Today’s vinyl has come a long way from what you might remember as grandma’s vinyl floors. Vinyl, or “resilient flooring,” can be defined as sheet vinyl, or as luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) or luxury vinyl planks (LVP). Vinyl continues to be an extremely durable, and fashionable, flooring choice with outstanding warranties and a gorgeous array of design and style to suit every room in your home. Our LVT and LVP collections offer durability with sophisticated or rustic looks to meet every need.

Hybrid is the latest flooring innovation, combining the best attributes of both laminate and vinyl to create a rigid floating floor that can be installed throughout the entire home. Hybrid is made of multiple layers of materials pressed together for an extremely hard wearing floor. These layers are as follows : • UV coating provides a hard-wearing surface with high impact resistance. • The decorative layer replicated the look of an authentic hardwood floor. • A pre-adhered acoustic backing deliveres improved acoustics and comfort underfoot as well as decreasing installation costs.

Engineered hardwood flooring is very durable as it is constructed with multiple layers of wood. The top layer is a veneer of solid wood that can be finished in a variety of species. The exact durability is determined by the hardness of the hardwood veneer species, as some species are harder than others. To increase your flooring’s durability, try capping your furniture with felt pads, which will reduce damage from friction and scraping.

Engineered hardwood floors are wooden floors made with multiple layers of wood adhered together, rather than one plank cut from a single timber, to create flooring planks available in multiple sizes and thicknesses. The top layer, often referred to as the veneer, is made of the species of wood desired to be seen. The bottom layer is also made of wood, but not necessarily the same species as the top layer. In the middle is a core built from 5 to 7 layers of plywood that crisscross in different directions. The species of wood uses for these core layers will vary depending on the quality of the product. Higher quality engineered wood products will boast core layers made of higher grade hardwoods. This crisscross construction of the core layers creates a highly stable core that is less likely to expand, contract or shift when exposed to moisture, humidity and temperature. This makes engineered wood flooring a great option in rooms that are subject to moisture (like basements) or over concrete slab and radiant heating systems. Often times engineered hardwood products are warrantied for use in rooms where solid hardwood would not be warrantied, such as below grade.

Laminate is an affordable, multilayered flooring product made from tightly compressed wood fibre and designed to look like wood, tile or stone. Laminate flooring products typically have four layers: the backing layer, the core layer, the image layer, and the wear layer. The backing can vary depending on the product but is often made of cork, felt or another soft product to allow the laminate to sit comfortably on the floor. The core layer is typically comprised of recycled wood fibres tightly compressed into a dense wood-like core, sometimes referred to as a high-density fibre (HDF) core. The image layer is where the desired look (e.g. wood, stone) is printed onto the product and texture is added through a process called ‘embossing’ to make it feel similar to the material it is made to look like. The wear layer is a clear protective layer manufactured on top of the image layer. The wear layer is often made from aluminium oxide and designed to prevent the floor from scratching or showing excessive wear over time. Higher quality laminate products often boast an extra resilient wear layer that makes the product scratch, dent and fade resistant. Laminate can be a good choice for many different customers because it offers an affordable way to achieve a desired look, such as hardwood or stone, without having to pay the high material and labour costs for those products. Laminate can be installed at all grades and with a variety of installation methods, including glue down and floating installations, making it a versatile hard surface option. Because laminate is an artificial product made from recycled wood fibre and not real wood, it often does not have the same level of performance as the wood, stone or tile products it is imitating. Laminate is also a relatively lightweight product and as a result can sometimes feel hollow underfoot. Lower quality laminate can sometimes sound hollow underfoot when walking across it.