I'm planning to have LVT flooring laid in the hall, kitchen, cloakroom and living room to replace very old worn carpet and ancient lino type coverings. As my name implies, I have two very active spaniels so I need flooring that is resilient and easy to clean. I also have visits from elderly relatives who are not so steady on their feet so a good non-slip surface is important. In addition, I have sight problem and I need to have light colours on the floor. I also live on a busy road and I am aware that by replacing the old thick carpet the noise level will increase significantly. A number of people have told me to avoid 'click' type floorings as the joints can give way. After much research and obtaining dozens of samples from different companies I have narrowed the selection down to: Polyflor Expona Commercial 0.55 wear layer glue down in a Light Classic oak for the living room and a light stone effect in the hall, kitchen and cloakroom Luvanto Design 0.55mm wear layer in similar colourways Floors for Paws, a glue down LVT which appears extremely durable, 0.6mm wear layer and deep grooves in the surface, but generally darker and less attractive colours. I then discovered Luvanto Endure Pro which has an acoustic backing and a 0.7mm wear layer although it is a click together type flooring. I have tried a rudimentary scratch test with an old fork to see what the effect of dogs claws might be. My dogs run on a pebble beach every day and have relatively short claws but I am aware that scratches will appear. The Polyflor Expona didn't show any marks. neither did the Luvanto Design however the Luvanto Endure Pro wood effect did mark but the stone effect didn't show any marks despite repeated attempts. The Floors for Paws was brilliant, the toughest of all and no marks showing. Just a shame about their colour range which looks good in the catalogue but completely different when the samples arrive. Incidentally, if anyone is interested Harvey Maria was the worst of all in the scratch test, very noticeable scratches with the least effort so I ruled it out straight away. I am now completely stuck and don't know what to choose. Ideally, I would have gone for the acoustic option but I was disappointed to see the wood design scratch marks. I think it is probable going to be between Polyflor Expona Commercial and Luvanto Design and having to put up with a lot of external noise. Could I please ask you experts for your opinion and knowledge as you have far more experience with these products. Thank you.
You floor will scratch unless you put a resin floor down, buy maintenance kit with the lvt and ensure you use it when required, the scratches will disappear
Thanks. I didn't realise that the maintenance kit would be as effective as that. I notice that some brands talk about having a finish that doesn't need re polishing. Would they still need a maintenance kit or is routine cleaning sufficient?
I’ve sold lvt for manufactures for 8 years, the maintenance kit is well worth it, it will remove surface scratches which you dogs will cause regardless of what type of lvt you go for, if a floor is used it will wear. The kit will not hide deep gauges etc but remember with lvt it’s not the hardest job in the world for an installer to pull a plank up and replace it if it’s that bad etc
Thank you, that's really helpful to know. I'm very grateful for this type of information as the flooring will be a huge financial inves
Sorry, the system thinks I'm spam and keeps cutting me off. I wanted to say that it's a huge financial investment and I want to make sure I get it right.
