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Flooring. Luxury... vinyl!?

yssie

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Anyone here have experience with this stuff?

The situation: two 70-lb dogs, five - possibly six - cats. One of the cats is... well, let's just say that he's prone to having accidents outside his litterbox. Scratch-resistance and water-resistance by default (minimum maintenance) are musts. House has carpet right now - every bit the maintenance nightmare you'd imagine!

Old house had the original decades-old hardwood - gorgeous and warm, but we were lax on resealing and wound up having to refinish prior to selling... and all renovation designers we've talked to thus far have steered us away from hardwood due to maintenance. In fact, they've all recommended the same thing: CORETec.

Pros:
Warmer than tile, no grout maintenance. A lot cheaper than tile, though not a primary consideration. CORETec offers a lifetime guarantee on their product (though... I should find out if that guarantee extends to new home owners...). Easy installation - a big plus given our schedules. The "wood look" stuff really does look nice.

Cons:
It's vinyl... and I've definitely got a mind block about spending tens of thousands of dollars on vinyl!! I worry that we'll be throwing all this money at something that will actually detract from house value. OTOH - it does sound like it's perfect for our needs, "non-traditional" as we are with our zoo, and maybe "perfect for our needs" outweighs "possible reduction in home value down the road"? (No plans to sell this house anytime soon, even if we buy elsewhere).

Opinions?
 
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baby monster

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My parents redid the floor of their kitchen with vinyl. Not sure what brand but padded with tile look. Everyone always thought it was real tile but it was softer and warmer to walk on than tile. Very easy maintenance. I think it was there for at least 10 years when they sold the house but still looked brand new. No issues with resale but they only had it in the kitchen as the rest of the house had hardwood.

I'm of the mind that you should do what you like with house finishes until it's time to sell. My mom recently moved to the new house with red oak floors stained very dark. She sanded the whole thing back to original color and sealed with clear lacquer. When she's ready to sell, she'll change it to what's trendy then.
 

yssie

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Thanks @baby monster! It's good to hear that vinyl worked well for your parents - the kitchen is certainly a high-traffic area prone to spills and drops and other traumas!

I was pretty set on tile before talking to various designers... but I *really* dislike grout. We'd be doing the entirety of the first floor - we're also redoing the kitchen and we figured since we're ripping up part of the house anyway... :))
 

Elizabeth35

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I don't have any experience with this product but as a flipper I am looking forward to others opinions. It is definitely something I might use in a rental or a flip.

But, from what I have read, I would have to think long and hard about putting it in my personal home.
Here are my concerns (and feel free to tell me I am wrong!):

-Does it have v-shaped grooves between planks like some engineered hardwood floors have? I personally can't live with the grooves from both an aesthetic and a cleaning standpoint. Because I know that if something sticky is spilled I will end up having to clean out the grooves with a toothpick. On top of that I simply don't like the look.
-What does it sound like when you walk on it? I can't have laminate flooring because of the distinct sound it makes---sort of plastic and hollow, if that makes sense.
-What happens if there is any type of water leak? Is it ruined like laminate? This would mostly be an issue for laundry rooms, bathrooms and kitchen.
-How about any future repairs---is it possible to remove a plank or two if they got gouged or burned? Or do you have to pull up the whole floor?

Good luck with your decision making!
 

baby monster

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@Elizabeth35, you bring up a point I didn't mention. Vinyl in my parents old kitchen came in a wide roll so it was almost seamless. Nothing like grout lines. I think the whole kitchen had just one or two seams which were pretty undetectable.
 

PintoBean

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@Dee*Jay tell her about your floors
 

yssie

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Good questions @Elizabeth35!

1. So I have a couple of colour samples and put them together, and there’s no groove - the seam is completely smooth! Assuming that doesn’t change over time - I don’t know if that’s a good assumption, adding it to my list of questions...

A97B625C-BDC5-4713-B288-837E3EAAF1DC.jpeg

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2. I have no idea! But one of the showrooms has done their floors in this stuff - I'll wear some nice loud heels next week ::)

3. This we did ask about explicitly. It's apparently as waterproof as flooring gets, and if a board is damaged it can be replaced on a per-plank basis. I believe the planks are either 18x12 or 24x12.

