LVT is Luxury Vinyl Tiles - a floor covering traditionally used in shops / the workplace for its durability but increasingly used in houses. We wanted the same flooring running seamlessly throughout our new house and have never liked the idea of dirt sitting in the fibres of carpets, so LVT was a good fit for us.
We were worried about the effect of high temperature on the tiles laid immediately inside our large windows e.g. curling up or fading but were reassured by our supplier (Jordan Flooring of Dereham) that a thicker tile professionally laid using the "wetback" method would serve us well. (The DIY alternative to gluing down the tiles is a click-fit system).
Our builders left us with a tongue and groove chipboard floor. This had to be covered in flooring grade (SP101) plywood before laying the tiles to provide a clean surface for the LVT adhesive. We took on this part of the work ourselves, cutting the boards to size with a circular saw and attaching the plywood with thousands (literally) of screws - hiring a nail gun would have been more sensible.
The plywood needs to acclimatise to the humidity level in the house before laying - but still warps and bends by a surprising amount. Still screwed down flat though.
Screwed up!
Our LVT was laid by Marcus Sibley - he started by covering the joints between the boards and then carefully laying out the whole area. Gluing down LVT is definitely a job for the professional - setting out and spreading the correct quantity of adhesive needs experience. Marcus was excellent - very flexible about doing our job in three stages and always willing to offer advice e.g. cutting in matting at the front and back doors.
The LVT made an instant transformation and looks fantastic, especially on long runs through the house. It's very easy to keep clean - we just vacuum it and then mop using a minimum amount of Bona LVT cleaner. We also learned from Marcus that individual LVT boards can be replaced in the event of damage; he showed us how to heat the tile to melt the glue and then lay a replacement.
LVT running through the doorways into bedroom 2 and the bathroom.
Skirting and architrave is from Howdens - has a single groove, so looks simple yet modern.
We had the LVT laid in the kitchen area first so the island and wall units could be installed on top.
The LVT boards in front of our large S and W facing glazing are heated by the Sun but no issues so far with them distorting or lifting.
The LVT is a very practical floor covering where we step out of the sliding door on to the deck.