
While shopping for new floors, you might have come across luxury vinyl flooring. This type of vinyl is an affordable, strong flooring capable of withstanding years of moisture and wear and tear.
If you think luxury vinyl might be a good option for your home, check out our 101 guide to all the basics of luxury vinyl flooring. Learn more about luxury vinyl, what types we offer, how to choose it, proper care and more!
What Is Luxury Vinyl Flooring and What Is It Made of?
Luxury vinyl flooring is a more advanced and durable form of vinyl. Luxury vinyl has become an excellent way for homeowners to get the look and feel of more expensive materials without the expense.
Several layers of synthetic material are pressed together to create long-lasting, highly affordable, waterproof flooring. It has more layers than regular vinyl, making it thicker and stronger. The increased number of layers allows it to have textures that mimic natural materials.
The layers include a backing layer, which lets you install the flooring without having to lay another underlayment first. It also consists of a waterproof layer, a foam layer for cushion, a fiberglass layer for support, a wear layer that protects the flooring and a clear coat for added sheen and protection.
Luxury Vinyl vs. Vinyl Flooring
While you might think luxury vinyl flooring is identical to standard vinyl flooring, they have a few significant differences that can affect your floors. Luxury vinyl is a more advanced version of vinyl — it has more layers, sturdier construction and comes in more cut and natural options. Standard vinyl comes in sheets or tiles but not in planks like luxury vinyl. This makes standard vinyl a far less convincing wood imitation.
Improved technology allows luxury vinyl to come in more natural textures and patterns than standard vinyl. While you can get many manufactured colors and patterns with standard vinyl, luxury vinyl comes in more realistic textures and tones, meaning you get the look of natural flooring without the cost. Additionally, luxury vinyl’s construction makes it more durable and less prone to scratches and dents than standard vinyl.
While luxury vinyl is more affordable than other flooring types like wood and tile, it costs more than standard vinyl. However, this means you’re getting higher-quality, longer-lasting, attractive flooring without some of the flaws of traditional vinyl. Overall, luxury vinyl is a better, more durable flooring material than standard vinyl and is worth the extra cost for the increased life span and look.
Features of Luxury Vinyl Flooring
The layered, synthetic construction of luxury vinyl allows it to have many features that make it a low-maintenance, durable flooring material for any room. These features give luxury vinyl the advantage over flooring materials like hardwood and carpet since it takes on less damage and is better able to withstand the wear and tear of everyday use.
Some of the features of luxury vinyl include:

Luxury Vinyl Flooring Pros and Cons
If you’re looking for high-quality, attractive flooring on a budget, luxury vinyl flooring has many benefits that will improve your home experience. Before buying your new flooring, you should consider its benefits and drawbacks. Not all flooring materials will work in every room of your home, so make sure you’re getting the right flooring for your needs.
Let’s look at some luxury vinyl pros and cons.
Pros
Luxury vinyl flooring has some great benefits that will ensure you have great-looking floors for years:
Cons
There are a few downsides to luxury vinyl:

How Long Does Luxury Vinyl Flooring Last?
With correct installation, luxury vinyl flooring can last up to 25 to 30 years. Its multi-layer, synthetic construction helps it withstand many years of wear and tear, so you won’t have to replace it anytime soon once it’s installed.
The life span of your luxury vinyl flooring will depend on several factors. If your floors see heavy foot traffic, lots of damage and don’t have a good wear layer, you’ll have to replace them sooner. Keeping them clean and protecting them from sunlight will help them look new for many years, so make sure to care for your floors correctly.

Types of Luxury Vinyl Flooring Backing
We offer three kinds of backing for your vinyl floors. Each has its own features that affect sound, installation and comfort.
Styles of Luxury Vinyl Flooring
There are dozens of styles of luxury vinyl flooring. Pick any stain or shade you like and have a floor that looks and feels like natural material without the upkeep.
Whatever wood or tile patterns you want, you can get them in luxury vinyl.
How to Choose Luxury Vinyl Flooring
When choosing new flooring, you’ll want to look at every aspect of your home, budget, style and needs. Good flooring should work with your preferences and fit within your budget range. Otherwise, you won’t enjoy it as much as you should!
Here are some factors you should consider to help you choose your luxury vinyl flooring:


How to Install Luxury Vinyl Flooring
You can get luxury vinyl installed as either glue-down or floating-click vinyl. The type of installation you choose will depend on your subfloors or existing floor layer and your desired installation result. Glue-down adheres to the subfloor while floating-click hovers above the subfloor. Both plank and tile luxury vinyl can be installed with either method.
Once you’ve picked a type and style of luxury vinyl flooring, it’s time for the installation. At 50Floor, we handle the installation process for you so you can ensure you’re getting high-quality, lasting floor installation for your home. On the installation day, our installers will arrive at your home and confirm payment, material and space details with you.
Then, they’ll give you a timeline for job completion, so you know when you can expect to have completed floors. After finishing the installation, they’ll go over the work with you and provide you with a care guide so you can maintain your new floors.
Luxury Vinyl Flooring Care
Luxury vinyl flooring is straightforward to care for. It doesn’t need periodic refinishing like wood, and it doesn’t have grout like tile, so you don’t have to worry about regrouting the floor, either. As long as your floors are professionally and correctly installed, they won’t warp, crack or take on moisture damage.
Cleaning luxury vinyl is also simple. Vacuum or sweep any loose dirt and debris to keep the floors smooth and clear. You can gently mop your floor to help remove stuck-on dirt and other grime. All you need is warm water and a mop, or you can use a non-abrasive floor cleaner. Check your care guide for detailed instructions about cleaning and caring for your luxury vinyl floors.


Shop 50Floor for Luxury Vinyl and Installation
Now that you know all the basics of luxury vinyl flooring, it’s time to explore your new flooring options. At 50Floor, we carry luxury vinyl planks and tiles and vinyl sheets. Our vinyl flooring is high-quality, durable, waterproof with 24 to 72 hour protection and works perfectly for any room in your house. Pick the luxury vinyl that mimics your favorite wood or stone and enjoy luxurious, easy-to-maintain flooring at great prices.
If you’re interested in installing new luxury vinyl flooring, schedule an appointment with us and get your renovation started today!