Tile – In general, tile is the most expensive surface to install. That's because it's the most labor intensive.
However, the title of most expensive flooring in the world goes to Lux Touch tile. The handcrafted black marble tiles are encrusted with diamonds, abalone shell, mother-of-pearl, and black onyx. The cost – $1,000,000 per square foot.
You may have already guessed it, but the floor with the highest resale value is hardwood. Since hardwood is always in demand, it is an easy choice to up level your home.
On average, hardwood flooring costs between $8 – $15 per square foot while luxury vinyl tile flooring costs $2-8 per square foot.
Luxury Vinyl Tiles or Planks
At first glance, you might think of vinyl flooring as low-end, but manufacturers now produce high-end vinyl flooring tiles or planks that adapt to many uses in a luxury home. They produce the flooring in a huge array of colors and patterns, some of which mimic stone or wood finishes.
Vinyl is a soft material: One of its advantages is also its greatest weakness: its lightness. Heavy furniture can dent and mark vinyl floors, while sharp objects can pierce the upper layers. Discolouration: LVT flooring can suffer from sun damage if laid in conservatories or near south-facing doors/windows.
Its durability and water resistance makes it a great material to increase value in rental properties, kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. However, we don't always choose luxury vinyl for our properties. While the material is durable and stands up to water well, it's softer than hardwood and tile.
Vinyl flooring clearly is a better choice in high-moisture environments than laminate flooring, making it an excellent choice in bathrooms. But for whole-house installations, laminate flooring often makes sense because it offers a wide range of choices.
At a minimum, LVP flooring offers water resistance. However, many LVP floors go a step further and deliver 100% waterproofing. So, if you're terribly concerned about water damage, LVP may be the better option. Engineered hardwood flooring offers better moisture resistance than solid hardwood flooring.
LVT will never look “cheap” — it will make your life easier and enhance the look and comfort of your home.
Dark colored hardwood floors are highly sought after by home buyers because they match modern styles. Lighter hardwood floors don't have that same appeal to many buyers, but buying quality hardwood can help.
No. 1 Common Grade – Characterized by prominent color variation as well as prominent (but limited in size) character marks such as knots and open checks, as well as variations resulting from drying and machining processes. This grade results in a tasteful floor where prominent variation is to be expected.
Wood floors are one of the best investments you can make. They're durable, versatile, and most buyers love them. According to real estate experts, the average ROI for installing hardwood floors is about 70% to 80%, and wood floors can boost the sales price of your home as much as 2.5%.
“Tile is the highest-rated flooring among the categories we test,” says Enrique de Paz, who leads flooring testing at Consumer Reports. “It doesn't wear out, scratch, or stain. Its color doesn't fade, it's waterproof, and it is surprisingly slip-resistant, even when wet.
Traditional hardwood flooring in teak, walnut, and oak remains in vogue in luxury homes. Geometric patterns, such as chevron and herringbone, are making a comeback in luxury properties and current trends show that painted hardwood floors can be just what's needed to glam up a high-end home.
It keeps the house looking consistent
If you have a color scheme or style that you love, having the same flooring flow from room to room will allow you to extend that feel throughout your entire home. Using the same flooring material ensures your home will have an elevated and cohesive design.
If you want to be able to refinish it in 10-20 years, go with hardwood. Hardwood is more upscale and more permanent, hence the higher price. Another way to look at it is: If you want value now, choose luxury vinyl. If you want value later, go with hardwood.
Vinyl plank flooring can run between $1 and $4 per square foot whereas engineered hardwood is about $8 per square foot. Installation for the engineered hardwood can run up to $10 a square foot while vinyl plank flooring can be easily installed by the homeowner.
LVP vs. LVT. LVP comes in a plank shape and often offers the look of real hardwood with realistic scraping or embossing. LVT comes in the traditional tile squares, features more stone and concrete looks, includes surface texture for a lifelike look, and can even be installed with grout.
Con: LVP May Dent
Luxury vinyl flooring can dent and even scratch or scuff, especially from heavy appliances, furniture, or other weighty objects. Just because it's resistant to something doesn't mean it's impervious to it. However, do know that LVP resists scratches better than real hardwood.
Vinyl flooring, especially when installed with an underlayment, can minimize impact noise and provide a softer and more muted sound when walking or dropping items. Laminate flooring, without an underlayment, may produce a louder and hollower sound due to the nature of its construction.
Durability. Laminate and LVT/LVP flooring are both extremely durable, but they have their weaknesses. Laminate is prone to scratches and chipped corners over time, so vinyl is probably a better choice for your home if you have pets. LVT/LVP is scratch-resistant, but it's more vulnerable to denting and tearing.
“Luxury vinyl plank is making a major comeback in vacation homes and commercial properties,” Connell says. “The look of wood has come a long way.”
Maintenance and Longevity
In general, you can rely on vinyl flooring to last anywhere between 10 and 25 years.
“It may be on trend now, but it will never go out of style,” he asserts. Extra-wide planks and mid-brown tones—both seen in this bedroom by Los Angeles designer Claire Thomas—are among the top flooring trends for 2022. Extra-long and extra-wide planks are now in vogue, says LL Flooring expert Jen Meska.