Those of you new to using luxury vinyl tile flooring (otherwise known as LVT) need to know that brand name requires serious thought before you make a final purchase. A lot of LVT brands are out there, yet Armstrong is still one of the shining beacons in flooring products.
While you’ll find various collections for LVT within the Armstrong name, their Parallel Collection has become more popular in recent years.
This collection accommodates multiple performance needs for either high-traffic areas or spaces with lighter rolling loads.
Take some time to learn about features for the Parallel 20 collection, one of two wear layer options. We’ll also look at recent reviews from customers on our site, Floor City.
Nature-Inspired Wood and Stone
The reason Armstrong calls this collection Parallel 20 is because it has a 20-inch wear layer, which comes to 0.5 mm. In more technical terms, this is designated as 20 mil.
With this thickness level, you’re guaranteed a far more durable floor, which is perfect for businesses with high foot traffic.
A counterpart product with a 12-inch wear layer is subsequently known as Parallel 12.
What’s particularly important about Parallel floors is you get up to 15 different wood and stone visuals, giving you plenty of variety to fit your business’s aesthetics.
Because of the extreme durability, these floors can handle a larger variety of commercial environments. You could use this floor in not only busy walkways, but also chaotic office spaces.
At Floor City, you’ll find a lot of rave reviews for Parallel 20 floors. One recent reviewer for the Gold Rush Parallel 20 floor offered a short and enthusiastic reaction to being happy with her purchase.
Others often remark on enjoying the rare combination of buying a great floor at a low cost.
It’s true you can’t usually find a quality floor at a discount in the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Walmart.
Types of Stones Available
The look of stone can truly enhance the aesthetics of any commercial space, including making a strong branding statement. This Parallel collection offers six different looks of stone to help you match your interior design.
One of the most popular sizes in these products is 18 in. x 18 in. Three stone colors exist here, including oyster, clay, and moss. Reviewers frequently like oyster because it’s a grey color that goes together well with most business designs.
Three more stone products are available in another popular size: 12 in. x 24 in. Henna, Blizzard, and Buff are the top three stone appearances here, with Henna being the darkest.
We get reviewers who say they appreciate our attention to helping with color choice when needing to heighten visual impact in different spaces. Our attention to this comes in a color disclaimer we invite you to read on our site. Colors don’t always translate well when you look at them on a computer screen.
As a result, we’ve worked out a system where we’ll send you free samples of our floors so you can see for yourself what works and what doesn’t.
Whether you need traditional black, grey, or neutral colors, these stone options give you a lot of room to find something just right.
Types of Woods Available
Many of our reviewers note how the faux look of wood in Armstrong floors often fools the experts. You won’t be able to tell the difference between Parallel 20 wood floors and real hardwood.
Nine different wood types are available in the Parallel 20 collection. They’re available in either 20 mil or 12 mil.
These include grove, mill, argent, patina, brown, sequoia, barn, honey, and russet.
The Patina LA floor has received some recent rave reviews from our customers. A reviewer from Prosser, Washington noted the great interaction they had through our store, including top of the line pricing. Promptness and efficiency are a big factor in the customer service we give you.
Keep in mind both the stone and wood products come with a UV-cured urethane finish so you don’t have to do any polishing or spray buffing. It’s just one example of how much time and labor you’ll save buying these floors.
Finding the Right Size
When buying luxury vinyl tile floors, finding the right size is essential to avoid any installation mistakes. The last thing you want is being forced to redo your floor during a busy time for your business.
We’ve seen more than a few reviewers noting how we helped them find the perfect size for their floors to avoid errors. In the Parallel 20 collection, you generally get two standard sizes: 6 in. x 48 in., or 12 in. x 24 in.
The former is the most popular and most plentiful in the Armstrong inventory.
For any type of business space, these sizes work well. However, Armstrong does give warnings about where the Parallel floors shouldn’t be used. You shouldn’t use them in hospital operating rooms, heavy industrial areas, commercial kitchens, or any place where golf or track shoes are used.
Also pay attention to the appropriate subfloor. It’s possible to use these floors over concrete, terrazzo, or a structurally sound subfloor at any grade level. Avoid using this if your subfloor has any excessive moisture.
Look around at our site reviews, and you’ll see many who note that we helped save flooring projects for business owners and homeowners. Seeking guidance on the right size is always smart to make the best buying decision.
Ease in Installation
So many people continue to write reviews noting how easy Armstrong floors are to install. Parallel 20 floors are just as simple using a full spread method.
This installation process requires an adhesive, something you can find directly through Armstrong. We also carry their patented adhesive products at discount prices.
Remember, you need to prepare your subfloor before installation takes place. Armstrong gives detailed instructions on how to make the subfloor clean and smooth. You have to remove dust, solvents, paint, and oil as just starters.
