LVT, click vinyl and sheet vinyl
At Pisos Pro Medellín we install vinyl flooring in all three formats: glue-down planks and tiles (LVT), floating click-lock luxury vinyl plank (LVP) and roll or sheet vinyl. We are flooring specialists with more than 15 years of work in Medellín and over 900 projects behind us.
Our clients range from households after an affordable, water-resistant floor to medical offices, veterinary clinics, restaurant kitchens and workplaces that need a surface that is easy to disinfect. In every case, the result depends more on how the base is prepared than on the vinyl itself.
That is why a large share of each job goes into sanding, leveling and testing moisture before we open the first box.
Vinyl is a flexible PVC floor made as wood-look planks, stone or concrete-look tiles, and rolls up to 2 m wide. With no rigid core, it conforms to the base underneath instead of bridging over it.
That flexibility makes it thin, quiet and stable, and also unforgiving: any grain of sand or tile grout line below eventually shows on top. Installation covers:
Planks or tiles 2 to 3 mm thick, bonded across their full surface to the subfloor. They end up very stable, never sound hollow underfoot and let you replace one damaged piece without disturbing its neighbors.
They demand a base as smooth as glass. It is our recommendation for shops, offices and apartments with a new subfloor.
Planks 4 to 5 mm thick with a click-lock profile that float without adhesive, much like laminate. They go down quickly over a base in good condition.
Unlike SPC flooring, there is no stone core: it is softer underfoot and more sensitive to uneven spots and direct sun.
It is glued down in large sheets, and the seams are fused with a hot-welded rod, leaving no grooves where bacteria can collect. At the walls we finish with a sanitary cove base: the same vinyl turns up over a curved fillet profile.
This is the system medical offices, labs, veterinary clinics and commercial kitchens ask for because of their cleaning protocols.
The wear layer is the clear film that protects the printed design. It is measured in millimeters or in mil (1 mil equals 0.0254 mm), and two vinyls with the same overall thickness can carry very different wear layers.
| Wear layer | Equivalent | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 to 0.2 mm | 4 to 8 mil | Light traffic: guest rooms, closets |
| 0.3 mm | 12 mil | Residential: the whole home |
| 0.5 mm | 20 mil | Homes with pets and light commercial: offices, medical practices |
| 0.55 to 0.7 mm | 22 to 28 mil | Heavy commercial: retail, restaurants, customer-facing spaces |
With commercial sheet vinyl we also check whether it is homogeneous (the color runs through the full thickness) or heterogeneous (a printed design under the wear layer). Homogeneous vinyl can be buffed and restored, which is why it dominates in hospitals.
A 2 mm glue-down vinyl hides nothing: tile grout lines, cracks, mortar crumbs and even trowel marks show up as lines or bumps when light rakes in from a window. This is called telegraphing, and it cannot be fixed after installation.
So preparation sometimes takes longer than the install itself. We grind with a floor polisher, fill cracks, apply primer and, if needed, a 2 to 5 mm coat of self-leveling compound that leaves the surface smooth and absorbent for the adhesive.
If the base has deeper damage, such as cracked slabs or hollow-sounding areas, it first goes through our floor and subfloor repair service. We pick the adhesive to match the vinyl's spec sheet, from brands such as Bostik, Mapei or Sika.
As a material, yes. PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride, the polymer used to make flexible vinyl, SPC and WPC.
The confusion comes from stores that list products as "PVC laminate" or "vinyl laminate" (piso laminado PVC). True laminate has a wood fiber core, so if the spec sheet says PVC you are buying vinyl or SPC.
When you get a quote, ask the seller to confirm three things: whether the product is flexible or rigid, whether it is glued or clicks together, and what its wear layer is.
Reference ranges for Medellín in 2026, in Colombian pesos and subject to the site visit.
Heat-welded commercial sheet vinyl is quoted per project, since it varies widely with the product line, the meters of cove base and the amount of welding. With glue-down LVT, subfloor preparation is usually the line item that moves the total most.
| System and item | Reference range |
|---|---|
| Click vinyl (LVP), material | COP $60,000 to $120,000 per m² |
| Click vinyl, labor | COP $18,000 to $28,000 per m² |
| Click vinyl, total installed | COP $80,000 to $150,000 per m² |
| Glue-down LVT, material | COP $45,000 to $95,000 per m² |
| Glue-down LVT, labor | COP $20,000 to $32,000 per m² |
| Glue-down LVT, total installed | COP $70,000 to $130,000 per m² |
| Self-leveling compound | COP $35,000 to $75,000 per m² |
| Installed baseboards | COP $12,000 to $30,000 per linear meter |
Vapor rising under glue-down vinyl releases the adhesive and causes blisters, so we measure moisture before anything else. We also check for cracks and flatness.
We grind, vacuum, then apply primer and self-leveler if needed. The surface ends up dry, hard and dust-free.
The vinyl rests in the space for at least 24 hours. Rolls are spread out so they lose the curl from packaging.
For LVT and sheet vinyl we spread adhesive with a notched trowel and respect its open time before laying. For click vinyl we lock the planks over the specified underlayment, leaving a perimeter gap.
We run a heavy floor roller in two directions to ensure full contact with the adhesive and push out trapped air.
On sheet vinyl we groove the seams, melt the weld rod in with a hot-air gun and trim it flush once it cools. The seam ends up as watertight as the rest of the floor.
We install end trims, baseboards or cove base. The floor stays free of dragged furniture and heavy traffic for 24 hours while the adhesive cures.
Laminate has a pressed wood fiber core and a melamine surface; vinyl is PVC from top to bottom. That is why vinyl tolerates water while laminate swells if the joints get wet.
Laminate feels firmer; vinyl is quieter and warmer. We go deeper in our laminate vs SPC vs vinyl guide.
Yes, against water from above: spills, mopping and kitchen splashes. Heat-welded sheet vinyl is the tightest option because it has no open seams.
What it cannot resist is moisture rising from the subfloor, which attacks the adhesive under glue-down vinyl.
Click vinyl can, if the tile is solid, flat and has shallow grout lines. Glue-down vinyl can too, but first the grout lines must be filled and a leveling coat applied so they do not show through.
Any tile that sounds hollow is re-bonded or removed before it gets covered.
A 60 to 80 m² apartment in click vinyl takes 2 to 4 days. For glue-down LVT, add drying time for the self-leveler, which depends on its thickness and the product.
Tell us how the space is used and the condition of the current floor; with that we recommend the right vinyl system and book a free site visit.
The installation is covered by a 1-year workmanship warranty against lifting, bubbles and open seams caused by the installation.
Pisos Pro Medellín
Tv. 6 #45-115, El Poblado, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Monday to Saturday: 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.