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julie_kincaid

We LOVE our Vinyl Plank flooring. Review!

Julie Kincaid
7 years ago

We built a house and moved in 8 months ago, and I spent so much time on this forum researching what flooring to put in, that I thought I would share how well we like our choice.


We have radiant in-floor heat, 6 kids and wanted something that would look like hardwoods, but be durable and waterproof. We live in Alaska where there is tons of snow and dirt.


We ended up buying Moduleo IVC Vision, in "Old English Oak #24842". I just checked their website, and it looks like they might not make this color anymore? If anyone is seriously interested, I can mail you a sample to try to match color. :)


We chose to glue down our flooring for three reasons. One, we have a large home and I trusted my "25 years in the flooring business" brother who told me glue-down was the right choice for our large expanses. Second, I liked the ability to change directions. Third, I LOVED the idea that I could do repairs simply by heating up a damaged plank, pulling it up and slapping down a new one.


I will say that we love our new home. One of my FAVORITE choices that we made is our vinyl plank flooring. Everyone who walks in comments on it, so much so that I finally made up samples to keep in a kitchen drawer to hand out. A few people have thought it was wood, but most simply ask, "what is this flooring?" They are usually shocked when I say vinyl.


I was concerned before install that putting down vinyl would somehow cheapen our beautiful dream home. Not so. It is gorgeous and doesn't look a thing like the grocery stores. It also seems to work just fine with the in floor heat, and we haven't had any problems with the heat underneath causing any bubbling or peeling.


Even though we have the ability to repair any damage easily, we haven't had to worry about this yet. After 8 months, including 6 kids, many large parties, and 36 house guests this summer, the floor still looks like the day we installed it.


I love that it is waterproof, so I don't have to worry if my kids spill a gallon of milk and I don't notice right away. I love that its so bomb-proof that my boys can drop (ok, throw!) toys and nothing happens (not so with my previous hardwood floors).


The color I chose is so perfect. I have to MAKE myself mop it. Seriously hides so much. It is a great neutral, medium brown, but with enough variation that it is interesting.


In the entryway, where we did a herringbone inlay, we used a box of a slightly darker plank for the border. It was the same brand and line, but one of the "pine" ones.


The planks are 8" wide and about 54" long.


I can't recommend it enough! I love my vinyl plank and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I just wish I could go back and slap myself for the time I spent considering anything else.


Comments (21)

  • cpartist
    7 years ago

    It looks beautiful.

  • P TW
    7 years ago

    Question: if you glue down the floor, could that cause a problem when it comes to expansion/contraction?

  • PRO
    Cancork Floor Inc.
    7 years ago

    @P TW...not normally. In fact, a glue down floor is considered much more stable than a floating floor. Of course this is ONLY valid if you have stable indoor living conditions (as described by the manufacturer). If things get out of whack and the RH spikes and the subfloor becomes super damp, then you have more issues then you care to imagine.

    Glue = stable. Floating/click together = less stable. That's why you pay MUCH MORE for a glue down install. There are so many more hoops you have to jump through to get it to work...and the adhesives are very specific to the subfloor and the floor going down over top. So much more to consider/require when doing glue down that it takes more due diligence for both homeowner and installer = more money up front so that you get greater longevity.

  • P TW
    7 years ago

    Thanks for that clarification about glue-down floors.

    One further question: what is considered too "spiky" in terms of temp/humidity? I live in Toronto where we get the usual northeast fluctuations in weather, plus a bit of humidity from being on the Great Lakes.

    Thanks.

  • PRO
    Cancork Floor Inc.
    7 years ago

    Toronto shouldn't have too many problems assuming you have heat in the winter and AC in the summer. If you do NOT AC in summer then you could run into trouble with vinyl...you would have trouble with many flooring options no matter what.

    It depends on subfloor, preparation, direct sunlight (that is the BIGGEST issue with vinyl BTW), adhesive used, level of experience the contractor has, etc.

    Like any permanent floor installs, there are many ways to ruin the floor while living in perfect conditions. All the indoor stuff does is add one more issue to deal with. But the HOMEOWNER gets all the blame for the INDOOR living conditions. The installers deal with the rest.

    Let me tell you how many people have been upset to hear that their home caused the issues they are experiencing!!! Wow. Explosive is the way to explain their responses to "Sorry Ma'am/Sir. It is your house. The problems are with the condition the floor is sitting, not the floor. Not the install. Have a good day."

    Too many questions to be answered to know if "living in Toronto" would cause problems with vinyl. The answer is two fold: Yes and No. It all depends on....(fill in the dozen or so blanks).

  • St561 W
    7 years ago

    Looks amazing!

  • m_gabriel
    7 years ago

    Thank you for sharing your experience. We are going through a similar decision making process and coming around to vinyl plank. Yours looks beautiful! I love the color and style of your front door, too (which we are also needing to replace).

