Traviata: Luxury Vinyl Tile Trends

Traviata remains on the cutting edge of flooring with the latest Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) trends in the hospitality, medical and education markets in Africa.

The newest ranges of “rigid core” and “glued down” LVT’s (luxury vinyl tiles) bring not only design flexibility, but also a number of practical solutions that are changing the hospitality, medical, education and residential markets across Africa. The City Lodge Group is one of the brands that has recently specified Traviata’s LVT flooring products in upgrade projects in their City Lodge and Town Lodge brands.

The company’s IsoCore products have been used in the front and back of house areas as well as the bedrooms in hotels in Johannesburg and Durban, and as far afield as Tanzania and Mozambique. One of major benefits of specifying this flooring is the speed of installation. Bedrooms, as well as other areas, can be upgraded and back in operation the following day with no special floor preparation needed and no noise, smells or other inconvenience to the guests.

Amazing sound characteristics lead to specifications in the hospitality sector

Traviata’s IsoCore LVTs are warm under foot and have good slip resistance in wet and dry conditions, are resistant to most spills and stains, extremely easy to maintain and offer amazing sound characteristics. The Marriott Group in the US have approved IsoCore on the basis of its floor to floor sound transmission tests.

The product has a 1,5mm IXPE backer, which is the source of the sound mitigating properties, reduces drum noise and offers better results than other soft flooring materials. In South Africa, Traviata supplied this product Marriott’s new hotel in the yacht club precinct in Cape Town and to their new hotel at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg.

Hospitals switching to LVTs

Besides the characteristics of the IsoCore product that lend itself to medical environments, designers and clients are also specifying the product in hospitals to mitigate the sterile look. It is suitable for all areas except operating theatres and high care areas. IsoCore has been used in a variety of large hospital groups, private hospitals, clinics, old age homes, frail care centres and similar facilities.

Glue down LVTs in schools

Glued down LVT’s remain popular for environments such as schools, with Traviata’s Elemental range being successfully used by the Pioneer school group. Patterned flooring and solid colour options are available in the Aspecta 1 range and are ideal for demarcating areas and creating fun feature areas while still maintaining all the benefits of LVT flooring in high traffic environments.

A solution for residential clients

As a designer, you are undoubtedly accustomed to residential clients who want a floor that is waterproof, pet friendly, highly scratch resistant and can be used in any room in the house – even in direct sunlight. Firm Fit from Traviata fits the bill perfectly. The product’s limestone based core is twice as stable as normal LVT, three times more rigid, has ten times the impact resistance of e.g. a WPC floor and can withstand three times the static load.

This product can be laid in areas of 400m² without the need for expansion joints, can be laid in direct sunlight and will never peak or telegraph sub-floor imperfections. Benefits for the installer and contractor include the fact that the joint strength is greatly enhanced and sub-floor preparation is not as critical as with other LVT products.

Firm Fit has a foam backer for added comfort and sound reduction, and it is highly scratch and scuff resistant thanks to a quartz enhanced Urethane wear layer. The deep structured decorative layer gives designers the ability to offer clients the look and feel of a premium hardwood floor that is “Fit for Life”.

Over the past year, this product has become increasingly popular, especially in larger multi-unit residential buildings and complexes. The new Firm Fit range called the “Elegant Line” is more budget friendly for large projects and individual homes alike while still offering all the benefits of the brand.

For more visit www.traviata.co.za.