toomuchbeige--what floor did you buy?? Color looks exactly what I chose (Tarkett, natural pecan)---I am sooo excited to get mine installed---really like the looks of a darker color, but live in KS & dust is horrible here, sweeping all the time isn't on my agenda!! Like the movement of the pecan woodgrain instead of just a light maple that reads kinda plain.

are you guys serious?! maybe faux wood vinyl flooring has come a LONG way since I last saw it a few years back (vinyl strip flooring my in-laws installed), 'cause I thought it looked horrible ... and you could totally tell (by the way it looked and felt underfoot) that it was vinyl and not wood.

Our floor has grayish/blue "driftwood" overtones but it looks real as you can see in the picture. We couldn't be more pleased with the product. Ours isn't Tarkett and I'd have to look up the company......

Brenda,
It's "planking" as opposed to a rolled vinyl flooring product. Actually seems very "stiff" out of the box.

Would love to know the name brand and color you used for your floor that was coastal blue we have a lake house and think we will go with the plank vinyl too.

I'll check here shortly and post......

Ok! The vinyl we have is Irvin Kahn manufacturer,, Low LIght 7237 , 4.29 per square foot uninstalled

thank you all for the input!

We just had it installed on our main floor. So far we love it! We too wanted something more durable that will hold up to our kids. We have Mannington Dockside in Boardwalk.

@chrisinky -- I would check with your local hardwood company about the floor steamer; we live in CO and were told a definitive "NO" due to a clouding that could occur with the poly finish.

We had a small area that we finished in our basement and decided on a vinyl hardwood, we laid down the vapor barrier and floated it (no glue) and, I agree, it is echo-y .. we thought it was just because the space was small but it's definitely the floor. It is nice to be able to put away the fears of scratching it though!

Vinyl plank floors are a great option; they're extremely durable and very realistic looking. We've installed them in high traffic areas like frat houses with great success! The aesthetics have improved greatly in the last few years, I think it is a great product to consider.
I would like to speak to the use of a steam mop on a hardwood or even a vinyl plank floor and let you know that is not recommended in either case. The steam and temperature can damage wood floors, and can cause adhesion problems with vinyl plank floors. Maintenance for a vinyl plank floor is quite easy; just sweep or dust mop regularly and damp mop as needed. Wood floors should be swept or dust mopped regularly as well and maintained with a hardwood floor cleaner such as Bona as needed.
Best of luck with your project!

valley floors....that is exactly what I've also been told. In fact many have said less is better!! Just dusting & spot mopping is the best.

I just wanted to say that these are not industrial strength mops but are meant for use in the home. I don't sell or have anything to do with them in that way, but have used mine successfully for over a year with no problems whatsoever and rather than "clouding" have found the shine is much more clear. To each his own, but these are perfectly safe products bought at the home cleaning level. And saves a fortune in cleaning chemicals.

OMGosh!!!! Am loving the floor so far!! They got about half done & color is perfect....light but def movement with the pecan wood--so excited!! Will post pics tomorrow.

I had Bliss by Beaulieu LVP, Picturesque collection color "Cairo", installed in living areas and 2 bathrooms. This is a glue down product and was professionally installed using the manufacturers glue. The fumes were rather strong and made us lightheaded, but they dissipated within a day or two. It is a beautiful floor that has a grain feel and matte finish. While there are repetitive patterns in the planks there are also enough color variations that when installed with care is not too noticeable. So far the floor has been easy to maintain with regular sweeping, dusting and damp mopping when needed, I wondered about steam mops and now know to avoid using them thanks to the post by Valley Floors. I did put a couple of light scratches in a plank when moving furniture, so care must be taken to avoid this. Adding felt pads does help and I highly recommend to do so. While not as hard as tile (my floor is installed over a concrete slab), it has been a big adjustment from carpet. We have dining room chairs that are on casters which now move much more freely over the LVP, this was an issue for my elderly mother but she has gotten used to it now, the cats are another story and they tend to send the chairs shooting across the floor when they jump on or off.

