When it comes to renovating your floor, there are plenty of options to choose from. Two popular choices are the seamless (PU) cast floor and the trendy Vinyl floor. What happens if you consider installing a Vinyl floor on top of your existing PU cast floor? Is this a smart choice? In this article, we will go through the pros and cons of this decision with you and show you what to look out for when installing a Vinyl floor over a PU cast floor. We will also discuss how to combine this combination with underfloor heating for optimal comfort.
Cast floor vs Vinyl floor
When looking for the ideal flooring solution for your home, you quickly come to the choice between a PU cast floor and a Vinyl floor. While both options can be attractive, there are a series of advantages to choosing a Vinyl floor over a PU cast floor. Let’s take a closer look at why Vinyl could be a choice for your flooring project. Vinyl floors are extremely versatile in both design and style. They come in a wide range of colours, patterns and textures, allowing you to customise your flooring to suit your personal taste and the overall design of your home. Whether you are looking for an oak floor, herringbone, or stone look, Vinyl floors offer endless design options. In addition, Vinyl floors are very easy to maintain, regular vacuuming and occasional mopping and that’s enough. A Vinyl floor is often a budget-friendly option compared to a cast floor, and installing a cast floor is a very difficult job, while laying a Click Vinyl floor is easy to do yourself. So you can save on installation costs. Nice for the wallet!
What to look out for when installing?
First of all, it is important to decide what kind of floor you want. For example, will you go for a Whalebone Click Vinyl floor, which is installed floating? Or will you go for a glued down Vinyl floor? Below we explain how to lay a Vinyl floor on top of a PU cast floor and what you need to take into account.
Installing Click Vinyl
Installing a Click Vinyl floor over a PU screed is a fairly simple job. However, you need to make the right preparations before laying the floor. Even though with a Click Vinyl floor you can compensate for some height differences with the Rigid Click Vinyl subfloor, it is important that the subfloor is sound. People often receive cast floors in a level state, but in some cases, they may not have been cast properly. So inspect carefully whether your existing floor is layable. By the way, don’t forget to run a hoover through the room, and once you have properly inspected the subfloor and it is suitable, you can start laying the subfloor and then install the floor. Could you use a hand with laying a floating floor? Then take a look at our articles on ‘How to lay’.
Laying an adhesive Vinyl floor
In contrast to Click Vinyl flooring, the laying of an Exposed Vinyl floor is not such an easy job. We advise you to have an experienced parquet installer do the job. In addition, the preparation generally takes more time and effort. You need to sand the substrate to make it suitable, and then glue the floor boards directly onto it. A PU self-levelling screed has a plastic top layer, which must be fully sanded for optimal adhesion between the glue and the substrate. With a bonded Vinyl floor, the subfloor must be 100% level; if this is not the case in your home, you will need to level the subfloor. Once the surface is completely level, you can start laying your beautiful Herringbone Vinyl or Village Vinyl floor. Just roll the floor, and your Vinyl floor will lay like magic😉!
PU cast floor with underfloor heating
Another advantage worth mentioning, is the comfort of Vinyl flooring. Vinyl floors naturally feel warmer and softer than cast floors, making them pleasant to walk on, even without underfloor heating. If you have a PU cast floor with underfloor heating, you can lay both a Click Vinyl and Stick Vinyl floor over it. This is because the floors have a low thermal resistance. Bear in mind that you will not get a higher thermal resistance of 0.15m²K/W. Before laying a Vinyl floor over a PU cast floor, it is therefore advisable to check the thermal resistance of your PU cast floor. Would you like to know more about floors in combination with underfloor heating? Take a look at ‘Which floor is suitable for underfloor heating?’ and get informed about all the possibilities.
