of plastics bonded together to make durable floor covering. Vinyl comes in essentially two forms: sheet vinyl, and vinyl tiles. Both types are very stain resistant. They generally cost less to install than ceramic, most wood, or wood laminates. They are installed mostly by full-spread adhesive to a smooth subfloor but some can be perimeter installed with special adhesives or even staples. Self-stick tiles are for the do-it-yourselfer who merely peels off a protective layer and presses the tile into place. Since vinyl is thin and reflective it will show any imperfections in your subfloor. Today's vinyl floors are much improved in both performance and styling compared to vinyl floors of the past.
Types of Vinyl
Sheet Vinyl
Sheet vinyl comes with a felt type backing Felt backings can only be full spread glued down. Sheet vinyl has a top layer called a wear layer which is either PVC or Urethane, and ranges in thickness to over 20 mils. Urethane wear layers are better than PVC. Vinyl with a thicker wear layer performs better. Sheet vinyl has color and patterns that are either inlaid all the way through the vinyl or are a separate layer that is sandwiched between the backing and the clear wear-layer. Sheet vinyl is made for residential rooms where easy cleanup is required like kitchens and bathrooms, and it is made commercially for offices and hospitals where traffic is very heavy and maintenance must be germ free.
Vinyl Tiles
Vinyl tiles are made for both residential and commercial applications. Residential tiles range from inexpensive self-stick do-it-yourself tiles to thick, heavy "luxury tiles." Inexpensive tiles usually have a range of visual looks from plain ceramic tile copies to better looking marble and stone patterns. Luxury tiles are much heavier tiles and have very sophisticated natural visuals with surface textures like slate, wood, or quarry tile. Both inexpensive and luxury tiles come in 12" x 12" sizes and some come larger. Luxury tile is usually installed professionally by the full spread method but some styles are available in self-stick backings. Commercial tile is known as vinyl composite tile (VCT). It is sold in 12" x 12" sizes. VCT is used in retail stores such as super markets. It has visuals that range from monochromatic marbleized looks to solid color tiles and solids with color flecks. They all perform equally but the more unique the colorway the higher the price.
Commercial tile is installed by full spread adhesive and must go onto a smooth substrate. Some types of VCT need to be machine buffed and sealed to achieve the high shine look of supermarkets and hospitals.
Fiberglass backed floors:
This new generation of sheet vinyl is very flexible to handle and easy to install. You can bend it and not damage it and it installs by simply laying it loose. It is water resistant even in wet basements. Fiberglass backed floors have realistic visuals of tile, wood, stone and even juvenile patterns, are simple to install and remove and are perfect for any room of your home.
Natural Linoleum
Marmoleum flooring by Forbo is an environmentally friendly product made from predominantly harvestable natural raw materials and is processed according to an environmentally friendly procedure. Its main ingredient is natural linseed oil, which is mixed with wood flour, resin and limestone. Colors come from ecologically responsible pigments. Marmoleum is available as a floating floor in 12” X 36” and 12” X 12” tiles. The Marmoleum is mounted to a dense fiber board with a cork layer and tongue and groove edges. It clicks together to create a tight water resistant joint. Marmoleum click floats over an existing flat substrate and is a durable floor that is ideal for any room in the house including heavy traffic rooms like kitchens.
Vinyl Flooring Tips
Vinyl tiles are a very low cost durable floor, however in some installations dirt can accumulate at the edges of the tiles and if water gets under the tiles it will curl the corners and eventually loosen tiles.
Old tiles were made with asbestos (VAT - vinyl asbestos tile). These tiles are generally 9" x 9" and they cannot be pulled up except by a licensed asbestos abatement company. For this reason most old tile is not lifted. It is covered over (encapsulated) with a new floor.
Subfloor is an important element in hardsurface installation of vinyl, ceramic, hardwood, and wood laminates. Imperfections in the substrate can telegraph through to the new floor and result in unsightly bumps and ridges. Most installations require subfloor or floor preparation. The more you spend on subfloor and preparation the better the finished job will look.