# Vinyl plank flooring



## texasislandboy (Apr 28, 2012)

Has anyone installed some of this stuff. My wife keeps sending me it in a email. I have done tile, carpet, wood but never this stuff. We plan on selling this house in the next year or two but want to pull the carpet flooring out and do some type of wood look flooring.


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## acoastalbender (Jul 16, 2011)

You see that stuff in an awful lot of medical related buildings ... it looks good but it also looks like plastic, not sure I'd put it in a house for sale ... (jmho) ... sorry, didn't help did I ...
.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Depends on the brand and style. I am in the commercial flooring business and we install a ton of vinyl plank flooring. Some of it you can't tell from real wood flooring.


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## texasislandboy (Apr 28, 2012)

daddyeaux said:


> Depends on the brand and style. I am in the commercial flooring business and we install a ton of vinyl plank flooring. Some of it you can't tell from real wood flooring.


 We have a friend of ours that has it in a 500k house and it looks like some of the planks shrunk and has gaps. Thats what freaks me out. I may just do wood look tile.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Sounds like a bad installation to me. We have very little problems with the vinyl plank flooring. It is widely used in commercial kitchens and break rooms in office buildings. It is also popular in a lot of the hospitals now, especially Texas Childrens. I do the flooring in all of Texas Childrens Hospitals. 
They do have some very good looking wood grain ceramic tile out now too. You may want to check that out.


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## cubera (Mar 9, 2005)

We had this installed after Harvey. Waterproof, wife loves it, dog proof and thatâ€™s important with my wifeâ€™s pet sitting business. 
This had a cork backing on it eliminating the need for padding.
Would never consider ceramic tile, to harsh on my feet.









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## Profish00 (May 21, 2004)

Interesting following 


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

texasislandboy said:


> Has anyone installed some of this stuff. My wife keeps sending me it in a email. I have done tile, carpet, wood but never this stuff. We plan on selling this house in the next year or two but want to pull the carpet flooring out and do some type of wood look flooring.


We have installed thousands of square feet of vinyl plank and never had a problem as you describe here. I would say the installation was not done correctly. Vinyl plank just does not shrink or gap for no reason. 
But I would also buy a well known brand. Stay away from the products coming out of China.


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## texasislandboy (Apr 28, 2012)

Shoot some names of brands to look into.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Armstrong, Amtico, Mannington, Parterre, Centiva, Mohawk


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## winmck (Sep 27, 2006)

I installed it in 3 rooms this year and really like it. It looks just like wood. I went with a floating plank because Iâ€™m ademently against glue on concrete.


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## Gatorgar (Feb 1, 2019)

*I had my share*

I have installed a few different brands.
Life Proof at HD is the easiest and mosy scratch resistant imo
I installed about 1200 sqft in about
A day and a half and its good stuff.
Had it down for about 8 months now.
No complaints.
But if you have uneven floors any of it can be a pain to get to fully seat together.
Get the tool
Watch the video
Take 30 minutes to go thru a little trile and error.
You will be satisfied with the results


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## jr22dad (Mar 24, 2013)

winmck said:


> I installed it in 3 rooms this year and really like it. It looks just like wood. I went with a floating plank because Iâ€™m ademently against glue on concrete.


I did this also with some from floor and decor. I am by no means a handy person with tools or building stuff. I tackled the project and it was really quite easy. Looks great, water proof, lab proof. I did not glue it down. It wasn't made to be and I didn't want to mess with it. Very happy we did it.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

The free floating floors are very popular and easy to install. Plus if you have to make a repair it comes apart easily. If your slab is uneven be sure and use some type of floor prep to level it out. Ardex Feather Finish and Uzin make great products for this. If you want to get really accurate with the slab, they both make a self leveling prep you can pour on and it will totally level the slab.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

daddyeaux said:


> Armstrong, Amtico, Mannington, Parterre, Centiva, Mohawk


In your experience, which line out of these mfgrs looks most like real wood?
Thanks


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Question for you. Are you wanting a vinyl plank that glues directly to the slab or one of the free floating planks? Some advantages to the free floating are, non permanent installation and cushion backings for a more comfortable feel and sound reduction.
I wish I could answer that question right now, but we are remodeling our showroom and all of our sample books, every product we carry, has been packed away in a warehouse until the construction is complete.
You can go online to these manufacturers websites and see their products and read the specs. 
Some of these have embossing in them like woodgrain, some look like hand scrapped planks. They come in all different widths too.


