If you have been looking into the possibility of getting new flooring for your home or business, chances are that you have heard a lot about luxury vinyl, wood-plastic composite (WPC) and stone-polymer composite SPC. Vinyl is definitely an extremely popular choice but before you dive head first into putting a wood or stone-looking vinyl into your home, Shirley Pai Hilton of Kahala Floors highly recommends that you take a few minutes to weigh out your choices, especially with regard to total cost. Flooring and installation, after all, are not cheap.
At the Kahala Floors showroom located on King and Kalakaua Streets, Hilton explains that there are dozens of vinyl selections that give you the look of real wood or real stone and tile. Both the real stuff and vinyl offer many different attractive looks and you can probably find something in either material, which will make you happy from a design perspective. However, they will definitely feel quite different to the touch, and they will also feel and sound different as you walk on them.
As far as durability goes, although wood flooring does scratch, vinyl can, too. The big thing here is that you can refinish the wood flooring several times, making it a lifetime product, and you cannot do that with vinyl. Conversely, the main advantage that vinyl has over wood is that it is usually waterproof and not as susceptible to moisture. However, please know that there is no such thing as a flood-proof floor. If you have a big enough leak, there will be water under your vinyl and you will have to pull it out to clean things up.
Hilton says that if you are looking at wood, the majority of customers these days are using engineered wood flooring due to its stability and easier installation. You can use the floating method of installation for most engineered woods, just as you do with vinyl. Therefore, although vinyl flooring in her store averages about 25% less than the Kahala Floors lines of engineered woods, many of the installation costs are the same for either. Therefore, after careful analysis, many of her customers have been pleasantly surprised to find that by spending just a little bit more, they can have their true desire — a high-quality wood floor, instead of their original vinyl selection.
To learn more and for help in your product research, attend the company’s Great Flooring 101 seminar, which is held monthly at its showroom. The next 90-minute presentation will be at 10 a.m. on March 11. In addition to great information, all participants will also receive an exclusive discount on their flooring and installation.
KAHALA FLOORS
CONTACT 808-847-7711
ADDRESS 1540 S. King St. Ste. A, Honolulu
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