Other foreign materials could potentially affect how well the adhesive works. So do a complete check of the subfloor before installation begins.
Some reviewers write us and tell us they found installation easy. Yet, if you’ve never installed a floor and have limited experience using flooring tools, don’t feel too proud to hire a professional.
We’re available to help guide you toward making the right installation decision based on your skill level. If you do install your floor on your own, come write us a review to let us know how it went. Most customers get it done in one day.
Required Maintenance
No matter which durable Armstrong floor you buy, it can’t stay looking pristine without basic maintenance. Fortunately, Armstrong’s Parallel 20 floor makes maintenance and cleaning fairly easy.
This product’s urethane protective finish already makes maintenance easier than if you had real hardwood or another floor type.
Our customers continually tell us about how easy it is to maintain this floor through simple sweeping, vacuuming, or use of a dust mop. Just be sure to wait four days after installation occurs before you do any cleaning. The reason is you need to let the adhesive dry thoroughly.
Armstrong also puts out their own floor cleaning products, which are highly recommended. Using any other cleaners could place harmful chemicals on the floor and potentially cause damage.
We’ve noticed some reviews continually mention how they care for their Parallel 20 floors with polish. You can do this, though it’ll require two coats with Armstrong’s own polish product.
Polishing your floor is usually intended as a temporary solution if you don’t have time to do maintenance right away.
Consider using a Roomba to help keep your floor clean. Roombas provide an automated process to cleaning if you don’t have time to do anything yourself.
A Ten-Year Warranty
The two Parallel collections differ on warranties due to thickness level variances. Since Parallel 20 has more durable thickness, the warranty lasts for 10 years compared to five years with Parallel 12.
Your warranty is only valid if you encounter manufacturing defects beyond your control. Any type of damage you do to the floor under your own actions typically voids your warranty.
Reviewers don’t find this an inconvenience, especially since cleaning these floors is so easy. Just be sure to clean up any stains as quickly as you can so they don’t set in. If you have a home full of pets, you’ll know why this should be top of mind.
Not cleaning these stains will make you responsible for your own repairs. And hiring a cleaning professional is usually expensive.
Using Parallel 20 Floors Beyond Your Business
Parallel floors are made specifically for commercial businesses, but don’t take this designation literally. While all floors give you a “commercial” or “residential” stamp, you can easily use these floors in a home as well.
Once in a while, we’ll see reviewers mentioning how they used Parallel floors in specific rooms of their home. It all depends on how much foot traffic you get in these spaces. Some homes are far busier than even retail stores are.
Those of you who entertain often at home shouldn’t hesitate to use Parallel 20 floors in appropriate rooms. We’ve found out many of our customers use this floor in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and basements.
Yet, don’t hesitate to use this floor in other rooms like family rooms or even bedrooms. The aesthetic quality of Parallel floors makes it conducive to being used in any type of heavy-traffic living space.
The Environmental Impact of Parallel Floors
No doubt you work hard to bring green principles to your business or home. Flooring is a big part of this, because some brands potentially unleash VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) that might harm your health over time.
Thanks to Armstrong’s full adherence to using sustainable materials, you can depend on your Parallel 20 floor being environmentally safe for you and your family.
Take some time to look over their sustainability page to see the processes they use to make their floors truly green. This reaches all the way from using recycled materials to using safe environmental practices for their manufacturers.
Reviews of Parallel floors sometimes note their appreciation for the strong environmental element to these products. Pet owners, especially, often rejoice. Having peace of mind knowing their dogs or cats aren’t breathing potentially dangerous compounds makes Armstrong continually trustworthy.
Avoid Buying Your Parallel 20 Floor in a Big Box Store
Did you know that if you buy Armstrong floors in places like Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Walmart, you’ll probably pay 20% more?
Not many do know this. These people usually buy there anyway, just because most cities and towns have a big box store nearby. They don’t know what they’re missing shopping for flooring online instead.
You’ll find hundreds of flooring stores in the online world. Few, though, offer discounts at the levels we provide at Floor City.
Just take a look at our site review page to see what our customers discover about us when shopping for a new floor. Despite us having a small handful of reviews for the Parallel 20 floor, each review shouts out to our attention to superior customer service.
Whether you’re interested in Parallel vinyl tile or vinyl plank, our customer service team is there to help you make the right choice.
What’s most essential in buying an Armstrong floor is to go to a store truly focusing on flooring. Stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s sell thousands of household goods, making any expertise on one product almost nil.
Our staff has years of combined flooring experience, which means we’ll provide an educated answer to any question you have.
Call (800) 898-9540 today to order your Parallel 20 floor. With our shipping centers throughout the U.S., you can pick up your Parallel floor as far as the eastern U.S. seaboard.
Come read our other customer reviews to see how buyers trust us for all their flooring needs.
