If you have no immediate plans for moving (or any for the next few years), don’t worry too much about resale.

I used vinyl planks as “temporary” flooring in a house I owned. I ended up liking them enough that I keep them for 8 years (and the new owner kept them as well). I had them in 3 bedrooms and a hallway. They looked as good after 8 years as the day I installed them and, at about $1 a square foot, I got my money’s worth out of them. I also sold that house the day I put it up for sale.

I had an elderly dog that had frequent accidents inside the house and the vinyl planks help up well. There are more expensive vinyl products but I wanted something I could install myself without any tools. I didn’t want laminate because they don’t hold up to moisture too well.

I think vinyl planks are a good option for inexpensive flooring- and You can always use them as a temporary solution until your budget allows you to install hardwood, tile or some other more expensive flooring.

Laminate is not waterproof so if you have 3 dogs, vinyl might be the best. Laminate can scratch under extreme conditions.

Thank you Jamie and Beverly, I think we are going with vinyl. My next question will be the ease of installation and how noisy it is. :)

Haha well I used the peel & stick stuff and had a concrete slab foundation. It stuck very well and there wasn’t any noise at all, unlike a floating floor. I don’t really have any experience with those. If you’re on a slab, make sure it’s clean and scrape up any drywall mud or paint - you’ll see the lumps through the vinyl. If you use peel & stick, consider using Henry vinyl primer - it will help them stick better. I also filled in the holes from the carpet tack boards that I pulled up and there were a few chips in the slab that I filled in.

The hardest part for me was cutting around closet door frames but if you’re careful and good with a utility knife it’s not too difficult. You have to pay attention and make sure all of your cut edges are hidden under your baseboards. Make sure to get the first one straight and make sure to align the edges of each plank so that there aren’t any gaps. Pay attention to the pattern so that you have some randomness in the lengths of each plank, so that it looks more like properly-laid hardwood flooring.

Good kuck!

Yeah I hear you! We had some difficulty with a wood floating floor at our prior home. There was some very slight dips in the underlayment that weren't noticeable until the new floor was in and it had a slight sag when you stepped in places. Nightmare. Especially since we put the floor in just to upgrade for sale of the house. Our underlayment here is concrete, so hoping that won't be an issue, but it makes me nervous.