  • jocrochet
    7 years ago

    Your home is beautiful and your flooring inspirational!! Thanks for the review:)

    When can we see more pics!!

  • zizi zoubek
    7 years ago

    Thanks for the report, we're also in Alaska, no kids but two huge Newfoundlands that come in and out all day. We plan on the Moduleo Highland Hickory Embelish. Great idea for the entry way.

  • Rita Van Bergen
    7 years ago

    Thank you Julie for your report. We are planning a main floor renovation including Kitchen, dining and living room. We have french doors to deck at this level which means high traffic during nice weather. We would like to have the same flooring throughout this space as we are changing to more open concept design. I love wood floors but concerned about wet shoes and high traffic from the deck. I have explored LVF but was not convinced it would look good enough for a house one might consider higher end. Your photos prove that the LVF can show very well in a stylish home.

  • Debbie Rose
    6 years ago

    Rita Van Bergen - what did you end up using for your floors? Do you have any pictures?

  • User
    6 years ago

    Julie Kincaid maybe you don't check houzz anymore and this is unrelated to this thread, but I'm curious what the width of your foyer is. Your floor is beautiful!!

  • grandpeggy
    6 years ago

    Hello there!

    Well, Cancork, we finally prevailed. The inspector stated many things done incorrectly and offered no remedy. The contractor refunded our money, removed the flooring and hauled it away. Although the insurance company could not actually "make" him do it, he is in danger of not getting paid if we did not sign a certificate of satisfaction. Also, most of his work comes from the ins co.

    Now, that we are walking on that old tile AND concrete in the dining room again, the anxiety to committing to a new floor is awful. Do we try vinyl again or just do a laminate or bamboo.....very hard to decide. I think since the whole thing was started by a water leak, the water issue is steering us back to a vinyl. We just got a quote and the installation is more than the product. You warned us all about that, didn't you?

    That being said, we live in Texas and it seems everyone's house moves to some degree here. That being said, is a glue down vinyl an option for us? As a reminder, we have an old vinyl glue down floor in one large room and concrete in the other right now as a subfloor.

    That hard board in a laminate will damage easily in a if wet too long. We are paranoid that even a cup of coffee spilled on it would mess it up.

    You mentioned putting back carpet in an earlier post but to be honest, that would be a detriment to resale here and I am tired of the dust and cleaning. Your best recommendation?

  • PRO
    Cancork Floor Inc.
    6 years ago

    I would go with what you want. Pay the tremendous price tag for preparation of the surface (yes...that's the part that is more expensive than the floor itself) and get what you want. Texas is notorious for moisture issues (Gulf States have this issue) in the concrete which makes gluing down an expensive undertaking (expensive to do it properly).

    The old vinyl tiles are going to hinder your glue down efforts. A floating floor is the one way around the old vinyl....but you need smooth and flat. Which means dealing with any waviness where the old vinyl tiles are. Did you find out if they were asbestos based?

    I know the cost of preparation is high - but once you do it, you NEVER have to do it again! It is a "one and done" event. You either pay for it now...or pay for it later. Right now you have a perfect opportunity to get the preparation done - you have nothing on the floor.

    Once you get the preparation done, you can have any floor you like (watch out for bamboo - it is MORE SENSITIVE than vinyl).

  • Magi P
    6 years ago
    What is the Price per Sqft for the Moduleo vinyl floor? I’ve been looking at the Modin floors but pricing might sway me. Thanks!
  • Chrissi
    5 years ago
    Julie Kincaid-thank you for the review and pictures. Your floors are gorgeous! The entry way is really beautiful. Hope you don't mind if I steal that idea for our similar foyer. My husband loves that pattern and it came out beautifully!!
    Do you still love your floors? Any issues? Anyone else here have anything to report or pix? I'm looking at Highland Hickory, Castle Oak and Scarlet .
  • Rita Van Bergen
    5 years ago
    Debbie Rose, we ended up putting down an engineered hardwood. European white oak. We are really happy with the floor.
  • Gwen
    5 years ago
    Since this has been resurrected I'll jump on to say thanks! I've been eyeing vinyl planks. I'm from Alaska and trust if the floors can hold up to that, they'll do great for where I live now. The entry way is gorgeous - I never would have thought of that. Very cool! Hope to hear other people's experiences.
  • Cheryl Brown
    5 years ago

    Love the flooring. Did you use this flooring in your bathroom?

  • Carolyn Oliver
    4 years ago
    We are looking to start building and was debating a the huge price tag of all over maple hardwood including stairs, or laminate or LVF. With 2 young boys( 2 and 4 months ), a dog and a husband who doesn’t really care about wiping his feet or the trail left behind I’m strongly considering LVF. Especially since we are gonna put in a pool down the road.

    I absolutely love your photos. The LVF looks fantastic and knowing it’s durable and not horrible on the feet is reassuring. Outstanding foyer too btw!