Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl Flooring: Vinyl Flooring is defined as either resilient Vinyl sheet Floor covering or resilient Vinyl tile Floor covering. Vinyl sheet Floor-covering is generally available in either 6 ft (1.83 m) or 12 ft (3.66 m) widths and Vinyl Tiles are generally 12 x 12 in (30.48 x 30.48 cm). Sheet goods are generally retailed with no sticky backing. Thus, adhesives need to be purchased to adhere the Flooring to underlayment. Vinyl Tiles may be purchased dry or with a pressure-sensitive Glue backing protected by a paper covering that must be removed by the installer.

Vinyl Sheet Flooring: Vinyl sheet Flooring, particularly, varies in thickness and in manner decorated. Thinner sheet Vinyl is 10-15 mils in thickness as opposed to longer wearing sheet Vinyl that may be 25-30 mils thick. Patterns may be printed with a rotary press or with large plates engraved intaglio with the design engraved below the surface of the metal. Both printing methods impress a pattern on top of the Gel Layer of Foam and underneath the wear Layer, rendering a relatively durable pattern.

Vinyl Floorings: These Vinyl Floorings are preferred by many home owners for their ease of installation—many do-it-yourselfers are able to install them with relative ease. However, Vinyl sheet Floor Coverings that are 25-30 mils may difficult to handle or install for the unskilled home owner. The Vinyl Tiles are far easier to install and are the Vinyl Flooringing most often installed by the home-owner. Furthermore unlike other Flooring materials, sharp blades will easily cut the Vinyl Flooringing so that it may conform to corners, cabinets, and curves.

Vinyl Floorings are not Durable replaced periodically: Vinyl Floorings may be applied over old Flooring, and are easily cleaned with a vacuum or a mop with soap and warm water. To the delight of many house holders, with proper care, many brands do not require waxing. Polyurethane coatings render a high-gloss finish that emulates a shiny, Waxy surface and generally stays rather shiny over the years. If dulled, a special Vinyl Flooring finish may be applied. Vinyl Floorings are not as durable as Ceramic tile and will have to be replaced periodically.

Vinyl Flooringing Varies in thickness: As with many household materials, Vinyl sheet and tile Flooring comes in residential Grade and commercial Grade. Residential Vinyl Flooringing varies in thickness, method used for imprinting or decorating, and style. Commercial Vinyl Floorings conform to specifications that require superior durability and stain resistance. Some commercial Grade Vinyl Flooring is non slip for high public traffic areas.

Raw Materials: The primary components of Vinyl Floorings include polyVinyl chloride (or Vinyl) Resins, plasticizers, pigments and trace stabilizers, and a carrier sheet or backing. The backing may be felt or highly filled paper made from wood pulp and calcium carbonate. High-gloss surface Vinyl Sheets or Vinyl Tiles have an additional polyurethane coating applied at the end of the process. The Glue applied to the back of some Vinyl Tiles is made from Organic Resins.

Design: The design departments of Vinyl Flooring companies are constantly seeking new inspiration for successful patterns and colors that will work in sheet and tile form. The designers work with marketing groups to determine what colors and styles will capture the public's interest as much as five years from current production. The designs are transferred from drawing to computer, and mock-ups of the different patterns are produced in an array of colors. The designs are then printed off of the computer on full-size paper and in full color.

Full Scale Paper Pattern: If a full-scale paper pattern is approved for further development, Printing plates either 18 x 24 in (45.72 x 61 cm) or 24 x 36 in (61 x 91.44 cm) in size are created by engravers. These plates are then used to print samples of the pattern on undecorated Flooring (called Gel stock) as prototypes. The wear Layer, or final, often shiny surface of the sheet Flooring, is applied over the printed pattern, so the designers have a close approximation of the finished product.

Manufacturing Process:

Making the Vinyl sheet Floor covering: Vinyl Resins and plasticizers are stirred together in a vat to make a plastisol. To this plastisol, AZO compound is added. When the Resins, plasticizers, and AZO compound is heated, the AZO compound decomposes forming nitrogen gas bubbles. From this mixture, a Vinyl Foam is produced. This Vinyl Foam has the consistency of pancake batter and can be spread, in a slurry, onto the installation medium or backing.

Vinyl Resin: The slurry is laid down on the felt or wood pulp backing via a reverse roll coater it is poured on and smoothed out. The coated sheet then goes through an oven where the Vinyl Foam is Gelled. The oven is heated just enough for the Vinyl resin to absorb the plasticizer and set.

At this point, the Gel is run through a printing press and is impressed with metal intaglio plates. This impresses the pattern into the Gel sheet, creating the decorative pattern.

Second Mixing of Plasticizer: A second mixing of plasticizer and Vinyl are applied on the printed Gel. The Gel is run through an oven at an even higher temperature. In the oven, the Vinyl resin absorbs the plasticizer and melts, creating a clear Vinyl. Printed patterns and inlaid patterns are thus protected under this wear Layer rendering the pattern durable.

Sheet Vinyl is Ready to be Rolled: If the pattern requires a matte finish, the sheet Vinyl is essentially ready to be Rolled. patterns designed with a high gloss finish receive a Layer of polyurethane coating via rollers. The thickness of this coating is contRolled with an air knife to insure a consistent thickness.

Polyurethane Coating: The polyurethane coating is cured photochemically with ultraviolet radiation lamps and is ready to be Rolled. The matte or high gloss Vinyl sheet Flooring is then cut to Rolls that are 12 ft (3.66 m) wide x 1,500 ft (457.2 m) long that can be subdivided based on the needs of retailers.

Quality Control: As with most manufactured goods, all raw materials are checked to insure they meet minimum quality standards of production for the company. Felt or paper backings are checked for thickness and tensile strength. Physical tests are performed on coatings viscosity, lumpiness, etc. are examined. If all ingredients are chemically and physically adequate to render a quality product, the manufacturing can begin.

Intermediary checks are made: Intermediary checks are made to insure that standards are met. Members of the production staff perform visual checks on all pieces. If the larger roll does have contain an imperfection, quality control personnel adjust the computerized cut map that informs the cutting machines to cut around imperfections.

Sheet Vinyl used by Housing: Commercial Tiles and sheet Vinyl used by Housing and Urban Development undergo an array of testing including minimum thickness requirement, durability, flammability, etc.

Byproducts: No hazardous materials are unleashed into the environment as a byproduct of the manufacture of Vinyl Flooring. Waste products are either recycled at the point of manufacture or sent to a reclaimer for disposal. The heavy metal stabilizers and pigments used by the Vinyl Flooring industry were replaced years ago with those considered more environmentally safe. Presently, the industry is examining ways to utilize waste Vinyl which results from manufacture as well as recycle or reclaim the scrap Vinyl Flooring discarded by the consumer.

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