4. Yes! And we’d buy several spares. Apparently they’re very scratch/stain/wear-resistant so the visual difference would be minimal (vs. hardwood, say). I’ll have to take a look at the showroom floor when we’re there and compare wear to their samples.
 

lyra

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I would be all for it. I've lived through 6 decades of flooring choices. I think going back to (a new higher quality) vinyl would be great. I haven't seen it here yet, but honestly vinyl was always easier to maintain and was virtually non-destructible. We have hardwood that the Chihuahuas are capable of wrecking! We have a tile floor with chipped and cracked tiles (uneven floor). Carpet is a no go, I'll never go back to that.
 

yssie

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@lyra Carpet is a nightmare - ANYTHING would be an improvement! Especially with this asscat... that I love him dearly doesn't make me less inclined to throttle him regularly :roll2:

A few of the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom are cracked - likely from the house settling. There would have to be some prep work to get the floors "tile ready" if we went that route - probably pretty uneven under the carpet.
 
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mrs-b

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I love vinyl. Love it. It's so forgiving, and has a lot of spring underfoot. I have large dogs, too, and I found it to be very quiet and easy to clean - and I worried a lot less about wear and tear than I do with wood.

My favorite is the traditional black and white 12" checkerboard floor in a kitchen. It's a great look and I've had it in a few different kitchens. I'd definitely have it again.
 

yssie

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@mrs-b Thank you!! I know you have larger pups too, so that's really good to hear! Do you have it throughout your house or strictly in your kitchen? If the latter - what do you have through the rest of the house, and how has it held up, if you don't mind me asking?

I should add that we aren't talking about a luxury property here - it's right about average for the neighbourhood, and it isn't a "class of house" where future buyers would be expecting certain materials by default. Other houses in the area have upgraded to hardwood, or redone the hardwood, which makes me nervous (though I certainly acknowledge that CORETec != vinyl of fifteen years ago ::) )
 
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azstonie

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Hi yssie, I've had luxury vinyl in rooms in 2 different houses. So glad we had it. It performed really well with a leaking refrigerator, no damage to the floor. It also does really well with my 2 dogs. In my next house, I plan to put it in more rooms. Good luck!!
 

ksinger

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I'll add a vote for vinyl. I had it before I got real tile - it only looked like tile from a distance - and I was actually a bit sad to have to rip it up for my remodel 10 years ago. It really is very forgiving, has a good chance of NOT breaking stuff that falls to it (the mustard jar remains intact, that sort of thing) unlike tile, and it really is so much more comfy on the feet. And if you get one that has the tile look, your grout lines never get dirty.

If I had to do it over, I'd probably get vinyl again instead of the tile I currently have.
 

Elizabeth35

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Wow--Yssie. I really like the look with no v-groove for dirt! It looks fabulous.
I love that you can do repairs.
We will definitely try that out in our next reno and in rentals.
I am also not a fan of ceramic due to the grout issue. And if you drop anything there is almost no chance of it surviving!

Sounds like it may be the perfect solution for your household of animals! Would love to hear your feedback after installation and living with it for awhile. Especially how easy it is to keep clean with animals and recommendations on color.
 

Asscherhalo_lover

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I am all for the new vinyl. I prefer "function" and the form of this is good so, why not?
 

yssie

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@azstonie, @ksinger, @Asscherhalo_lover thank you for your thoughts! It’s reassuring to hear such positive things from ‘regular people’ whose opinions I trust ::)

Azstonie - refrigerant is some dreadful stuff, I’m really impressed that any flooring survived that. Hardwood wouldn’t have had a chance ;(

Ksinger - “I loved it and would choose it again” is about as strong a recommendation as one can get! You make a good point about the mustard jar - the brand we’re looking at has a softer interior layer and a cork bottom, so should be quite forgiving. Tile, of course, is deadly to anything that has the misfortune of impacting it at speed :mrgreen2:
 

yssie

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Wow--Yssie. I really like the look with no v-groove for dirt! It looks fabulous.
I love that you can do repairs.
We will definitely try that out in our next reno and in rentals.
I am also not a fan of ceramic due to the grout issue. And if you drop anything there is almost no chance of it surviving!

