The team at Guhde Flooring America will floor you with luxury vinyl tile

By Patricia Nugent

There isn’t anything more purely American than rising consumer demand triggering companies to improve their technology to build a better mousetrap. In the flooring industry, over the last decade the world that has beaten a path to their door has been hungry for products that realistically mimic the look of more expensive and less durable hardwood floors.

Hard-surface flooring has dominated the market for the past 20 years, and in that same time, alternative ultra-durable and waterproof types of hard surface flooring have outpaced the sale of hardwoods.

“Innovation has driven some amazing flooring introductions to the market that are three-dimensional and high definition,” says Shawn Rosa, sales manager at Guhde Flooring America. “Now it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between real wood and luxury vinyl tile planks. The technology lies in taking a high-resolution photo of actual wood and then mounting it on the waterproof polymer core. In some cases, the process even includes adding embossed texture to the protective clear vinyl overlay to go with the grain of the wood, so it looks as if there’s a swirl over where a knot appears. With this precise methodology, literally every type of wood that’s available is also available as LVT or porcelain tile.”

For someone looking for an exact species of wood that is more unusual, rare and more expensive, such as Koa—a Hawaiian species that cannot be harvested, so only wood that naturally falls to the ground can be used—LVT can replicate it to a tee, looking exactly like Koa, but at a fraction of the cost.

Shawn says this emerging category has seen explosive growth. They might have had 10 samples to show customers eight years ago, but now have hundreds.

“People want an organic look, without the organic level of durability,” says Monica Guhde-Rosa, office manager. “There are so many types of wood, from hard to soft, hickory and oak to cherry or pine, but even the hardest species will scratch and dent, expand and contract, and are easily susceptible to water damage.”

LVT vs. Porcelain vs. Hardwood
In addition to luxury vinyl tile, porcelain tile is also available in hardwood looks.

“Even though porcelain is more durable than wood and LVT, it is more labor intensive to install,” says Shawn. “Like LVT, porcelain is also naturally resistant to moisture, heat and humidity. It’s great for indoor and outdoor use, and you can customize it a little better with grout color, so there’s a little more flexibility.”

One telling fact that LVT is king in the flooring market, is that local builders are asking for it in all of their new construction homes.

“For decades upscale builders only wanted hardwoods. Now, thanks to customer preferences, they are installing LVT,” says Monica.

Shawn says they like to show customers samples of hardwood versus flooring that mimics it to see if they can tell the difference.

“There will always be people who only want real wood in their homes,” he says.

Beyond Wood, Marvelous Marble and More
In addition to wood, Shawn and Monica report that lots of LVT and porcelain tiles mimic the look of marble, granite and quartz.

“Manufacturers use great technology, to replicate the look of natural stone,” she says. “Your final product won’t crack like stone, or ever need sealing.”

Whatever your flooring selection, she points out there really are not one or two popular styles people are choosing nowadays, just whatever works with their home décor, from gleaming glam to hand-brushed rustic.

Guhde Flooring America is located at 1880 Mentor Avenue in Painesville Township. Call 440-639-1990 or visit GuhdeFlooringAmerica.com.