Housewright's Blog

            For quite some time the standard flooring option in almost every bath remodel has been tile of some sort – porcelain, ceramic, or stone. These are great choices for bath flooring because they are perfect for wet locations and they look great. In the last few years another player has become a major contender in the bath flooring arena – LVT, luxury vinyl tile. LVT is not the vinyl floor of yesterday – the look, feel, and even the composition of the product are nowhere near the same as standard vinyl flooring. Luxury vinyl tile has the look and texture of natural products like stone, tile, and hardwood; the higher end LVT can be difficult to differentiate from the actual product it mimics. The majority of LVT is composed of four layers: a resilient vinyl backing, a design layer (a “picture” of the surface it is mimicking), a clear film, and a protective top layer of either urethane or aluminum oxide.

            The installation method for LVT flooring varies – some styles install in a floating click-and-lock, glue down click-and-lock, some are simply butted together and glued down, others are glued down but spaced similar to ceramic tile and grout is applied to the spaces. I have recently installed two different styles of glue down LVT made by Tarkett: a glue-down luxury vinyl plank that simply butts together, and a glued and spaced luxury vinyl tile. I liked both systems – the finished product looked great and install time was quick compared to tile.    

            Both systems were installed using Tarkett QBond One flooring adhesive – an acrylic latex based adhesive that can be applied with a medium nap paint roller. The adhesive is rolled onto the underlayment (1/4” plywood for both floors) and allowed to set until tacky. Once tacky the flooring can be laid on the adhesive and butted or spaced depending on the application. The vinyl plank flooring was 3’ long by 4” wide and was butted together on all seams; at first this concerned me but the pieces butted together perfectly and seams were hardly visible. The vinyl tile were 12” by 12” and were laid with a 3/16” space between the tile to allow for a grout joint – because of the speed the adhesive sets up the grout can be installed the same day that the tile is laid.

            Beyond the differences in spacing both styles of LVT installed the same. To make straight cuts on the LVT I simply ran a knife along a straight edge a few times to score the piece then snap along the score line; for notches and cutting for corners I used a pair of straight tinner snips. On the plank floor I did rip 1&1/2” off my starting piece so I ended with a full piece in the doorway – I made this cut on my table saw for ease. To do this I simply taped the plank to a piece of 1x material and ran it through the saw with the LVT plank between the 1x and the table. This gave me a clean, straight edge.

            Grouting the spaced LVT tile was very similar to grouting a ceramic or porcelain tile. The grout comes premixed in one gallon containers and is applied with a standard grout float. The manufacturer recommends grouting approximately a ten square foot area at a time – I grouted about double that and had no issues with clean up. To clean excess grout the manufacturer says to spray a light mist of water in the center of the tile (not onto the grout joint) and allow it to sit for one minute. After misting the tile, wipe the tile surface with a white rag or cleaning pad then wipe diagonally with a damp, square sponge to remove excess water and grout. I followed the manufacturer’s recommendation for cleaning the grout with good results.

            Installation of LVT is quick and simple, the product is very durable with a great warranty, and it is an economical, attractive option for clients who don’t have the budget for ceramic, porcelain, or stone or for those who don’t care hard tile floors. Prepping the subfloor, cutting the LVT, and installing the floor is less labor intensive than ceramic, porcelain, or stone flooring; each floor was installed by myself in a few hours including set up and clean up time. I have to say that, overall, I like LVT flooring – I like the versatility and options, the aesthetics of LVT is comparable to that of hard surface flooring, and I like the speed of installation. I will never not be a fan of ceramic, porcelain, stone, or wood flooring but I won’t hesitate to recommend LVT flooring.