Vinyl flooring reviews: the common complaints and how to avoid them

Before buying a floor for the next 20 years, it is worth reading what people who already have vinyl are unhappy about. In vinyl flooring reviews the same complaints come up again and again, and nearly all of them boil down to four. Let's take each one: when the complaint is fair, and when the person simply chose the wrong product or saved money on the subfloor.

There are no invented testimonials in this article. Instead, you get the real complaints we hear in the showroom and read on forums, with an honest answer to each.

Complaint 1: "Gaps appeared between the planks after a year"

When it is fair: almost never, if we are talking about the plank itself.

What actually happened: the flooring was not acclimatised in the room before installation. Vinyl is a polymer: it expands and contracts with temperature. Planks brought from a cold warehouse and laid the same day will open at the joints within a week. Manufacturers require the material to rest in the room at working temperature – usually around 48 hours (check the exact time in the manufacturer's instructions).

The second cause: a click floor butted up against a pipe, threshold or door frame. The floor has nowhere to expand, so it opens somewhere else.

How to avoid it: acclimatise the material and leave an expansion gap around the whole perimeter. Details in our guide How to install vinyl flooring.

Complaint 2: "You can see every bump in the subfloor"

When it is fair: completely fair, and it is the thing sellers most often keep quiet about.

Glue-down vinyl 2–2.5 mm thick copies the subfloor literally. A 2 mm bump will show in side light after a year and after five. No installation technique fixes this – only levelling the subfloor before laying.

How to avoid it: either level the subfloor to the manufacturer's requirement (usually no more than 2 mm over 2 metres) or choose a rigid SPC click floor (4–6 mm), which is more forgiving. If there is no budget for levelling, the honest answer is: take SPC, not thin glue-down vinyl.

Complaint 3: "Furniture legs left dents"

When it is fair: when the flooring bought does not match the load.

Durability comes not from plank thickness but from the wear layer above the decor. Buyers rarely ask about it, and they should:

• 0.3 mm – bedrooms only, minimal traffic;
• 0.55 mm – the working standard for flats and houses;
• 0.7 mm and above – shops, offices, clinics.

The wear class is tied directly to this: our catalogue holds 252 designs in Class 33, 31 in Class 34 and 20 in commercial Class 42. See the guide Vinyl flooring: Class 32, 33 or 34.

How to avoid it: under an office chair on castors, a heavy sofa or in a busy hallway choose 0.55 mm or better 0.7 mm. And felt pads under furniture legs – they are needed for parquet and vinyl alike.

Complaint 4: "The floor buckled by the window / on underfloor heating"

When it is fair: when the temperature limits were exceeded.

The limit for most vinyl floors is +27 °C surface temperature, and this is not a recommendation but the line beyond which the manufacturer voids the warranty. Overheated underfloor heating or direct summer sun through a panoramic window causes deformation.

How to avoid it: cap the thermostat, and for a south-facing room with floor-to-ceiling glazing discuss the choice before buying – rigid SPC is the safer option there. Always check the exact temperature limits in the manufacturer's instructions.

What the reviews praise

To be fair, the recurring positives are just as consistent:

• water is not a problem – the core is polymer, there is nothing to swell;
• quieter than laminate – a thin glued plank transmits almost no footstep noise;
• warm to the touch – polymer does not feel cold like tiles;
• cleaning – a damp cloth, no restrictions.

What to ask the seller

Five questions that filter out the wrong product:

1. How thick is the wear layer? (not "plank thickness" – the wear layer specifically)
2. What is the wear class and does it suit my load?
3. How many years of warranty, and what does it cover?
4. Is it approved for underfloor heating, and up to what temperature?
5. What about my subfloor – does it need levelling or not?

If the answer to the fifth question is "it's fine, we'll lay it" without looking at the floor – that is a bad sign.

Warranty

Manufacturer warranties on vinyl flooring are typically 20–25 years for residential use. They apply only when the installation and use conditions are met, so keep the receipt and the instructions.

What next

Browse the catalogue: all vinyl flooring – 706 designs, €20–90/m², rigid SPC click, glue-down LVT, in stock, delivery in 1–3 working days.

Send us the area or a floor plan – within 24 hours we will pick 2–3 options for your load and budget and tell you straight whether the subfloor needs levelling. Samples are in our showroom at T. Ševčenkos g. 19, LT-03111, Vilnius.

Frequently asked questions

Is it true that vinyl flooring dents under furniture?
Flooring with a thin 0.3 mm wear layer dents if it is laid where the load is high. For a flat the standard is 0.55 mm and up; for offices and retail, 0.7 mm and above. Felt pads under furniture legs are needed in any case.

Why do gaps appear between the planks?
The main cause is that the flooring was not acclimatised in the room before installation; usually about 48 hours at working temperature are needed. The second is that a click floor was laid without an expansion gap at the walls.

Will an uneven subfloor show through vinyl?
Under thin 2–2.5 mm glue-down vinyl every bump shows – that is its nature. Rigid SPC click flooring (4–6 mm) tolerates small deviations. For glue-down installation manufacturers usually require no more than 2 mm over 2 metres.

How long does vinyl flooring last?
Manufacturer warranties for residential use are usually 20–25 years. The real service life depends on the wear layer and on whether the wear class matches the load.

Can vinyl be laid on underfloor heating?
Yes, with a limit: surface temperature no higher than +27 °C (the exact limit is set by the manufacturer). Above that the flooring deforms and the warranty is void.

Sources

• Moduleo – installation instructions (Roots, LayRed, Moods)
• Arbiton – Amaron and Woodric installation instructions
• Lalegno – Rigid Floors installation guide
• Forbo Flooring – Allura installation instructions
• EN ISO 10874 – classification standard for resilient floor coverings