With so many flooring choices available these days, it can be hard to know what the best suited for your project. If you’ve been shopping around for flooring, you may have come across the acronyms LVP and LVT. Both of these acronyms describe types of vinyl flooring called luxury vinyl planks and luxury vinyl tiles.
LVT and LVP flooring are becoming an extremely popular choice for their ability to mimic other more expensive floors like hardwood, stone, and ceramic at a fraction of the cost. They’re also extremely durable, realistic, and low maintenance.
But what exactly are LVP and LVT, and what are the differences between them? Read on to find out more.
What Is Luxury Vinyl?
Luxury vinyl is a more upscale version of the old standard vinyl flooring. This newer luxury version of standard vinyl is much better able to mimic the realistic qualities of other types of wood like hardwood. Luxury vinyl comes in a virtually endless variety of colors, textures, and patterns, designed and crafted to look just like other more expensive flooring types.
Luxury vinyl flooring comes in two distinct styles and can be customized to match any decor preference. These are Luxury Vinyl Planks (LVP) and Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT). Let’s take a closer look at the differences and similarities between these two.
Luxury Vinyl Plank
LVP flooring or Luxury vinyl plank flooring is constructed and designed to imitate hardwood floor planks. LVP can closely match the texture, color, and grain of any number of hardwood species bringing a touch of elegance and class to your home with several added benefits.
Unlike hardwood floors, luxury vinyl plank is water-resistant and scratch-resistant, making it an ideal choice for homes with small children, pets, or heavy furniture. Cleaning LVP is also a breeze requiring only a simple sweep, mop, or vacuuming to keep looking its best.
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Luxury Vinyl Tile
LVT flooring or luxury vinyl plank flooring is designed to imitate tile and stone but at a much lower cost. LVP can closely match the texture, color, and patterns found in stone and tile flooring with some taking the realistic design even further by installing it with grout. Like LVP, LVT is easy to maintain, clean, and is highly scratch and water-resistant.
LVP Vs LVT
So from these two descriptions, it seems that LVP and LVT are pretty similar right? Well, that’s because they are!
Luxury vinyl planks and luxury vinyl tiles are constructed the same way and made from the same materials. The main difference is the shape, colors, textures, and what medium they’re trying to mimic. Planks are cut much longer to mimic hardwood while tiles are cut smaller to better resemble ceramic and stone.
Both are constructed with several layers and consist of
- Durable wear layer
- Designed print film
- PVC core
Both come with optional sound suppressing backing to reduce noise and for additional comfort.
While it’s common to think of LVP only mimicking hardwood and LVT mimicking stone and ceramic, the options are truly endless. From bamboo to fabric, animal prints to other art, the technology used to make luxury vinyl flooring is advanced enough to mimic anything you want!
This technology lets your creative juices flow through all the different textures and patterns available. But the choices don’t stop there. Cut and shape your planks and tiles into whatever shape you want. The herringbone pattern is one of the most popular flooring trends for 2021.
The durability of this flooring allows you to install it in places that you couldn’t traditionally install hardwood flooring like the kitchen, playrooms, utility rooms, and the bathroom.
Add Luxury Vinyl Planks & Tiles To Your Next Project
Endless design possibilities, tough and durable materials, and an affordable cost all point to LVP and LVT being excellent choices for your next flooring project. With the prices of hardwood on the rise, these flooring alternatives are becoming the go-to flooring choice.
