Gail Alcock, product director for Malmo, on the key factors installers need to know if they want a successful LVT installation first time around and avoid costly, time-consuming problems.

Luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) are a great product for installers and contractors to get onboard with. It has the ability to deliver high-performance, functionality along with stylish and authentic looks while being easy to install and maintain. Design choices within the LVT market have continued to evolve, offering a level of authenticity like never before, and these advances can save fitters valuable installation time when compared to laying stone or real wood flooring in a like-for-like space. 

But, like anything, to get the best out of LVT it’s important for installers to invest the time in getting to know the product and learn how to install it correctly, the most important being to understand the differences between rigid click and stickdown formats and the environments and situations where they’re best suited. When it comes to fitting any type of floor, it’s important for fitters get to know their customers and their lifestyle to determine whether they are they choosing the right product for the environment. They need to ask themselves whether they’re offering their customer their forever floor.

It’s useful to create a checklist following the classic adage of the ‘5Ws and How’ to determine which product to recommend for installation. 

First, installers should find out who will be using the area where the flooring is being installed. Is the customer a wheelchair user or do they have mobility issues where transition strips would be an issue? Are there children or elderly people in the household where additional slip resistance would be beneficial? Does the flooring need to offer scratch resistance from pets?

Once you understand this you can determine which type of flooring offers the features and benefits to meet the customers’ needs, but it doesn’t end there.

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