Sounds like it may be the perfect solution for your household of animals! Would love to hear your feedback after installation and living with it for awhile. Especially how easy it is to keep clean with animals and recommendations on color.

I’ll keep this thread updated with what we decide! We’re going to a couple of showrooms over the next couple of weeks and should have a final decision pretty soon after that. The vinyl really does sound perfect for us functionally so it’s great to hear from people who’ve gone that route IRL.

If we go with tile we’ll probably want rugs to avoid breakage of everything the cats take objection to - which brings us back round to many of our current carpet issues, so...
 
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marcy

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There are also different qualities available. We had a high end piece in our guest bathroom at our old house. It was a remnant and very cushy and easy to clean. We lived there 17 1/2 years and it looked like new when we moved out. It's very easy to clean too.
 

azstonie

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Yssie, I have the luxury vinyl that comes in planks similar to Pergo/laminant. The DH installed it easily. What leaked in addition to the fridge was a toilet in the guest bath when we were out of town (of course:P2) and had a dogsitter who didn't notice. No damage to the vinyl planks and no water traveled btw the planks to the subfloor, so very impressed by that.

Ksinger is right, the stuff you drop won't break or dent the floor like Prego does, and OMG yes luxury vinyl is much easier on your back/joints.

My GF got the tiles of luxury vinyl instead of planks and did a very cool white/black Art Deco floor in her kitchen and breakfast room, looks amazing.

Luxury vinyl is sometimes confused with old school linoleum floors, the stuff that came in rolls or sometimes in tiles, fyi.
 

yssie

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@marcy CORETec is the brand everyone has recommended. I think it’s effectively the Kleenex of the modern Vinyl world? The lifetime warranty indicates that they believe in their own product, which is comforting!

@azstonie sounds like the same stuff! Spill resistance - definitely a top priority for us. The CORETec planks are shaped like wood slats and are grooved at the edges to slide into each other and lock together - super easy installation. Which, interestingly, does not seem to have translated into lower installation quotes :bigsmile:

The pics I posted earlier are the two colours we’ve narrowed it down to - we’d choose similar shades in tile with dark grout if we go that route. I really like the distressed warm wood, but the pattern would have to be varied enough to look naturally asymmetric through a large area - a clear pattern of grain across the floor would be a deal-breaker.
 

Matata

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We took out our engineered wood floors and put in the same brand you're considering. Three years later and I'm still loving it. Everyone who first comes into the house thinks the floors are wood. It's warmer in winter and softer on bare feet due to the cork layer.
 

CHRISTY-DANIELLE

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I'm so excited by all the positive feedback! We want to redo our entire first floor. My hubby thought I was nuts suggesting vinyl. (He remembers the old stuff in grandmas house. ) Well, then we were in a gift shop with gorgeous wood look floors and he said "Is this the vinyl floor you've been talking about?" It was! It was very quiet and comfortable to walk on. We were both impressed. I finally convinced him! Good to hear it's durable too!
 

yssie

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And more good feedback from @Matata... guess the salesfolk weren’t exaggerating about it being the cat’s meow ::)

@CHRISTY-DANIELLE I’m your hubby - I’m the one that needed convincing! I really do feel a lot better hearing good things from PSers ::)
 

madelise

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Vinyl is sooo nice now. It’s no longer the cheap plastic crap of yesteryear. We just spent $7k refinishing our original 60s hardwood, and it’s absolutely ruined in 6 months. I’m not about to spend another $7k refinishing it so I stuck a giant rug over the area bugging me.

We’re about to remodel our entry way, and are most likely picking vinyl “wood” and tile.

