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Resilient flooringis perfectly named because the emphasis is on resilience and durability.
Comfort and durability go hand-in-hand with resilient flooring, but which jot down is best for your home?
What Is Resilient Flooring?
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Resilient flooring is comfortable underfoot because it provides a slight bounce-back.
Vinyl flooring is one example of resilient flooring.
Tight-locking snap-lock joinery on all four sides renders rigid core luxury vinyl flooring water-resistant.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Due to its four- or five-layer construction, rigid core resilient flooring works well on cold subfloors.
Also, the thick construction allows for deeper embossing, for more realistic wood- orstone-like textures.
Some of these boards do have click-and-lock joinery, but their thinness can create joint instability.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
So, glue-down flexible vinyl flooring is more the norm.
This allows for larger expanses of flooring without pull-up or shifting.
The low number of seams, or absence altogether, contributes to sheet vinyl flooring’s excellent water resistance.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Small rooms floored in sheet vinyl with no seams are considered to be 100-percent waterproof.
With sheet vinyl, you have one chance to get the cut right.
Glue isn’t required.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Modified loose lay can go directly on plywood or OSB.
Tip
For a more secure bond, choose full-spread sheet vinyl.
Glue covers the entire back of the floor.
The Spruce / Jason Donnelly
Not all cork flooring looks like cork.
Some cork floors are digitally printed in high definition to reproduce the look of wood or stone.
Cork flooring is the most environmentally friendly resilient floor.
The Spruce / Jacob Fox
In many cases, waste cork powder generates the energy to make cork tiles.
New cork is harvested, as well.
Warm and comfortable, cork flooring works well inbasementsor any place in the house where flooring insulation is important.
The Spruce / Jacob Fox
Cork is also a standout for anyone looking for a healthier floor with little or no synthetic additives.
Linoleum is an all-natural product made of linseed oil, wood flour, pine rosins, and pigments.
Today’s linoleum comes in three forms: glue-down tiles, click-lock tiles and planks, and large sheets.
Linoleum is very much a resilient floor for today, though availability is more limited than in the past.
Few homeowners will casually purchase linoleum flooring in favor of other resilient floor products like vinyl flooring.
Linoleum tiles and planks are very dense and heavy, contributing to linoleum’s long lifespan.
Along with cork, linoleum is made primarily from renewable resources.
With solid vinyl tile, it’s vinyl from top to bottom, and this will not de-laminate.
Through-body construction is common with ceramic and porcelain tile, but less so with resilient flooring.
Yet solid vinyl tile is also through-body.
The advantage of a through-body build is that there are no layers to successively wear away or peel off.
As traffic and time wear down the surface, there is more vinyl below to take its place.
Solid vinyl tile compares to vinyl composite tile (VCT): also solid, homogeneous, and through-body.
Of the two, solid vinyl tile is a better choice for homes than VCT.
Up to 85-percent of vinyl composite tile is mineral content.
Heavy and dense, VCT is also durable due to its through-body build.
VCT is not made from layers.
Instead, the material is a solid piece from top to bottom.
As the upper surfaces wear down, there is more of the same material below.
Because of its porosity, VCT needs waxing or other surface treatments on a regular basis.
There are numerous types of material tochoosefrom.
Ask yourself if the material is waterproof and if it will expand or contract in response to moisture.
test whether it can be installed over any surface and the difficulty level of that process.
It’s also important to know if it will be resistant to scratches especially if you have pets.
Linoleum is the most durable resilient flooring for homes, with wear warranties routinely extending 30 years or more.
Vinyl composite tile is the most durable resilient flooring of all.
Luxury Vinyl Flooring is the most common standard resilient flooring.
It’s cost-effective, flexible and can be installed with glue or click-locking systems.
B03C - Material Guides - Resilient Flooring.
National Floor Covering Association
Natural Cork Flooring.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Flooring: One Step Ahead.
FacilitiesNet
Vinyl Composition Tile.
