Ahhh, that's your problem, James! You cannot reliably get a direct link to Yahoo, just clickable links (it shows up on your screen for a few days because you have it cached). Set up a freebie account at Picturetrail.com or Photobucket.com for posting pictures, they are good direct-link hosts. I didn't see the recommendation for Amtico upthread - it's a good one. It's shockingly realistic, both the stone/tile and wood styles. Unfortunately it's also expensive. Karndean is another very very nice brand of solid vinyl tile/plank that is about half the price of Amtico, and I think it looks just as good. One of the nicer things they have is decorative parts like borders and inlays. We were seriously considering this product and my local dealer said it was not difficult to install if you're DIYing. You have got to go through all the photo galleries, not just the bathrooms one, because the pictures are just stunning. There's even an interactive floor designer to download on the site, and they have free samples, too! Here is a link that might be useful: Karndean Flooring

I am looking for info on Armstrong groutable vinyl tiles called Cera Roma. At least I think they are tiles. The character at HD tried to tell me it came in rolls, then when I appeared dismayed, he looked closer and said,"oh I guess that is something different from what I was thinking." He then said the tiles came in planks. They are groutable tiles, how can they come in planks? He also said it required a plywood type subfloor and could not be laid on concrete or warranty voided. Yet the sample board says the best thing about this is no specific underlayment is required. I asked him if it was dura ceramic because it looks like it to me and he said, "no we don't sell that in our store." Does anyone out there sell this product or had it installed in their home?

On the sixth try, we finally found a flooring guy who seems to know what he is talking about. He came out to see our kitchen after demo and after removal of the water-damaged subfloor. He pointed out that we have (upward of the joists) 5/8" plywood, 1/2" plywood, original sheet vinyl, lauan, and newer sheet vinyl. He guessed that the second plywood layer was installed to raise the the original sheet vinyl kitchen floor up to the level of the adjoining dining room hardwood. The KD/GC had removed the "old floor," per contract, down to and including the original sheet vinyl, and removed and replaced the water-damaged part of the subfloor. The joists were fine. The flooring guy said the white stuff remaining on top of the undamaged subfloor was NOT underlayment like I had thought - it was a thin paper backing of the original sheet vinyl that had been glued to the subfloor and did not come up when everything else down to the original vinyl was removed. The staples had been put down through the lauan and original vinyl before laying the new vinyl, and remained after the GC had pulled up everything down to the original vinyl. The flooring guy recommended screwing down the two layers of subfloor into the joists to get rid of squeaks and remove or pound down the staples, then sand and level the subfloor. Then install either (1) 6mm Halex followed by the DuraCeramic, or (2) float the DuraCeramic using the Congoleum flexible UnderFlor(TM) underlayment. He recommended the Underflor. When I said I wanted a very stiff floor, he said the 1 1/8"total of the two layers of plywood subfloor would provide plenty of stiffness, and when well screwed down, would be just fine. This sounds OK to us - anything we should question? If the price comes in anywhere near reasonable, we think we will go with this guy.

lyvia, just like all products duraceramic has its good and bad points. it is warmer than ceramic, easier to install, and cheaper. It is softer to walk on and doesn't make the room echo as much. Drawbacks-- drop a knife and it will poke a hole in it and if the hole is not sealed the ware layer WILL start to peal. the hole is easily sealed with model glue or super glue.(if the hole is not very large) It will scratch if something gets under a chair leg or if something is dragged across it. It will not have the life span of ceramic and it doesn't have as many options for tile style and color. For the most part it is a great alternative to vinyl and ceramic. Ceramic tile is a forever product (if it is installed correctly). It will outlast almost every other product but it feels cold and will make a large room echo a little. if you drop a glass or plate on it, plan on buying a new one. You can put electric heat systems under ceramic but not under duraceramic. if you are looking for a "high end" look and resale value then ceramic is the only choice. Most people will get tired of the look of their floor before duraceramic will wear out. there has been some problems with the wear layer pealing but they are few. It is a vinyl composition base with sandstone embedded in the surface to give the look and texture of real stone. It has a 20 mil wear layer on top of that to make it easy to take care of. The grout (if you choose to go that way) doesn't stain like the old grouts use to. When it first came on the market I wasn't really sold on it, sales reps tend to hype new products without any real world trials, but after installing thousands of feet of it, I do think it stands up well.