View RSS Feed

home improvement guy

Luxury vinyl flooring - good or bad choice with pets?

Rating: 2 votes, 5.00 average.
Name:  vinyl_floor.jpg
Views: 122
Size:  19.6 KB

Is luxury vinyl flooring a good option for a house with pets?

When you live with dogs or cats (or kids), you need a floor that can stand up to scratching, messes and more. While no product is 100 percent scratchproof, luxury vinyl can be a great choice.

Vinyl is generally durable, affordable, easy to clean and - bonus! - tends to feel warmer underfoot than ceramic or porcelain tiles. That's partly why vinyl has soared in popularity. The other reason is that luxury vinyl, especially in the form of planks or tiles that mimic wood or stone, offers incredible design versatility.

To be sure your vinyl floor can withstand pet nails or urine, choose a product with a thick top layer. Luxury vinyl flooring features four layers: a vinyl backing, a vinyl color layer, a design layer and a final, protective layer.

You want that top layer - also known as the wear layer or mil layer - to be between 20 mil and 40 mil thick. A mil is one-thousandth of an inch, or about the thickness of a straight human hair. Generally, the thicker the wear layer, the more durable the flooring.

Thickness matters, but so does the specific coating material. The starting point is a simple no-wax vinyl coating. The next level, a urethane finish, provides greater durability and stain resistance. Even better, especially for scratch-resistance, is an enhanced coating such as aluminum oxide.

Expect to pay $2.50 to $7 per square foot for luxury vinyl flooring and installation, possibly more, depending on where you live and which top coating you choose.

To add an extra measure of protection, trim pets' nails and cover high-traffic areas with rugs.

Also, be sure the carpet pros you hire are appropriately licensed, insured and bonded and have positive reviews on a trusted online site.

Submit "Luxury vinyl flooring -  good or bad choice with pets?" to Digg Submit "Luxury vinyl flooring -  good or bad choice with pets?" to del.icio.us Submit "Luxury vinyl flooring -  good or bad choice with pets?" to StumbleUpon Submit "Luxury vinyl flooring -  good or bad choice with pets?" to Google Submit "Luxury vinyl flooring -  good or bad choice with pets?" to Facebook Submit "Luxury vinyl flooring -  good or bad choice with pets?" to Twitter

Comments

Leave Comment Leave Comment