Vinyl Flooring Derby

Vinyl floors are highly resilient and take heavy foot traffic, which suits kitchens, hallways and commercial spaces. Vinyl resists moisture, so it's an excellent choice for bathrooms and utility rooms where spills are part of life, and it's easy to clean: regular sweeping and the occasional mop is usually all it needs.

It's also cost-effective compared with hardwood or tiling, which makes it attractive for tight budgets and for large commercial projects. The range of styles, patterns and colours is enormous, from classic wood effects to modern tile designs and bold patterns.

People often use "lino" to mean any smooth sheet floor, but the two are different materials. Linoleum is made from natural materials: linseed oil, pine resin, wood or cork flour and limestone, pressed onto a jute backing. It was invented in the 1860s and is still made today, valued for being biodegradable and hard-wearing.

Vinyl is a PVC-based sheet or tile, developed later and now by far the more common of the two. It's generally cheaper, more water-resistant and available in a far wider range of designs. When people ask us for lino, vinyl is almost always what they actually want, but if you're specifically after real linoleum, say so and we'll price it properly.

The thing to compare is the wear layer, the clear layer on top that takes the traffic. A thicker wear layer costs more and lasts longer in a busy hallway or a commercial space, while a thinner one is perfectly adequate in a spare bathroom. Cushioned backings add comfort and reduce noise, which helps in upstairs rooms.

For rooms where water is a constant, such as shower rooms, wet rooms and commercial kitchens, safety vinyl adds slip resistance, and can be finished with cap coving so the floor turns up the wall rather than stopping at a joint. Sheet vinyl can also be laid with sealed seams in wet areas so water can't get between the sheets.

If you like the look of a plank or tile floor rather than a sheet, LVT is the tile format of the same family, and can be laid in herringbone and other patterns.

Sheet vinyl is unforgiving of a poor floor: every lump and dip under it will show, and grit left behind can wear through from below. We prepare and level the floor first, template the room so the sheet fits the shape properly, and finish the edges and thresholds neatly.

We'll also fit vinyl you have bought yourself, if you have already chosen and ordered it.