Terminology / Glossary of Vinyl Flooring

[justinrobinson]

Important terminology that describes Vinyl Flooring and related elements in the various regions of the world.

* Subfloor = the material used as the base product of the floor construction. This could be concrete slab or a wood panel product nailed to floor joists

• Substrate = the surface you are installing new flooring over
• Underlayment = Underlay or underlayment generally refers to a thin layer of cushioning made of materials such as sponge rubber, foam, felt, crumb rubber, or recycled plastic; this material is laid beneath carpeting to provide comfort underfoot, to reduce wear on the carpet, and to provide insulation against sound, moisture, and heat.
• Flash coving = vinyl ran up the wall to an accepted molding in lieu of wooden or rubber baseboard.
• Floor patch = material, either portland or gypsum based, used to fill and smooth rough areas, voids, and joints between underlayment panels.
• Flash time = the time an adhesive should be left uncovered after spreading to let moisture and or gasses to evaporate before covering with vinyl. usually listed on adhesive containers.
• glue trowel = a tool used to spread adhesive and to measure the proper amount of glue being spread on the floor.
• seam sealer = a product sold by the flooring manufacturer to, well, seal the seams to prevent dirt collection at the seam area and to prevent curling.
• roller = a device to roll the floor to evacuate any air or gasses that cause bubbles. usually 75# with three "wheels "
• double cut = a common method of cutting a seam by cutting through both fields and filling pieces at a pattern line at the same time. commonly used for inserting patches.
• butt seaming = cutting seam edges separately before assembly and putting them together.
• pattern scribing = making a pattern of the floor with kraft paper or felt paper as a template and then cutting the vinyl to shape in a more convenient area.
• restrictive molding = a molding used to prevent curling of the edges of a vinyl floor.
• undercutting = making a saw cut generally where a molding is unacceptable (like a door casing) under which the vinyl is inserted.
• Full spread = covering the entire floor with adhesive (most vinyl floors require full spread)
• perimeter glue = some styles of vinyl flooring only require a narrow band of adhesive around the edges and seams.
• vinyl tile= Looks like stone or ceramic tile, looks realistic.
• vinyl plank= Looks like wood, looks stunning

Please do suggest if I miss any term

 

[highup]

I can't see anything right off. For consumers, I'll add to your descriptions that vinyl and linoleum are two totally different materials. Vinyl is vinyl, linoleum isn't.