LVT Vs. click flooring – Which is best for dog owners?

LVT vs Click

At Floors for Paws, we supply and fit luxury vinyl flooring which we know is the best flooring for dogs.

 

LVT flooring can be installed in two ways – glue-down or click. At Floors for Paws, our product ranges are glue down but here we look at the alternative, click vinyl flooring, to see how it compares.

What is vinyl click flooring?

As its name suggests, vinyl click flooring is made up of interlocking tiles that ‘click’ together thanks to a tongue and groove style system where the edge of one tile will lock into the next. Also known as floating vinyl flooring, click flooring is not permanently fixed to the floor but rather sits or ‘floats’ on top of it.

The disadvantages of vinyl click flooring

  • Many people think that because click flooring requires only underlay and no preparation of your sub-floor, that it is preferable to glue-down. However if your subfloor is not up to standard, it will need some work before an underlay product can be fitted. With glue-down LVT, there is no need for underlay and preparing your sub-floor for luxury vinyl plank flooring is straightforward.
  • Where noise and sound levels are important, click vinyl is not ideal – the adhesive bond in glue-down LVT provides increased stability and noise reduction.
  • Glue-down LVT is completely waterproof and ideal for any room in the home. Click vinyl, however features joints that can be easily penetrated by high levels of moisture, resulting in warping and damage. Additionally where water and other liquids like dog pee are able to penetrate the joins, this can lead to the integrity of the flooring being compromised, and smells.
  • When exposed to fluctuating temperature conditions, click flooring will have movement. The tiles or planks will expand and contract with the heat which will lead to the floor rising over time. It will also need expansion gaps around the perimeter to help with this which add to its overall lack of water resistance and require beading trim or skirting boards.

The benefits of LVT flooring from Floors For Paws

Working closely with CAM, our priority at Floors For Paws has always been to deliver the best flooring for dogs and their owners.

Our flooring has the highest slip rating of any vinyl currently on the market, making it super safe for young, gangly puppies and older, unsteady dogs.

A soft, comfort cushion layer makes it comfortable underfoot for pet owners and offers a kinder cushioning for pets to lie down on.

When professionally installed LVT flooring is completely waterproof and comes with a 30-year domestic guarantee.

Our Pawsafe Domestic range comes in a choice of 12 realistic, wood-effect vinyl planks, allowing home owners to create the look of traditional solid wood flooring. Of course, this kind of choice can be overwhelming, so let us send you up to three free samples (or more for a small charge) to help you decide.

If you are still undecided, consider the options carefully, but before making your final choice, read what one of our trusted installation experts has to say. If you have any further questions after that, we’re here to help. Contact us at info@floorsforpaws.com or on 01522 300218.

Glue Down or Click?

Two dogs on Rockingham floor

Glue Down LVT or Click? A fitter’s perspective;

Luxury Vinyl Tiles used to be a floorcovering few could afford. Now with the arrival of many new brands and manufacturers, it has become a huge growth sector within the flooring industry and with the new build sector installing so much in new homes, the term LVT seems to be a term the buying public are embracing across all walks of life.

From low end budget tiles and planks to top spec designer floors the demand for this kind of floorcovering seems to be ceaseless in the south east of England and seemingly across the rest of the UK.

As a flooring installer of 30 years I am often asked to lay the lock or click together LVTs, these are relatively new player in an established game, but I struggle to see their place in an ever expanding market.

LVT flooring has always been about its versatility, combining wood look planks with stones and metallic styles, adding borders, compasses, hand cut motifs all the skilled parts of the job we’ve been trained to do, that set the Luxury vinyl tile market apart from other flooring – these things aren’t, as far as I have seen, possible with a click or lock system.

The preparation for the dry backed floors is often spoken about as being to expensive and puts the end user off the purchase, but it is my experience that the lock system flooring needs as much and sometimes more preparatory work before the installation can commence and the underlay has to be stuck down I just cannot see a benefit in these floors within the professional flooring industry. I haven’t even touched on the fact these lock tiles need an expansion gap to the perimeter of the room, but they do. I’ve also found that in direct sunlight such as an orangery or in front of patio doors, these lock tiles seem to ‘tent’ in the heat that is to say the tiles expand against each other pushing on the joint causing the tiles to lift and look extremely unsightly. With dry backed tiles we have high temperature adhesives to overcome such issues. During the hot summer we have just had in 2018 I looked at, at least 5 jobs fitted by others that had failed in this way.

Then there’s the maintenance, a dry back tile damaged by the end user can easily be lifted and replaced by a decent installer, whilst the lock tiles are replaceable it’s a substantially longer process to do and far more invasive.

Despite my negativity I do see that these lock together tiles have a place in the DIY market, and maybe even for commercial use where flooring can be installed and removed with little fuss to for example a retailer of office environment – but if you want a statement floor, that is unique to you and your home dry backs such as the Paws for Floors range are the way to go, the Floors for Paws can easily be laid with a single plank border or fitted at 45 degrees without the need for an expansion gap or unsightly mastic to the perimeter making them in my opinion an exceptional choice for those with or without pets.

Richard Fordham
Registered installer for Floors For Paws LTD

https://www.trustatrader.com/traders/r-fordham-flooring-carpet-repairs-southend-on-sea

Check out our glue down luxury vinyl planks today and ensure you are getting the best flooring for you and your dog

Pawsafe Domestic Range