Vinyl plank flooring

Kenneth in Texas · May 8, 2016

anyone have this stuff on their floor? Looking for opinions on it, Ive never been a part of vinyl plank flooring, sheet vinyl yes but never the plank stuff. We have a guest house out back of our main place and are looking for something cheap yet durable, the few people Ive talked to about this really like it, but all those seams concern me. Now im not talking about high end plank flooring that locks together, im talking the self stick planks that are a dollar a piece.

joefromga · May 8, 2016

Why not used vinyl sheet flooring instead? Looks just as good and all one piece?

It's sold in 15ft rolls which means you'd only need 2 yards to go width wise.

Kenneth in Texas · May 8, 2016

joefromga said:
Why not used vinyl sheet flooring instead? Looks just as good and all one piece?

It's sold in 15ft rolls which means you'd only need 2 yards to go width wise.

co-worker in another county has a garage full of this stuff and is willing to negotiate

Rock knocker · May 8, 2016

I have built a ton of fast food restaurants, and many of them have used vinyl plank.

It seems to be a generally poor product which will shink with time, opening the seams and creating a dirty mess.

This applies to all manufacturers, and to their higher grade commercial products. I can't imagine that residential products could be any better.

brown40 · May 8, 2016

I've installed two types: 3'x8" with self stick tabs to join the pieces, and 3' x 3" strips that an acrylic adhesive was used to apply. The self stick didn't hold well and even "walks" a bit if/when heavy wheeled traffic goes over it. The thin planks were outstanding, but announce any floor movement/irregularities loud and clear.
Food industry wreaks havoc with many rubber and vinyl compounds, between the bleaches, detergents, moisture and food oils they've got a diverse variety of solvents flying. I think most national chains now have a recommended/required refurbishment schedule as part of their franchise agreements these days... seems many have gotten away from the tile, then change again, then again...
The plus of self-stick is ease of installation and easy replacement if it gets damaged. Hard to beat carpet for durability, especially if its just used occasionally.

Bocephous · May 8, 2016

We've had it on our floors for 4 years now, no complaints. Only pic I can find right now. That trio is not easy on it, between the nails and the occasional vomit/puppy pee. Sweep it off, and Swiffer wet jet it and it looks like new.

EddieWalker · May 8, 2016

I've installed the Allure brand from Home Depot for quite a few clients with walk out basements, enclosed patios, bathrooms and even a formal dining room. The only call backs on it that I have received is that a corner will come up and need to be glued down again. Several of my clients have it in Lake Houses that they rent out and I've been told they love how easy it is to clean and maintain. There has been no sign of wear of any kind on it over several years. I can't say what it will look like after decades.

There are several other brands out there that also offer it, but I think the Allure glue together is the lowest priced. I'm looking at the other brands at my flooring supplier for my garden kitchen, but the Allure brand is probably the one I'll buy. It's good stuff.

I use sheet metal scissors to cut it. Fast and easy!!!

arkydog · May 8, 2016

i installed it in the kitchen/ laundry room of my rental house 4 years ago and has held up beautiful

newbury · May 8, 2016

We've got it over several floors in our Mississippi house.

SWMBO dislikes it because it looks cheap (which it is), I don't like it because it seems that the surface is easily scratched and once you have scratched through a few mils there is nothing left of the veneer. Additionally there are places that look like they had water spots on them and bubbled up slightly.

I've just put down a thicker Allure "clickable" floor in a small bath and won't do that again. For the few strips that needed trimming around things I ended up using a manual scroll saw and it was a pain. Additionally a few strips were hard to click and just don't look right. If you bump the edges wrong the locking lips bend and you need another piece. For a small bathroom with a lot of cuts I should have gone with sheet vinyl.