An Overview of Altro Vinyl Floors
Altro vinyl flooring is a popular type of resilient flooring used in both residential and commercial settings. The company was founded in the UK in 1937 and has grown into one of the leading manufacturers of commercial vinyl floors worldwide.
- Altro vinyl comes in a wide variety of styles including sheet vinyl, luxury vinyl tiles (LVT), and safety floors designed for environments like hospitals and schools.
- The floors are made from calendered vinyl with layers of backing materials. The top layer is a clear wear layer for durability.
- Altro offers over 300 flooring designs ranging from natural stone and wood looks to abstract patterns and solid colors. Custom designs are also available.
- In addition to vinyl floors, Altro also manufactures wall cladding, handrails, and other accessories to provide complete flooring solutions.
- Their floors are designed for high traffic areas and feature special safety attributes like slip resistance and bacteriostatic properties.
- Altro vinyl floors can be installed in a variety of settings including healthcare, education, retail, hospitality, office spaces, and more. They are suitable for both remodeling and new construction projects.
The Benefits of Altro Vinyl Flooring
Altro vinyl flooring provides a number of advantages that make it a top choice for busy, high-traffic environments:
- Durability: Altro floors are made to be long-lasting and able to stand up to heavy foot traffic over time without showing signs of wear and tear. The floors retain their appearance and performance for years.
- Easy Maintenance: The floors have a smooth, non-porous surface that does not require waxing. They can be easily cleaned with damp mopping for routine care. This saves time and money on maintenance costs.
- Safety: Many Altro floors have special safety features like slip resistance, impact sound reduction, and unique formulations to inhibit bacterial growth. This makes them ideal for settings like hospitals and schools.
- Design Options: With over 300 flooring designs available, Altro offers endless options to match any aesthetic. Custom designs can also be produced. This variety allows specifiers to be creative with designs.
- Acoustic Performance: Altro’s floors help reduce ambient noise and sound transmission. This contributes to more comfortable spaces by decreasing noise pollution.
- Sustainability: Many Altro products contain recycled content and have low VOC emissions. The floors are designed for long lifecycles rather than replacement every few years, reducing environmental impact.
Altro Vinyl Flooring Options and Styles
Altro offers an extensive selection of vinyl flooring to meet the needs of all types of environments:
- Sheet Vinyl: Available in 2-meter-wide rolls, Altro sheet vinyl provides seamless installations. It comes in over 100 design options like stone, abstract, terrazzo, and wood looks.
- Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT): Altro LVT tiles combine the durability of vinyl with the aesthetic of materials like wood, stone, and ceramic. Tiles can be used to create customized patterns and designs.
- Safety Floors: Floors with special safety features like slip resistance, acoustic performance, and bacteriostatic formulations. These include ranges like Altro Walkway, Altro Stronghold, Altro Aquarius, and Altro Ensemble.
- Acoustic Floors: Designed to reduce sound transmission and ambient noise. Options include Altro Insight and Altro Serenity which help create quiet, calming spaces.
- Static Control Floors: Floors engineered to control static discharge in settings with electronics and explosives. Altro Elesta and Altro Stat-X are two examples.
- Accessories: Altro provides coordinated accessories like stair treads, nosings, cove caps, and wall panels to seamlessly finish flooring installations.
- Custom Design: For a truly one-of-a-kind floor, Altro can develop a custom design based on specifiers’ requirements.
Installing and Caring for Altro Vinyl Floors
Proper installation and care are key to getting the best performance from Altro vinyl floors:
- Installation should be done by experienced professionals following Altro’s guidelines. Subfloors must be prepared properly and adhesive used according to specifications.
- Sheet vinyl and some LVT products require special welding equipment to fuse seams. Other LVT can be installed with loose lay or glue down methods.
- Initial cleaning should be performed after installation to remove dust, dirt and adhesive residue before the floor is put into use.
- For daily cleaning, floors should be swept or vacuumed then damp mopped with a neutral pH detergent.
- Avoid harsh cleaners or abrasive pads/brushes.
- Spills should be wiped up promptly to avoid staining, and areas like entryways regularly cleaned to avoid tracked in dirt.
- Proper floor protectants should be installed on chair and furniture legs to prevent scratching. Mats at entryways help reduce dirt and grit.
- Regular waxing is not required, but finish restoration or recoating may be needed periodically in high traffic areas to retain gloss. This should be done professionally.
- Deep cleaning, stripping and reapplication of floor finish may be necessary every few years depending on wear. This keeps floors looking their best.
Comparing Altro to Other Vinyl Floor Brands
Altro is one of the leading vinyl flooring brands along with other major manufacturers like Armstrong, Mannington, and Tarkett:
- Altro offers among the widest range of safety floors tailored for environments like healthcare, laboratory, education, and more. Durability and special safety attributes set Altro apart.
- Design options tend to be greater with Altro, including unlimited custom designs. Styles cater to both commercial and residential needs in all price ranges.
- Altro provides coordinated wall cladding, cove caps, nosings, and accessories to allow complete customized flooring solutions. Not all competitors offer this.
- Quality of wear layers, backings, and composition is very high with Altro floors, resulting in greater longevity and performance over time.
- Customer service, warranties and technical support are better with Altro than smaller flooring brands. But competitors like Armstrong and Tarkett also have strong reputations.
- Pricing is targeted at the commercial/institutional segment, so some residential-focused brands may be more affordable in that setting. But Altro offers excellent value for large commercial spaces.
- Installation and maintenance services are available through Altro to support their flooring products which smaller brands may not provide.
Altro Walkway Flooring Vinyl – 3m (LWB Van)
Altro Flooring manufacturers and wall cladding suppliers
PVC flooring – Tungsten – ALTRO LTD – anti-slip
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