Vinyl Flooring

Nancy T
by Nancy T
I have a small stubborn little yorkie and he has destroyed my carpet in less than a year. I won't get rid of the dog (he is my sweetie) but I will get rid of the carpet.
I am thinking about installing Vinyl floor strip that look like wood because I read that they are very tough and will withstand accidents. I don't want to spend a lot of money putting hardwood or new carpet down because I know it will probably get trashed.
Does anyone have an experience with it. Does it look good? Last? Easy to put down?
Thanks so much
Nancy
  18 answers
  • Shari Shari on Sep 27, 2012
    Almost 2 years ago, I had the TrafficMaster "Allure" 6x36" vinyl planks (purchased at Home Depot) installed in one of my bathrooms and I absolutely love it! If I could, I would rip out every bit of of the laminate flooring in my house and replace it with the Allure. Since Allure is fairly inexpensive as far as flooring goes, durable, easy to clean, water resistant and beautiful, I think the Allure would be an excellent flooring for your situation. I would highly recommend it. Here's another HomeTalk thread where I and other members commented on the Allure flooring. http://www.hometalk.com/qsr0fri1c5#!/188292
  • Z Z on Sep 27, 2012
    Wow that actually looks quite beautiful Shari. The only type of vinyl "wood look" flooring I've seen looks cheap, but this is gorgeous. Does it look that good in person? It looks as though it has a mat finish.
  • Nancy T Nancy T on Sep 27, 2012
    Thanks Shari. It looks great
  • Shari Shari on Sep 27, 2012
    @ Becky: When people hear "vinyl flooring" they tend to crinkle their nose and say "ewwww" but vinyl really has come a long way in recent years. I could be just a wee bit prejudice but I do think it looks beautiful in person too. It has some grooves in it which mimic the texture of hand scraped wood planks and I guess you could say it has a matte finish. It's definitely not shiny. Will it pass for real wood? No, probably not, but that doesn't bother me in the least. I'm more concerned about having a floor that is durable, really soft and quiet to walk on (no cold, hard tile for me thankyouverymuch) and extremely low maintenance. In fact, it's so easy to care for I would call Allure a virtually NO maintenance floor.
  • Z Z on Sep 27, 2012
    That's awesome to hear Shari. Thanks for taking the time to explain it. I mean it has to be the perfect solution to have the look of wood in a bathroom without the worries of water damage. And your bathroom looks beautiful by the way. I'm going to have to look at it next time we visit HoDe. Thanks!
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Sep 28, 2012
    I too have installed a bunch of the "Allure"...it would be far better than most flooring options. The best however would be tile...you can mop tile twice a day forever and it will always come back for more. I have seen some seam lifting in some allure installs where melted snow was not mopped up quickly...standing water (or puddles of dog pee) would eventually pose problems. We have a 13 year old wiener dog that has begun to get careless with her choices to pee. We picked up these underpads from amazom http://www.amazon.com/McKesson-StayDry-Light-Underpads-x24/dp/B005C8TORK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1348845376&sr=8-6&keywords=mckesson+underpads we have a few of these set up on the tile of my office and she has been using them to pee...it makes clean up a lot easier as these are disposable
  • If you really like wood, perhaps you should look into a bamboo floor. Looks just like real wood. Feels like real wood. But there are many types, colors and styles to choose from. And many are in the same price range as a good vinyl floor would cost you. Bamboo will not be torn up by doggie nails nor is it noisy as many of the other floors. But this stuff is hard and does not damage very easily as the wood counterparts do.
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Sep 29, 2012
    @Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com Bammboo ? Seriously? Bamboo is one of the most green washed products out there and its durability is very questionable. http://kmswoodworks.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/the-great-green-washing-of-bamboo-flooring/ ;
  • Lou B Lou B on Sep 29, 2012
    I closed in my screened porch and now use it as my bird room (9 birds)....put in Allure about 3 or 4 years ago....love it !! The bird poop cleans up easy.
  • I have put it in several clients homes in the past few years. All have dogs and not a scratch in site. But is there not different grades of the stuff? I know the price range can be pretty steep. Can you resend the link? Came up to your site, but says link is broken.
  • Carol Carol on Sep 29, 2012
    What about tile that looks like wood?
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Sep 30, 2012
    @Carol M I recently saw some tile at my local HD that was "wood like" it was in a bit of plank shape with about 24" by 8". definitely an option
  • Lou B Lou B on Sep 30, 2012
    I paid $1.98 sq. ft. at the Home Depot.
  • Shari Shari on Sep 30, 2012
    The plank tiles that look like wood are very pretty and I have even toyed with the idea of using them in a second bathroom in my house that needs a total remodel. However, I keep coming back to the fact they are tile--cold and hard. In addition, most of the plank tiles I have seen are also about twice as expensive as the Allure vinyl planks, without even including materials and labor for tile if one felt uncomfortable doing DIY tile installation themselves. The Allure requires no additional products beyond something to measure and trim the planks. And even though my remodeling contractor put down the Allure that's in my one bathroom, it seems far less intimidating to install than tile. Quicker too--he had it completely done in less than 2 hours. Laying tile and then grouting would be a multi-day process. Since the vinyl planks do require a smooth, even sub-floor so the vinyl does not conform to sub-floor imperfections, the tile planks would definitely be a good durable option if the sub-floor wasn't in good shape.
  • Z Z on Sep 30, 2012
    It can be a matter of preference OR budget Shari. If I had to chose between Allure or ceramic wood look tiles, I'd probably choose ceramic. We're DIYers so hubby and I would be able to install them ourselves. We actually enjoy that kind of "work". Personally we prefer real wood, but it works better in our Victorian style home.
  • Shari Shari on Sep 30, 2012
    Btw, @Lou B, as I recall, that's what I paid for my Allure too, and I picked a "special order" color. I think if you buy one of the colors they have on the shelf, it's even a little cheaper. Any way you slice it, Allure is a really great flooring option for less than $2/sq. ft., isn't it? The wood look tile planks someone else mentioned seem to be mostly in the $3 to $5/sq. ft. range.
  • LandlightS LandlightS on Nov 10, 2012
    You may also consider Luxury Vinyl Tiles....they look like ceramic tile and can be installed with or without grout lines, They will resist the "accidents" and withstand the little one nails. They are also a lot "warmer" to the touch than ceramic tile. Just my humble opinion Gary
  • Susan Susan on Dec 13, 2012
    Has anyone used the Select Surfaces flooring from Sam's Club? I have read good things on blogs about it, but don't know anyone who has actually used it. About to start a renovation/remodel and need to make a good choice with a frugal budget! Thanks