ksr5377 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We're looking for flooring for our school room/office. This room is a weird area with doors to the kitchen and garage, as well as our door to the backyard. I'm looking for something that would look nice as well as be able to handle lots of traffic and weather. DH was thinking tile, but after tiling our main bathroom last year I'm not happy with the upkeep. Grout gets dirty, I don't care how well you seal it. We looked at laminate but have concerns about water. If all the kids come in from the backyard and drop their snowy boots, I don't want to worry about immediately mopping up puddles. We ruled linoleum out due to the look. So we were left with sheet vinyl, which neither of us love the look of. Then we discovered the vinyl planks, but it seems they are so new that no one we know has even heard of them let alone installed them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We have it in our small bathroom. We love it but it looks and feels like vinyl. No one is fooled into thinking we have hardwood in our bathroom. It was pretty easy to install especially around pipes. It is waterproof. It looks nice and I get compliments on it but it doesn't look 'real'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 DH installed vinyl plank in our last house and is doing it again in our new house. He used the Allure brand from Home Depot. It sticks together. He also recommends buying a cutter. It looks like an elementary school paper cutter. He says that makes the job go a lot faster. Personally, I love it. It looks great. It's waterproof. It's not as hard as tile, so it is easier to walk around on all day. We recently went to a parade of homes through some swanky neighborhoods and they are laying vinyl plank through a lot of nice, new homes. I can't always tell it's not wood from looking at it, but I can tell from the feel if I take my shoes off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We recently got vinyl plank in our kitchen , office and down a hallway. Installation was easy and it looks nice but it scratches quite easily. As in, if you drag a dining room chair across it, it's going to leave a mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Dd is working in the flooring department of Home Depot this summer, and she's really impressed with Allure. She keeps trying to talk us into using it, although we're running out of places in our house that need new flooring, having installed so much in the past few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We have it in the kitchen, and I love it. It looks great, is durable, and feels softer and warmer on my feet than anything else. We had a combination of tile and real hardwood in our last home, and I prefer the vinyl. It's so easy to clean, too. Just a few passes with my spray mop and I'm done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We have it in our basement bathroom and laundry room and I really like it. Do NOT do regular laminate. We did almost our wholeain floor in it and keeping up with the water drops on it is terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We're beginning the process of constructing a new home and we'll very likely use vinyl plank throughout. I feel like it's kind of a risk, but yet it seems to me that it comes closest to being the perfect flooring choice for us. I detest hardwood -- I just do not get the love many feel for it. It scratches and dents and water is a big issue. Even little drops after one of the pets has a drink can be a problem. Laminate is much better about not scratching or denting but there's still the water issue. Carpet is out due to allergy issues and being too hard to keep clean. Tile is too hard and there's the grout issue. So . . . I keep coming back to vinyl plank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We have Core-Tec in our kids' baths and really like it. I'm not dragging furniture around in there to know if it would leave a mark. It feels great underfoot. For that reason alone, I would strongly consider it in a kitchen where I'd be standing most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom'sGirl Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We have the Allure pine looking planks in our bathroom and study (schoolroom). And we have the Allure tile in our kitchen. For the most part this has been a great solution for us. Our bathroom floor is very uneven, but the planks are staying together great. Our schoolroom has heated cement floors under the planks. The only two negatives is they can scratch just like hardwood so you need to put felt on the bottom of chair/table legs. The tile looking one in our kitchen seems to scratch easier than the planks. The other negative is that if you are installing it on a floor that is above a cold space, they may pull apart and leave a bigger crack than you originally had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We have vinyl plank. I really like it. It's the super cheapest type and it has worn a fair bit but I'm still happy with the performance as it's in a very high use area. We're about to replace it with a better quality vinyl plank with a long guarantee. I like how easy it is to lay and look after. The stuff we have now has lost it's surface in a few places and it glues down. The one we are probably going to replace it with is not a sticky backed one and has a wear layer built in. The options seem to have come a long way in the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 :lol: I thought your subject was, "Anyone have vinyl PINK flooring". Um, no! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I am so glad to see this thread! We shall be replacing the kitchen and laundry room flooring within the next year. My son showed me the vinyl planks at Home Depot because we were discussing "floating" flooring as the easiest replacement for our situation. They look and sound the right choice of materials! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 :lol: I thought your subject was, "Anyone have vinyl PINK flooring". Um, no! LOL I read it that way first too. Must be some secret desire of mine. