5mm Vinyl Flooring

5mm Vinyl Flooring is a new heavyweight vinyl plank flooring or vinyl tile floor which has been manufactured to be more dimensionally stable than conventional vinyl planks or tiles.

Vinyl flooring was traditionally known as lino flooring, but vinyl flooring is the total evolution of the old lino flooring from yesteryear.

The 4.5 or 5mm thick product is heavy enough to lay flat without requiring adhesives, and therefore the term: Loose Lay or Looselay for the Karndean product.

More recently, manufacturers prefer their floors to be adhered to the floor and reputable flooring retailers carry out installations with a variety of adhesives, dependant on the particular situation of the home.

The surface is made of an image of timber or stone covered by a tough, textured wear-layer of various thicknesses. The core is a PVC composite enveloping a fibreglass mesh that provides dimensional stability.

Some ranges have a textured PVC base for grip if being loose-laid or to give superior hold to adhesives. Others have a closed-cell foam backing to provide extra comfort and increased acoustics.

Australians are purchasing mostly timber-look patterns and the available ranges do reflect this. However, there are some stone, tile and concrete patterns scattered through the ranges.

Timbers from around the world have been photo -simulated, and the vast variety of oak floors are predominant.

Local timbers such as Tassie Oak, Blackbutt and Spotted gums are also well represented and are proving to be a very popular option.

ID Flooring’s Gold Coast showroom displays Australia’s largest range of full-size vinyl plank flooring, so come in and compare floor displays of our entire range, and even borrow a full-size plank to take home.

DIYers are able to install this plank themselves more easily than any other flooring and they can even install small rooms with minimal effort.

The pure mass of the product has great acoustic benefits by reducing sound penetration through the floor to rooms below as well as absorbing ambient and foot-fall sounds.

Being made of fully synthetic products, most Loose Lays are water-proof, so wet-mopping, pet accidents, leaks or spillages have no effect on the flooring.

The textured surface means you will no longer be a slave to your floor. Fade-resistant dyes mean that it will withstand colour-loss much longer than real timber flooring.

Also, it can be laid seamlessly with no expansion gaps and trims required to perimeters.

Due to the inherent water-resistance of vinyl floors, they are commonly installed in wet areas such as kitchens, laundries and bathrooms, as well as any other room in the house.

Cooks appreciate the fact that they can stand for hours on a vinyl floor without the fatigue of standing on a cold hard ceramic tiled floor.

Their thermal benefits mean children can lay about and play on a 5mm vinyl floor all year round.

Almost every type of domestic subfloor can have vinyl planks laid over it. Professional installers should ensure that the subfloor is smooth, flat and solid.

Concrete floors must have holes filled and may need anything from a thin feather coat or a full flood coat.

Ceramic tiles should be removed or primed and topped over with a suitable cement topping.

Particle-board floors may require sanding at the joints and must be topped with a suitable fine cement compound to allow a proper bond.

Timber floors subfloors will require either a flexible flood coat or board underlayment.

Let ID Flooring’s experienced experts take the worry out of this when your home is inspected.

ID Flooring can also guide DIYers with all the information and products to give their projects a professional finish.

With a wear layer of 0.5mm and over are generally graded ‘Heavy Commercial’ and obviously will give homeowners decades of service.

Most of these carry Residential wear warranties of 20 – 25 years, while those with thinner wear-layers will have reduced warranties and life spans.

Areas exposed to direct or reflected sunlight during the middle of the day may eventually exhibit colour loss or change, so the use of window coverings or awnings will help with this.

Regular cleaning and the use of entry mats and furniture protectors will ensure your floor maintains its new look for many years.

The 5mm’s predecessor, the 2/3mm thick standard vinyl flooring has been installed in Australian homes for over 20 years without any sign of wearing out.

All floors can be damaged but the tough wear-layer of the 5mm vinyl flooring easily withstands the rigours of day-to-day life.

Dragging heavy fridges or furniture without protective pads has been known to cause surface marks.

Unlike lino flooring, individual planks can be easily removed and replaced with minimal effort.

A glued down planks can be removed, the glue scraped off the subfloor and a new plank glued into place.

This can be done by any handy-man or handy-woman or call ID Flooring for a  service call by one of our professional installers.

We recommend spare material be purchased and stored flat to ensure matching flooring is available throughout the life span of your floor.