Ottakee Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 We get possession of our new house on Monday. We will then have 8 weeks to make the move over there. In that time we want to replace some of the floorings, paint, etc. We are trying to decide what type of flooring to put down in the main living area. This will be a hall way, kitchen, dining area, and hearth room (like den but open to the dining/kitchen with a small wood pellet stove). We live in West Michigan so we have winter gear and summer dirt. We also have horses so that is more dirt. My mom who will visit once a week or more is in an electric wheelchair so wear/scratching, etc. is a factor. Tile sounds durable but also cold and very hard. Laminate is a good choice but not sure about scratching. Vinyl floor would be good for part of it but I dont' know if I would like the "look" the whole way through. Then I saw some resilant plank floors (sorta like laminate size pieces made of vinyl) that is supposed to be waterproof and durable but review I see are mixed. Any suggestions? We will try to be strict with the kids about shoes/boots off in the mud area but we won't require guests to remove their shoes and my mom's wheelchair will track in dirt (but we will have good mats by the door). Also, did you do it yourself or use a professional installer? Right now the kitchen has vinyl and the dining/hearth area has carpet so likely if we do all parts we will have to "even" out the floor which adds difficulty and cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 If you like linoleum (this is not sheet vinyl), I'd look at this site, and then contact Forbo with any questions you have. They have some interesting products under the commercial section, too. http://www.forbo-flooring.us/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 The laminate in my former home did not scratch. We had dog(s) and kids run across it, chairs scraped - you get the picture. Tile is easy to clean but hard - everything that falls on it will likely break. Higher end linoleum without a lot of texture (little dips and grooves, etc.) is easy to clean and not as cold as tile. Not sure what your regulations say about the hearth. We had tile around the wood stove. Did you say pellet stove? Then it may not be such a big deal as the pellets stoves don't have such a potentially big fire as wood stoves. Resale value will likely be more with tile and real wood floor (which scratches more easily in my estimation) though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfamilygal Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 We put down the Allure vinyl planking last year and LURVE it! It is so durable and looks just like wood. It is even textured. Dh and I put it down ourselves. Did the whole downstairs (approx. 1500 sq ft) for under 2K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I would get high quality laminate. We replaced our carpet with laminate 3-4 years ago. We have two standard poodles living in our house. We haven't had any trouble with scratching at all. When it is clean, it looks brand new. We have been so pleased with it. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) Linoleum may sound dated but they have some nice looking and durable material now. You can google Marmoleum and see some options. Edited to add: I did a google. RoughCollie's link has Marmoleum. An upside that might not matter is that it doesn't off-gas chemicals like vinyl and laminate would. Some people are really sensitive to that. Edited July 16, 2011 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 I have heard of Marmoleum but don't know if it would give me the "look" I am after--which is likely a wood look. I have seen mixed reviews on the vinyl planks---some say the seems come apart and separate over time, mold grows under it, etc. while other are really positive. We are trying also to figure out if we want to do it ourselves or pay the professionals to do it. DH and ds did our current laminate and I think it looks fine but those were more square rooms--not all the cuts/doorways, built ins, etc. that we will have in the new place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maeintx Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Seconding the Allure vinyl plank flooring from Home Depot. We love it too. We did our game room and kitchen, bathroom, and an office nook. Everyone thinks it is wood because it is not noisy like laminate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 We are getting new flooring put into our house right now because of our dc's asthma. We just finished ripping the last of the carpet out of the basement tonight...and once those floors are done, we're going to do the main level of the house. We're doing the basement in tile and the main level in hardwood. I, personally, would go with tile...only because it's easier to care for with wood and with as much outdoor grit as is going to be coming in from the wheelchair/horses, I think it'll be easier to maintain (& de-germ because you can bleach it). It's also something you do once and not really worry about having to replace/maintain. We contemplated laying tile ourselves....especially after many of our bids came in at $5.90-8.50 for laying it, per SF. We finally called a bunch of builders in our area and asked who they used and if they were happy with it. We found a crew who does it for $2.50SF....well worth the money at our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Tile sounds durable but also cold and very hard. Laminate is a good choice but not sure about scratching. Vinyl floor would be good for part of it but I dont' know if I would like the "look" the whole way through. Then I saw some resilant plank floors (sorta like laminate size pieces made of vinyl) that is supposed to be waterproof and durable but review I see are mixed. much depends upon your budget. have you looked at cork or bamboo? laminate varies greatly - some will be great, other's won't last very long. I looked at those same resiliant planks for my laundry room. I finally just put in an octagon and dot ceramic tile. (and it's not nearly as cold as I was expecting. I actually like the texture on my feet.) slate is indestructable and doesn't need sealing. (i only rejected it because it only comes in darker colors and my house is already dark - though I LOVE copper slate.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Resale value will likely be more with tile and real wood floor (which scratches more easily in my estimation) though. depends upon the finish. I have one room with the "aluminum oxide" super duper hard finish from lumbar liquidators - I'll keep my swedish finish thanks. One day . . . .I'll refinish the kitchen and put down a swedish finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 much depends upon your budget. have you looked at cork or bamboo? It was generally hard wearing and we liked it a lot, but we did make one big scratch on it. We dragged a box across the floor that (unknown to us) had a big staple in the bottom. So you can scratch it if you try. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 It sounds like laminate might be a good option for you, but you want to get some good quality stuff. We put Wilsonart laminate flooring on our first floor when we built our house for practical reasons. We could have had hardwood flooring for the same price (I prefer the look of that) but the laminate has held up very well and still looks like it did when we first put it in. I think we have two small scratches on the floor after living here 11 years even though I allowed my kids to ride their tricycles and skate inside when they were little. We also put more expensive padding down and I think that may have really added to our happiness with the flooring. It was a thick rubber padding, if I am remembering correctly. My husband recently put down inexpensive laminate flooring from Costco in our basement without the expensive padding and it makes a creaking/cracking sound every time you step on it. I'm not sure if that is due to the lack of good padding or the fact that this is floor that you just "snap" together. Our flooring upstairs needed to be glued when my husband installed it. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilacii Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 You might want to look at bamboo flooring as an option. Another option (less common) would be stained concrete. I personally love the look and durability of stained concrete:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 We have cork in our kitchen and love it. (from the Eco-friendly flooring clearance page, so not too spendy) It's quiet under foot (amazing how loud dog toenails are on the hardwood vs the cork) and warm. We got the click-lock planks and did it ourselves. The only thing we didn't do (that was recommended) was seal it after it was in place. There's a whole story there, which I won't bore you telling... Anyway, there is some wear to the finish just inside the door, where the kids go in and out and we have a draft blocker that sweeps back and forth, effectively sanding the floor. It's been in place for... 4.5 years? In the busiest room in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 We have hickory hard wood flooring in part of our house and I love it. My kids are very rough and we always have sand from sports and the beach carried in. We also have 2 dogs and 2 cats but the hickory is knotty and looks rustic and it is very hard to make a mark on it. http://www.hardwoodfloorhowto.com/hickory-hardwood-flooring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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