Water proof and scratch proof are my utmost priority. I’m not pressing my face 2 inches from the floor to see the pattern is printed on vs. organically wood. No one knows. It’s functional, long lasting, and cheaper.
 

madelise

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And while the next buyer might maybe feel romantic feelings towards hardwood floors... I feel like families or pet owners will have similar sentiments of dreading real wood floors.
 

redwood66

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We put in luxury vinyl plank in our kitchen and dining room because it holds up so well with big wet dogs and mud/snow tracking in all winter. One year and still looks beautiful.
 

mrs-b

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Yssie, I have the luxury vinyl that comes in planks similar to Pergo/laminant. The DH installed it easily. What leaked in addition to the fridge was a toilet in the guest bath when we were out of town (of course:P2) and had a dogsitter who didn't notice. No damage to the vinyl planks and no water traveled btw the planks to the subfloor, so very impressed by that.

Ksinger is right, the stuff you drop won't break or dent the floor like Prego does, and OMG yes luxury vinyl is much easier on your back/joints.

My GF got the tiles of luxury vinyl instead of planks and did a very cool white/black Art Deco floor in her kitchen and breakfast room, looks amazing.

Luxury vinyl is sometimes confused with old school linoleum floors, the stuff that came in rolls or sometimes in tiles, fyi.

That's what we did, too, @azstonie - we loved it and everybody who came to the two houses where we had it loved it too.

@yssie - I don't have it in my house in Boston - I had it in my house in NY and in one house I owned in Sydney - and I miss it! The house I'm currently in has wood throughout and carpet in a couple of rooms. I have some very pretty rugs to break up all the wood, but I still find it somewhat monotonous. My DH and I have decided to let our house in Australia go, and we'll build there when we finally go home. You can bet your bottom dollar that vinyl flooring will feature there! I want a large atrium-style room somewhere in the house, and it will definitely have vinyl flooring in it.

Having just recently house-trained two large puppies, I can tell you that vinyl wears better than wood for fluids. o_O If you put fluid on a wood floor and leave it, it will soak into the wood eventually and you'll feel the wood swell a little. Not so with vinyl. It just sits there till you wipe it up.

I like houses with mixed flooring. Wood, stone/brick, carpet, vinyl - I like variation. My preference is to have wood running through the house, with off-shoot rooms with different floor coverings for interest. I've only been in my current house 3 years, and all the floors had been done when the house was put up for sale. So we weren't looking to re-do them as soon as we moved in. But in a couple of years, when it's time to freshen them up, we'll probably revisit the vinyl idea, and I suspect we'll put it in our current family room, which is a largish room and very central.

ETA Come to the Boston get-together on October 13th, and see for yourself!
 

Lisa Loves Shiny

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Most of our rooms have porcelain tile or hardwood floors. So I balked when DH wanted to put LVT in two upstairs bedrooms. They are made to look like wood planks. They look nice, no issues with wear or problems with the seams. Easy to clean. Everyone who has stayed in the upstairs guest room thinks the floors are wood.
 

soxfan

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Vinyl is sooo nice now. It’s no longer the cheap plastic crap of yesteryear. We just spent $7k refinishing our original 60s hardwood, and it’s absolutely ruined in 6 months. I’m not about to spend another $7k refinishing it so I stuck a giant rug over the area bugging me.

We’re about to remodel our entry way, and are most likely picking vinyl “wood” and tile.

Water proof and scratch proof are my utmost priority. I’m not pressing my face 2 inches from the floor to see the pattern is printed on vs. organically wood. No one knows. It’s functional, long lasting, and cheaper.

Yep. I'd do the vinyl floors. Also- I swear to God if I had it to do over, I'd do laminate countertops instead of my leathered granite. I love formica. I make no apologies......
 

Arkteia

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Most of our rooms have porcelain tile or hardwood floors. So I balked when DH wanted to put LVT in two upstairs bedrooms. They are made to look like wood planks. They look nice, no issues with wear or problems with the seams. Easy to clean. Everyone who has stayed in the upstairs guest room thinks the floors are wood.

This is exactly what I want to do, vinyl for the second floor, but in our area, you can not find someone to do a small project. Building boom... and all our friends who remodeled had to go big and stayed at home to finish their projects. We can't take the time off. Crazy.
 
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