vinyl floors

Vinyl is characterised by the fact that it is pleasantly warm underfoot, noise-absorbing, easy to clean, hard-wearing and, in the solid vinyl version, waterproof.
This means that the material offers you different advantages compared to other floor coverings. I have summarised these for you in the following table:
Opposite
Parquet floor
opposite
Laminate flooring
compared to tiled floor
Sound insulation
hard-wearing
easy to clean
moisture resistant
warm underfoot
sound insulation
moisture resistant
warm underfoot
Sound insulation
warm underfoot
non-slip
easy to clean
A floor covering that also offers you sound insulation is carpet. Unlike vinyl flooring, however, it is not moisture repellent, is sensitive to stains and requires a relatively high level of maintenance.
Incidentally, vinyl and linoleum are not the same. They are similar in feel and share many characteristics. However, vinyl is easier to install. Linoleum, on the other hand, is somewhat more durable.

Vinyl floors differ on the one hand in their structure or material composition. There is solid vinyl, which consists entirely of plastic and is correspondingly elastic and waterproof.
Another variant is vinyl on HDF. In this case, a high-density fibreboard serves as the carrier material to which the plastic is attached. The boards compensate for small unevennesses in the subfloor when they are laid. However, they are sensitive to moisture, which is why vinyl on HDF, unlike the solid material, is not suitable for the bathroom.
Furthermore, vinyl floors differ in their installation system. So-called click vinyl is suitable for floating installation, where you do not fix the flooring to the subfloor. The individual planks have a tongue and groove. You connect them by simply sliding them into each other, i.e. "clicking".
Adhesive vinyl, on the other hand, is glued to the floor during installation. There are versions where you have to apply the adhesive yourself and self-adhesive planks. With the latter, you simply pull off a film and the vinyl planks stick themselves, as the name suggests.

Generally, light floors look very harmonious with light furniture and dark floors in combination with dark furniture. But a targeted contrast through a light-dark combination is not taboo either.
If you like it uniform, choose a flooring whose decor matches the wood type of your furniture - for example beech to beech. Make sure that the colours are also consistent.
When shopping online, it is always difficult to judge the appearance of a product accurately. Some online shops offer you the opportunity to order samples of their floor coverings for a small price. These help you enormously in assessing whether the flooring matches your furniture and the rest of the room design.

Many vinyl floors contain plasticizers. However, these are not necessarily harmful to health. EU regulations prohibit the use of harmful substances, such as phthalates, in the manufacture of vinyl.
To be on the safe side, you can choose products that are labelled as free of sheep's wool or PVC and softeners. Thanks to the clever filter function, you can search for specific products in our price comparison.

When buying a vinyl floor, you should pay attention to two thickness specifications: the installation height, i.e. the overall thickness of the covering, and the thickness of the wear layer.
The installation height plays a decisive role if you are renovating your home. After all, you don't want the door to scrape along the new flooring when you open and close it. So measure carefully beforehand how thick your vinyl floor can be.
The thickness of the wear layer determines the durability and longevity of the flooring. It refers to the thickness of the polyurethane surface that protects the vinyl underneath. The higher the traffic, the thicker the wear layer should be.
In the bedroom, for example, 0.2 or 0.3 millimetres is sufficient. In children's rooms and living rooms, as well as in the kitchen and damp rooms such as the bathroom, it should be at least 0.55 millimetres.

The usage class of vinyl floors is made up of two numbers. The first indicates the area for which they are suitable - 2 stands for residential use, 3 for commercial use.
The following number indicates the requirements the floors meet, i.e. how much load you can put on them. The higher the number, the greater the load the flooring can withstand and the greater its durability.
Use class
Load
suitable rooms
21 (living area)
low
Bedroom
22 (living area)
normal
Living room
23 (living area)
strong
Kitchen
31 (commercial use)
low
Conference room
32 (commercial use)
normal
Office
33 (commercial use)
strong
School
The classification of use classes applies to all types of flooring.