Hello I just got vinyl wook planking in my new house and the company said a steam mop works best. However, im a big researcher and it said that heat and moisture are not good for vinyl floor because it can cause it to warp. Right now im using a swiffer. Can anyone reccomend another way to clean that leaved a shine. Its kinda dull right now.

Thanks!

Does anyone know how you can add shine to a vinyl plank floor?

I clean mine with window spray and a dry mop...shine come backs

Does new vinyl plank floors ever have a shine like wood planks do?

It can work very effectively where you must wash the floor all the time or need a cushioned floor. Great for high traffic areas, kitchens, halls or for the elderly.

A few years ago we made the mistake of using Trafficmaster Allure. It initially looked good but didn't hold up. Frankly wasn't very knowledgeable about LVP at the time. What we did not know/realize we needed was a moisture barrier on the ground in the crawlspace (house is pier and beam construction). The LVP created a moisture barrier, trapping moisture in the wood subfloor and causing it to buckle. That would have happened regardless of brand but we were dissatisfied with Trafficmaster.

There are several high quality brands. We plan to redo whole house using Modin Collection from Flooret (on Houzz, web). The 40 mil wear layer is twice the thickness of other leading brands and at $3.49 SF it is less expensive while also having a lifetime residential warranty. It has a good range of wood finishes but not as many choices as some other brands.

Hal, how is your Floorte? We are currently in the market and considering installing this in the entire 1st floor of our home?

We have to install a moisture barrier on the ground in our crawlspace in February or March, then replace some buckled subfloor. So it will be April or May before we install Modin. We ordered 7 samples from Flooret. Look and feel impressive. A 15" long sample is $3. I would look up Flooret on Houzz and order 5-7 samples so you can see the quality and finishes in person.

Thank you. We have seen the samples at a local flooring retailer. I was impressed with the new rigid waterproof plank Floorte offers. I was hoping to hear that you already installed it and have some feedback. Our installation will not be on subterranean flooring thankfully. My one concern is denting from the weight of heavier furniture like a China cabinet. I am already aware of pinching issues.

VINYL PLANK FLOORING EDUCATION -- Like many people on Houzz, I am doing my due diligence before pulling the switch on CoreTec Plus vinyl plank purchase -- really want to buy flooring and installation from the same place and got a pretty decent price. LOVE Boardwalk Oak and have seen it in person in a significant space. Wanted the new Z-lock click system and ran into issue there from local store -- won't bore you with all the details. In my waiting time, learned about Flooret.com Modin collection floors -- more limited selection but nice. I like the CoreTec colora little better, but the Modin floor has two times the thickness in the wear layer -- which in our lower use applicaton (but do have two little dogs) may not make a difference. It gets more confusing by the day, but I located this document on the flooret.com website http://www.flooret.com/vinyl-basics/ that is a very simple to understand and very useful document to understand the nuances of the differences between floors. Could they have some biases that impact the information -- possibly, but it seemed like pretty fair information and I thought others might be interested.

Has anyone used a buffer on vinyl wood planks.

@spieckerj, just to clarify, Flooret is a flooring brand, while 'Floorte' is a collection offered by Shaw. Sounded like you may have gotten the two confused! The Modin Collection from Flooret is what Hal Braswell is referring to.

Old post.

The question was can you buff vinyl wood flooring.

Only if you want to ruin it.

Can somebody please post real pictures of Flooret Modin LVP installed? I have been working with Devin from Flooret offline however, would love to see some real photographs of the installed product. Thanks!

Flooret has a pro profile on Houzz that under recent projects has several photos of installed Modin.

Thanks Hal! I did see them after Devin pointed me to them. I know you were about to install Modin. Did you? If yes, would you mind sharing some pics? :)

I have Beaulieu Bliss Vinyl Flooring and am wondering if I can use the Bona hardwood floor cleaner on it?