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## Profish00 (May 21, 2004)

Were going with this, pics in a few weeks.

https://www.flooranddecor.com/nucor...n1=waterResistance&prefv1=Waterproof&start=10
*Features & Benefits*









6.5mm NuCoreÂ® Ombre Gray Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Plank - Cork Back looks and feels like wood and tile, but can be installed where real wood cannot. With quick and easy installation, itâ€™s the perfect flooring option for any room! Even better, the anti-microbial coating on each plank makes it resistant to staining or odors caused by mold or mildew. With a lifetime residential/ 15 year commercial warranty, itâ€™s sure to be a long-lasting flooring option for any space.

â€¢ 100% waterproofâ€"Install it in virtually any room in the home (kitchens, full bathrooms, and basements).
â€¢ Install up to 6,400 square feetâ€"No need for transition molding
â€¢ You can install it right awayâ€"Pre-installation acclimation is unnecessary.
â€¢ Pre-attached hypoallergenic natural cork underlayment for a quieter, warmerfloor.
â€¢ Anti-microbial coating on top is naturally resistant to staining and odor-causing mold and mildew.
â€¢ Features a floating angle-and-tap installation method. No glue, nails, or underlayment required.
â€¢ Can be installed over most existing hard-surface flooring.

Products with a pre-attached underlayment backing could develop issues from the installation if additional underlayment is used during the install, other than a vapor barrier. Consult an in-store associate or contractor for more information.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Two things you want to find out before you purchase. Where is it made and what thickness is the wear layer. In commercial we never use anything less than a 20 mil wear layer. Definitely do not go below 12 mil on the wear layer.
I would not buy any products coming from China.


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## Astro#2 (Mar 24, 2019)

I would recommend the floating style over the stick down.


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## rancher (Mar 27, 2013)

I have 2000 sq. ft. of tile. Can I go directly over the tile with a floating floor. Wanting that hand scraped wood look.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

rancher said:


> I have 2000 sq. ft. of tile. Can I go directly over the tile with a floating floor. Wanting that hand scraped wood look.


You can but your floor needs to be very smooth. Remember the floating floor is going to mimic the subfloor. If your tile is not smooth neither will the floating floor and you may end up with cracks at the tongue and groove joints. You can skim float the tile first before installing over it to correct this problem.


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## iridered2003 (Dec 12, 2005)

look into allure brand. just installed about 600 ft and love the way it goes in. to easy and looks great


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## jeffm66 (Sep 14, 2010)

We just did the whole house. so far so good, Lifeproof from Home Depot.


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## Echoduck (Jul 21, 2004)

We did our whole house after Harvey. We used Shaw vinyl flooring "Floorte" product and very happy with it.
https://shawfloors.com/flooring/vinyl


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## Echoduck (Jul 21, 2004)

Echoduck said:


> We did our whole house after Harvey. We used Shaw vinyl flooring "Floorte" product and very happy with it.
> https://shawfloors.com/flooring/vinyl


Floor photos


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## 1fisher77316 (Oct 30, 2004)

Just buy a good quality vinyl plank floor and follow the installation directions. You won't be sorry and neither will the people buying your home. It's Texas tough!
Tight lines!


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## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

texasislandboy said:


> Shoot some names of brands to look into.


Petfloors.com

Really nice even to walk on barefooted. It's just enough give to it and wicked tough.


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## Goose93 (Apr 19, 2015)

We have the glue down stuff in 3 rent houses. It is tough and even seems to resist furniture dragging marks. We keep an extra box incase we get enough damage and have to replace. We glue them to keep pet urine from leaking beneath it. We have painted cement, tile, painted wood floors and carpet and tenants seem to like this the most. It also looks good. Can't think of the brand off hand, but it is from HD.


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