Vinyl floor tiles are a practical and attractive flooring option for any area of your home. As they are so simple to produce and lay they are available in a huge assortment of styles and finishes, meaning that you can get the look you want for your room easily and cost-effectively. This article will give you a brief grounding in everything you need to know about vinyl floor tiles, from how they are made to how they are laid.

Plain vinyl floor tiles are made from solid, compressed sheets of PVC and fillers. These are then turned into your familiar vinyl tiles. At the final stage coloured chips can be added to create a marbled effect on the tile’s surface.

Patterned vinyl floor tiles are produced just like plain vinyl floor tiles, except the pattern of your choice is printed onto the underside of a clear layer which is then laminated onto a plain PVC backing. This clear layer ensures that the pattern is protected from any damage.

Textured and embossed vinyl floor tiles are produced in exactly the same way but are then placed in a press which creates a textured pattern on the tile. There are various kinds of presses which allow the manufacturers to create different kinds of textured tile. This means that vinyl tiles can have a more authentic feel, and can give the impression of a more natural flooring material like parquet, bricksor ceramic tiles.

Laying vinyl floor tiles is even easier than the process of making them! Many vinyl floor tiles are self-adhesive and can be laid in a matter of minutes, especially if you are DIY proficient. To lay your self-adhesive floor tiles you will need:

• A clean and clear floor surface
• A sharp utility or pen knife
• A vinyl tile roller or a rolling pin
• A pencil
• A tape measure

Once you have measured out where your tiles are going to be placed you can start applying your self-adhesive vinyl tiles to your floor surface. Be sure to start from the centre of the room and work outwards, in a downwards triangular shape to avoid ending up with mismatched tiles in the centre of the floor. Fill out each triangular quarter of the room like this, then cutting the tiles to fit using your utility knife when you reach a wall. Once you have affixed all the tiles, finish by going over them with a vinyl tile roller or a rolling pin. It’s as easy as that!

And there you go! A great-value, good-looking, easy to fit vinyl tile floor! Of course if you don’t feel confident about fitting your vinyl floor tiles yourself, you can always get in touch with a professional who will be able to lay them quickly and easily for you.

As well as being cost-effective and easy to install vinyl floor tiles are also a great way to quickly renovate and update your room. They are available in all sorts of natural-looking and patterned styles and finish which means that you can give your home an instant update with hardly any fuss whatsoever!

Explore the Floormaker website for more vinyl floor tile ideas, buy online today or call our friendly helpline on 02920 344 358 for more information.

Everybody is after a wooden-style floor these days making them the staple of a stylish home, but with so many options available it can be hard to decide which wood-look floor to go for.

The first and biggest decision to make is whether to opt for real wood flooring or wood-look laminate flooring.  This is not an easy decision to make. Both real wood flooring and laminate flooring have their advantages and disadvantages, in this article we’ll try to address the key differences to help make your decision that much easier.

Laminate flooring may not have as much character as real wood flooring, but it can look just as good. It has the definite advantage of being much easier to care for. Laminate flooring is resistant to damage from most common types of impact as well as damage from things like:

•    Stiletto heels
•    Solvents
•    Cigarettes
•    Exposure to sunlight

Another excellent advantage of laminate flooring is that it is so easy to install. It requires no sanding, staining, varnishing, polishing or refining and, because most laminate flooring is only 6-12mm thick there is no need to raise door levels. This makes laminate flooring a brilliant material for refurbishments.

Laminate flooring is even easier to care for than it is to install,and it is extremely easy to keep looking good. It does not require polishing or any special kind of treatment; you can simply mop and brush it when needs be.

Real wood flooring, on the other hand, takes a little bit more effort to keep it looking beautiful. It is likely to require polishing and is less resistant to damage than laminate floorings. It is prone to fading in direct sunlight and is easier to stain with accidental spillages.

However, if you are looking to achieve that beautiful real wood floor look, there really is no other option. A real wood floor can really add that extra touch of class, homeliness and warmth to your interiors, which can be hard to replicate with laminate flooring. While a real wood floor can sometimes be a labour of love, it is often well-worth it for the final effect and overall feel that it achieves in a room.

Real wood flooring can also be quite straightforward to lay. Most real wood flooring is designed with in-built grooves and tongues which allow the boards to fit together perfectly. This means that real wood flooring can often be laid quickly and easily.

In summary, laminate flooring is a great, easy alternative to real wood flooring, with the advantages of being damage resistant and simple to care for. On the other hand, if it is that beautiful real wood floor look and feel you are after, and you are prepared to make just a little more effort to keep it looking good, real wood flooring is definitely the way to go.

To find out more about real wood flooring and laminate flooring explore the Floormaker website today. Buy online, or call our dedicated team on 02920 344 358.