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 ( dp ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Come on. You know you want it. https://www.google.com/search?q=vinyl+pink+flooring&safe=active&espv=2&biw=1729&bih=945&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMI4tb80PCCxwIVCI6SCh0SbQUr#imgrc=vsYRxHVGJUP-BM%3A 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We have it in our small bathroom. We love it but it looks and feels like vinyl. No one is fooled into thinking we have hardwood in our bathroom. It was pretty easy to install especially around pipes. It is waterproof. It looks nice and I get compliments on it but it doesn't look 'real'. This. I have it in my bedroom. It does look pretty, but definitely feels vinyl. It is a decent compromise since I can't afford hardwoods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Here's ours. Ignore the dirt; I've been making it one of dd's jobs to sweep and mop the kitchen floor, and she's still learning. Very slowly. Lol. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxkag9g9L0gyWWQyQnlpWEptUzg/view?usp=sharing 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer132 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We're getting it in our new home. In fact, they are installing it this week! Personally I think it's a great choice for the kind of area you are talking about. That being said, after we chose it, I heard some things about how bad vinyl is for you due to the off-gassing. It may not matter to you, but I felt I had to mention it (btw, we are still using it even though I had heard this info). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We put it in the basement as we had a few uneven spots and it seemed the best choice considering. We like it. Personally I wish I had the tile version instead of real tile in my kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 We put in our new sunroom. We used the brand from Lowe's. I love it. I have not found that it scratches at all and we do not have pads on our chair legs. We used a very dark color. Agreeing with PP..tile version rocks! I want that in my bathroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I have a room where I want to rip out the carpet and install LVP. I've looked at Home Depot and the flooring store. The stuff at the full-service future was much thicker and nicer. I just don't know where a DIYer would find the better stuff. We're looking at about $8/sq ft installed so I'm trying to decide if I'd rather spring for commercial-grade Karndean and put it in ourselves. I'm having trouble finding it around here :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfABunch Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I misread this as vinyl PINK flooring 😱 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 I misread this as vinyl PINK flooring 😱 You weren't the only one :) Thanks everyone for the information. I'm happy to see that lots of people are using it. The pictures are amazing! I'm not expecting it to feel like a wood floor, I just want it to look nice and for my kids to have wet boots and umbrellas on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I'm seriously considering using loose lay planks and an acoustic underlay and doing it this way because I'm trying to pad a cement floor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I'm seriously considering using loose lay planks and an acoustic underlay and doing it this way because I'm trying to pad a cement floor. Oh that's cool. I might look at that for my basement/school room, which currently has nasty carpet that was only made worse by the removal of a giant section of carpet following the Giant Freezer Failure/Elk Meat Thaw of '12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I'm seriously considering using loose lay planks and an acoustic underlay and doing it this way because I'm trying to pad a cement floor. Interesting. The LVP we used locked into each other and just float on the floor. What happens to the Instalay if there is a flood? We've had water in our basement before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Interesting. The LVP we used locked into each other and just float on the floor. What happens to the Instalay if there is a flood? We've had water in our basement before.You can't use it with the locking kind because the amount of give will eventually snap the connections. I'm trying to fine loose lay planks locally, but they're so new in the US it's hard to track down a local source. I ordered some samples but they're not here yet. My room is a step-down living room on a concrete slab. We've never had a water issue in there since it's above-grade. That's my home dance studio, so I'm trying to add cushion and a sprung wood floor isn't in my budget. I'd skip the acoustic underlay in a basement. This loose lay stuff doesn't expand or contract with temperature fluctuations, so it butts up against the perimeter. I can avoid quarter round this way. It's all theoretical at this point. I'm trying to learn more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 I'm seriously considering using loose lay planks and an acoustic underlay and doing it this way because I'm trying to pad a cement floor. This is very interesting! Our floor is a step-down onto a concrete slab as well. It used to be, many owners before us, a covered breezeway. At some point it was bricked in to be more of a 3-season room. Then, the owners before us installed heat and real windows! One of my smaller concerns was just how hard and cold the floor can be in the winter when the little ones are playing on it while we do school. I did find at Home Depot a plank that doesn't interlock, but stays together with a small adhesive strip. I wonder if you could use something like that? http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Allure-6-in-x-36-in-Alpine-Elm-Resilient-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring-24-sq-ft-case-63275-0/202885474 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinsomeCreek Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 We have glue down directly over concrete in the basement. It's the textured faux wood. We have it in the one room that has seen water at some point in the last 50 years. It looks quite nice (but always makes me think of a dental office) and has held up well in the face of guests, kids and dogs. The only issue is that it does expand and contract more than I expected. One area is buckling because I didn't leave enough room at the end for expansion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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