Anyone knowledgable about luxury vinyl flooring?

[ChrisnSteph]

I've always wanted wood floors, but it would cost thousands of dollars to install it in my home. Recently I've seen the luxury vinyl plank flooring that looks like wood. And I mean REALLY looks like the real deal, texture, ridges, everything! You seriously can hardly tell the difference by looking or walking on it. This would be perfect in my home, especially with my kids. Only problem is I'm trying to find it on the internet, and it seems that every brand is geared toward commercial use. Can anyone give me some info on this stuff? Armstrong and Mannington both make it, but it's not in their residential section. This is what it looks like:

 

[Michie]

I know Shaw makes it. You might try their website. And dont be afraid to use commericial grades in your home.

 

[2BigKIdz]

Is this really vinyl or is it laminate? I've never seen a wood vinyl that looked great. Vinyl also does not hold up as well. We have replaced all our vinyl with ceramic for this reason. We are looking to replace our carpet after the first of the year with laminate. I've heard great things about laminate, even being more resilient than hardwood floors.

 

[janette]

I'm also considering this. I've found it at some of the flooring stores and online. I really liked some of the Mannington samples. I hate my carpet, I'd love to have wood but the $$ and with dogs and kids I'm afraid to spend that much for it to be ruined. I like the feel of Vinyl over laminates and stone or other hard tiles.

edited to add: Looked at the Mannington site, the samples I saw are under residential called Adura.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I just changed the pic - the one I originally had showed a real wood floor. They use this stuff in our local Wal Mart, and it's sold as a commerical product, so I think it would hold up very well for residential use. There is some cheesy looking "wood" vinyl out there, but this stuff doesn't resemble that. I am not a vinyl or linoleum person, and when I first saw it I couldn't believe it was actually vinyl! I will never, ever do laminate again. I've had it in two homes now, different high-end brands, and though it looked nice at first, I ended up hating it.

 

[LeCras]

We have Amtico vinyl flooring in our conservatory, and are very happy with it. It is pleasant to walk on and easy to keep clean. The Amtico wood imitation floors I have seen do look great!

Amtico do two different ranges, one commercial and one for domestic use. You can find details of dealer locations at http://www.amtico.com/home/showrooms.asp

Hope that helps,

Charlotte

 

[ChrisnSteph]

We have Amtico vinyl flooring in our conservatory, and are very happy with it. It is pleasant to walk on and easy to keep clean. The Amtico wood imitation floors I have seen do look great!

Amtico do two different ranges, one commercial and one for domestic use. You can find details of dealer locations at http://www.amtico.com/home/showrooms.asp

Hope that helps,

Charlotte

Thanks for the info! Do you know how much this type of flooring costs? I'm guessing that since it's geared more toward commerial use that it may be expensive, but hopefully still costs less than real wood. I can't believe that vinyl plank isn't marketed more toward residential use - it looks and feels amazingly real.

 

[janette]

These are some of the websites I've found that carry the luxury vinyl.

www.flooringamerica.com
www.simplyfloored.com

The manufacture sites also have places to look up dealers. I will probably be going with this option for my house. It will look like the wood floors I really want but have the ease of upkeep that matches our lifestyle.

 

[krdisneybound]

Rugs are not my first choice either

Due to a flood in my home recently, we put porcelain tile in the main living room and dining room and kitchen and laundry room. ABSOLUTELY love it. Makes the house look larger also. A little more pricey but no more than a luxury type of carpet