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jeanim_gw

Vinyl flooring question

17 years ago

I'm new to posting here, but have read for months. I haven't seen vinyl wood-look flooring mentioned, hopefully I didn't miss it if it was! I'm trying to choose flooring for my rebuilt Katrina damaged home and trying to explore all the options.

At a flooring store today, I looked at Tarkett sheet vinyl in a ceramic tile pattern for my bathrooms, laundry and kitchen. Then I saw the wood design! The one I liked was a medium oak and looked very realistic. It was slightly textured like wood and didn't have a high gloss plastic look. Does anyone have vinyl like this and how do you like it? I am considering using it in all the rooms except bedrooms, where I want carpet.

Any opinions?? Thanks!

Comments (17)

  • 17 years ago

    Yes I have wood photo rotovinyl sheet in my cabin kitchen and bathroom to go along with the woodwork in looks while giving the performance resilient flooring has to offer.

    I love it.

  • 17 years ago

    Vinyl is vinyl, so the only thing distinguishing these from other vinyl sheets is the look. To me, the wood look is easy to fake than ceramic tiles because ceramic tiles have too much difference between high points and low points, but there will always be people who tell you the woodgrain vinyl doesn't look like real wood. That's fine if your answer to it is that you don't plan to examine the floor closely enough to catch it or just don't care if it looks precisely the same; it's only a problem if you expect it to be a real perfect match, so just expect it to be what it is instead and you'll be fine.

    The only real issue I'd have is not with the color or texture giving it away, but with a small print pattern repeating too precisely and/or too many times on a large floor. To me, repetition would seem to be a strange thing for something that looks like wood to do. So look for how big the pattern printed on the sheet is; larger ones will seem to repeat less.

  • 17 years ago

    another option is luxury vinyl tile with a wood-replicating look, which, in my opinion, give an almost-perfect wood replication look.
    (vinyl that look like wood)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Luxury Vinyl Tile that looks like wood

  • 17 years ago

    Thanks for the info....and the link. That looks interesting! I had looked at the sheet vinyl (wood pattern) on Armstrong's site but never thought about vinyl tile. Will have to check into that!!

    The other option instead of sheet vinyl is wood laminate, although I'm hesitant about putting it in the kitchen. I would still go with the vinyl in the bathrooms and laundry.
    It's a lot to consider, especially on a slim budget!

  • 17 years ago

    This summer we installed over 1200 sq. ft. of Novalis peel and stick vinyl planks. They are individual planks 3" x 36". It cost around $1500 to do it all. Everyone who has seen it has loved it. No one has guessed that it's a peel and stick vinyl. Very affordable and easy to install.

  • 17 years ago

    I've just heard about the Novalis.........that is definitely something I'm going to check into! Thanks.... gerri51, is there a lot of prep before installation? I'm having a new sub-floor put down now and it's 3/8th plywood finished on one side. They are using glue and screws into the floor joists to fasten it with. It should be pretty smooth, but is that smooth enough?

  • 17 years ago

    prep for any resilient tile product has to be very good, as any high spots or depressions will telegraph through the product.

    you want to belt-sand or scrape the joints any high spots flat and sweep or shop-vac the area thoroughly. It is important to belt sand any heigh diferences between the wood panels so when you patch them, its feathers smooth.

    I would get a bag of modified floor patch (my choice is ardex sdf feather finish).

    patch all the anchor holes and seams with the patch.

    scrape/sand until smooth, then recheck for any depressions and reapply if needed, then scrape/sand until smooth. Repeat until smooth when gliding your palm over the subfloor.

  • 17 years ago

    Smooth is important, but the Novalis has enough texture that small imperfections under the plank won't really show. I messed up, the planks are 4" x 36" not 3" x 36". Sorry. It is important to use the primer for peel and stick. It's about the consistency of skim milk. You just paint in on and let it dry before you install the planks. I really think the Novalis looks as good as the laminates. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it and no one has guessed that it's a peel and stick.

  • 17 years ago

    Here is a job I did in a nice 5 million dollar home on the lake. She is a commercial designer and they specify & use Luxury Vinyl Plank all the time. So she had this Amtico for me to install in her home. Family room, entryway 3 bathrooms and the laundry room.

    Hall bathroom during installation...

    {{gwi:1551952}}

    Hall bathroom finished, and moved in. I took this shot at the big contractors party she threw after she moved in, for all the contractors that worked on her home.

    {{gwi:1551953}}

    Here is the entryway.

    {{gwi:1551954}}

    Here is the guest bathroom


    {{gwi:1551955}}

  • 17 years ago

    imperfections in a subfloor system, especially joints, will telgraph through regardless of the distressed nature of any resilient product.

    Donot skimp on the prep.

    ever.

  • 17 years ago

    Wow!!! That is a beautiful floor!!! Thanks gerri and floorguy for the info. Ok, I'm convinced that this looks better than the sheet vinyl and will definitely check into it.

    The crew that installed the sub-floor did use the floor patch on all the seams and "knotholes", then sanded it. I will check it to be sure it's smooth enough before I install anything. Now---the big issue is....can I install it?? LOL

    You guys are great........Thanks!

  • 17 years ago

    Installation is easy with the Novalis. Prime. Snap a chalk line to get the first row straight. Then just lay the planks. Planks are easy to cut with a good pair of scissors to fit the ends or irregular areas. Installation instructions are on the box. It's nice to have someone working with you, but you could do it by yourself. Good luck with whatever you decide.

  • 17 years ago

    Here's a link to an Amtico installer's page. At the BOTTOM of the page are links to 3 or 4 pages of photos of Amtico in homes that's he's done.

    Interesting stuff including herringbone type looks, and Amtico on steps!

    http://www.seanet.com/~ccyra/Work/amticoshow.html

  • 17 years ago

    I have Amtico light cherry planks in my kithen, laundry room, and eating area. I like it a lot, but I can tell it isn't real wood. It does fool some people including my brother(who hates laminates). He thought it was wood.

    I do think it looks more like wood then laminates do. I recommend you get the micro bevel, it doesn't make it harder to clean and it looks more like real wood.

    Amtico vinyl is very high end and I have never had a problem with nicks or tears like on other vinyl floors.

  • 17 years ago

    i am looking at amtico but also at adura or nafco. anyone have experiences with any of these or other luxury or commercial vinyl tiles or planks? I have head mixed reviews of adura though it rates high on consumer reports i believe.

  • 17 years ago

    I put NAFCO solid vinyl tiles into my mom's kitchen. The light color chosen was a mistake, but it has held up well to three-plus years of foot traffic, spills, a 70-pound dog, and a wheelchair -- all of it on a fairly limited traffic path.

  • 15 years ago

    I installed the Novalis in my bedroom and was happy until a little time passed and I saw the spaces seem to grow farther apart where the ends meet-end to end. I still thought it looked good so I installed in a second bedroom but made sure I pushed the ends together better...now their buckling. Any suggestions would help greatly because I bought enough to do my whole house.

    I was recently laid off from my job of eleven years and thought this would help me keep busy while looking for a new job. Now I just want to cry because the whole room is done and it is buckling at almost every end to end connection.