I have used LVP flooring in my basement. I had to replace old carpet. I don't think you want to find a brand as much as you want to make sure that the product is good. I made sure I got one with a good backing and that helped with the feel on your bare feet and noise. I have found that vinyl flooring is very slippery for dogs. Too slippery for a larger dog. If you have a lab he won't walk well on that type of flooring. My daughter had to lay rugs all over an apartment she rented for her dog. The dog was afraid of that flooring there.

The vinyl flooring can not be repaired, only replaced. I have both hard wood and now this LVF and any day of the week I would go with hard wood. The hard wood is the best. You can get the wood sanded and resealed if needed. My reason for using the vinyl in the basement area is the waterproof factor. It is great for the basement. I am not sure you will like it after seeing the difference between the hard wood and the vinyl on your main living areas. 'Why don't you extend that hard wood and have the scratch repaired. I bet you will be happier than mixing the vinyl and wood. sorry..

Thanks Patti! Really appreciate the info. There are a couple of reasons we had decided on the LVP:

1. Scratch resistant: I have read that the majority of the LVP with the better coating are very hard to scratch (by big dogs too). Our hardwood in our old house and the hardwood in our new house both scratch very easily.

2. Water resistant: Our dog is a very sloppy drinker and water tends to flow out of her mouth when she walks away from her water dish. Here again I have ready LVP beats hardwood.

3. Slipperiness: I have read just the opposite.....that LVP is easier for large dogs to move around on than other surfaces.

4. Cost/appearance: The way the hardwood is currently installed, there is a lot of edges along carpeted area (see pictures). I think these transaction areas would be very hard do blend if we just added on to the existing hardwood. For it look good I would imagine all the hardwood would need to be ripped up and redone.

oh geez!! I hope that you do not need to tear out the wood. I do have a better flooring than the vinyl flooring of years ago so I am sure you are correct about the slipping. I understand the sloppy drinker. lol!! I love dogs!!!

My floor is just a year old and I do love it. I rescued a older baby making dog and when I first brought her home she had a few "accidents" on the vinyl and it was so great to just clean that instead of carpet cleaning. I am sure many folks will chime in here that know more than I do about flooring material. I was giving you my personal opinion. I will say that I love my hard wood in my home but I do also like the vinyl flooring I choose and yes the reason was for the water resistance in the basement. Good luck with your decision!! Keep us updated with you choice.

I would hate to see you give up hardwood for vinyl, but it's your home, your choice. If the hardwood is solid and thick enough for refinishing, I would do that instead of purchasing new vinyl. Rugs can be laid in high traffic areas if scratches are a concern and there are waterproof mats made for dog bowls. Also, keeping the dog's nails trimmed will cut down on scratches.

If you want to remove the carpet and extend the hardwood, a good hardwood refinisher could find hardwood to match the size and type you have, then he'd sand/refinish your old hardwood and stain everything the same color. No need to rip it out.

An older home we purchased needed areas of the hardwood patched after a wall was removed, and the flooring guy did a perfect custom color/hardwood match. Couldn't tell where the wall had been.

Midwestguy33, i could use an update from you. After my condo flooded due to my refrigerator, my insurance company could not match the engineered flooring that was not affected. So, they will replace all of my flooring with new engineered flooring. there is very little of it in this country bc of supply problems. i am told on other flooring thread and verified by flooring companies that don't return my calls. one professional on Houzz i would like to report.

did you get vinyl. can i havr the details? i would love your help.