In general, it is important that the subfloor is solid, dry and even. If the floor has cracks or large unevenness of more than two millimetres, you must first treat it with a suitable filler or levelling compound. Proper subfloor preparation is essential when installing vinyl.
Which material is suitable as a subfloor for vinyl flooring depends on which variant you choose - or the subfloor determines whether you should prefer solid vinyl or vinyl on HDF.
Solid vinyl is very elastic, which is why you should not install it on textured surfaces. Otherwise, it is likely that the texture will show in the vinyl. Ideal subfloors are level concrete and screed.
With vinyl on HDF, on the other hand, the stable fibreboard compensates for slight irregularities. This means you can lay the covering on wood and stone as well as on tiles.

Yes, but not all designs. If you want to install vinyl flooring on underfloor heating, make sure that it is explicitly marked as suitable by the manufacturer. In our price comparison, you can use the appropriate filter setting to display only those offers that are suitable.

Before you do anything with the vinyl, it needs to acclimatise to its new environment. At certain temperatures, the material expands or contracts. Therefore, place the unpacked planks in the package for 24, or better still 48, hours in the room in which they will later be installed. Ideally, the room temperature should be between 18 and 25 degrees Celsius.
Once the vinyl has acclimatised, you can start cutting it to size. You do not need any special tools for this. All you need is an angle and a cutter knife. Measure the required width, draw it in with a pencil, place the angle accordingly and then cut along it with the cutter knife.
If the plank is made of solid vinyl, you can cut the material completely with the knife. If the vinyl is on HDF, you only cut deep enough to touch the fibreboard and then bend it at the predetermined breaking point. Breaking the vinyl gives you a clean edge.
The next steps are determined by the different installation methods:
Gluing
Click
Laying
Glue-down vinyl is tried and true. To lay this, you apply vinyl adhesive to the subfloor with a trowel and stick the planks in place - you're sticking them into the wet bed, as the handyman says.
Another option for creating a permanent bond between the subfloor and the flooring is self-adhesive planks. Self-adhesive means they already have an adhesive on the underside. All you have to do is peel off a sheet and press the plank onto the subfloor to make it stick.
Click vinyl is installed as a floating floor - you do not attach it to the subfloor. The individual planks are equipped with a tongue and groove. You connect them by simply "clicking" them together. With a little practice, you'll get the hang of it quickly.
It is even easier to lay self-laying planks - you don't have to be a great do-it-yourselfer to do this. The individual planks have a non-slip surface on the underside. You simply lay them butt to butt without sticking or gluing them together and they won't slip. Only the outer edges of the planks on the walls are fixed to the floor with double-sided adhesive tape.
Regardless of the type of plank, two things are important when installing: the distance joint to the wall and the joint offset.
At the edge, the vinyl should have a gap of around three to ten millimetres to the wall, so that it has enough space to expand unhindered at higher temperatures. Finally, connect the floor to the wall with skirting boards. If possible, choose skirting boards with the same decor.
For stability, it is important that the joints between the individual rows do not lie directly under each other. Lay the planks in such a way that the joint is offset by a third from the joint in the row above and below.

Vinyl flooring is relatively undemanding when it comes to cleaning. You can simply remove coarse dirt with a broom. Finer particles, such as sand and dust, can be removed with a vacuum cleaner. If the floor is dirty, wiping it helps. The mop should only be damp, not soaking wet. Do not use harsh cleaners such as scouring cream, but add some neutral cleaner or a floor cleaner for vinyl floors to the mopping water.
Thorough cleaning is not only important for the cleanliness of your home, but also for the maintenance of your vinyl floor. Small pebbles and sand can quickly leave scratches if they are carried around on it for a while.
To best care for your vinyl flooring and keep it from getting scratched for as long as possible, I recommend applying a special sealer to its surface. If the vinyl floor is already sealed at the factory, you should still refresh the protective layer at regular intervals.