@Jennifer...go to the Beaulieu website and look up the maintenance requirements for your floor. The list of products will tell you how to deal with your vinyl. Some pH neutral hardwood floor cleaners are listed as vinyl cleaners...but most ARE NOT.

http://usa.beaulieuflooring.com/luxury-vinyl-floor-care/

Follow the link for the care and maintenance of your floors. You need a pH neutral RESILIENT floor cleaner...different from hardwood.

If in doubt...go the the maintenance page of the floor you just bought and read what the manufacturer says.

I know this is an old post but I have been searching everywhere for answers and can't find anything! Does anyone have vinyl plank flooring and get the clear scuff marks on your floors? I cannot get them up!

I have same trouble... following

FYI regarding STEAM MOP... we installed the Mannington Adura (glue down) throughout our entire house and ruined it with a steam mop. The excessive heat causes the vinyl to expand and them when it cools it contracts. Over time it caused UNBELIEVABLY big gaps. Trust me folks, the gaps were initially so subtle I didn't even notice them but outta the blue one day I looked down in my bathroom and I was looking at my slab. I contacted my flooring guy and suffice it to say, it was an expensive lesson learned!! The gaps were bigger in areas where I used the steam mop "more". The biggest gaps were around the toilets and in the kitchen.

Sigh...yes steam mops are death to most materials. But no one listens to flooring professionals (double sigh).

Steam mops are good for: Concrete, glass, metal, stone and tile. That's it. Nothing more. Sorry, ohemgee211 that you had to find this out...but it is normally found in the maintenance area where it talks about "exposure to heat". Steam mops = exposure to heat.

I'm wholly responsible and although I'm a well educated adult, I still let my germaphobia get the best of me. It really does make perfect sense in hindsight but.. <sigh> lol

Does anyone have the vinyl plank flooring in a finished basement? We're trying to decide between that and carpet. LOVE the look of the planks (different than 1st level). However, concerned about echo in the living room/tv area where we intend to install surround sound.

Kara S .. we had it in a basement office, for obvious reasons of scooting chairs etc. — the room was echoey for sure .. even with the underlayment being touted as less-echo. We fixed it by adding a large area rug. The surround sound will for sure be thrown off with the floor — consult a theater specialist before giving up though, they may have some ideas.

We have vinyl plank in the basement and love it. I was concerned about it being cold on the flooring and it's not at all. There's rugs down so I don't really feel there's an echo problem. And I have teenage boys down there that play their music.

Hi Kara S, vinyl flooring does very well in a basement space. Vinyl flooring is resistant to water, mildew and stains so it's a great flooring choice for basements, where these types of things can be expected. Some styles, like our Floorté collection are even waterproof and completely block water at the seams. Although underlayment isn't required for our vinyl plank flooring, it can definitely help reduce noise and make the floor feel and sound more natural. Additionally, soft upholstery, an area rug, and a few pieces of art hung on the walls will all absorb any echo issues you may have.

Is it true that Shaw floors have bought Coretex?? I'm planning on using it in our new home.

Hi @kcar66, it is true that Shaw Floors purchased COREtec last year! You can check out their Facebook page here for more info on their flooring. Is there any specific product you are considering?

Trying to decide between Coretec XL or Flooret Modin vinyl plank flooring. Any opinions on which is better?

I am extremely unsatisfied with my vinyl plank flooring. We had Beaulieu Picturesque installed throughout my entire house. The floor never looks clean. It has a cloudy film over the majority of the surfaces. I have tried so many products and so many different types of mops. I cry every time I sweep or mop my floor. If anyone has any suggestions for me please comment.

Hi Rhonda, I hear your pain! I was very upset when we installed our vinyl plank flooring too. It always looked like it had dirty, wet footprint smudges on it, no matter how many times I cleaned it. I did find a product just recently though which helps a little bit. It's called Bright 'n Easy by Congoleum. It's not perfect but it does help a little bit to shine it up and look clean. Good luck!

Is this site still active? I don't see anything since 2019. I am looking for input on Grand Junction and Coretec Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring. Thanks!