laminate is a 'sandwich' board of material. If moisture permeates beneath it, its only logical that it could swell or react to the moisture causing a problem. A solid piece of vinyl may not like the moisture also, but logic has it that there is nothing to adbsorb the moisture, so I doubt you'd have the same problem. Assuming the worst and the plank needed to be replaced, you'd only have one strip to pull up and regle, vs a laminate plank that is attached to other flooring making the repair more difficult.

We have over 1200 sq. ft. of Novalis peel and stick vinyl planks. I absolutely love it. It doesn't seem to be effected by moisture (accidents by a chihuahua with bladder problem and spills). It will scratch, but is easy to replace. Very easy diy installation. I didn't want a flooring I had to worry about. Also, it's easy to clean. At only about $1 sq. ft. any damage is cheep to repair. I suspect that the vinyls would stand up to kids and pets much better than the laminates.

I have Amtico vinyl planks in my kitchen, eating area, and laundry room. This is very high end vinyl. I had vinyl tiles and sheet vinyl before and had problems with gouges and nicks wtih both of them. I have had this floor for 3 plus years and there is not a single gouge, tear, or nick.

It is also extremely easy to clean, I use Amtico floor cleaner.

As for moisture; there has been no problem with water at all. I have even had water sit on it for several hours with no effect.

As for scratches, yes, it is possible to scratch it. My husband dragged a table across the floor and it had a nail in the bottom. It put a scratch on the floor that you can see if the light is right. There are other minor scratches on it but it is more like a patina, they don't look bad or bother me.

If you get Amtico, be sure to get the microbevel. The store ordered ours without it the first time and we sent it back. The microbevel makes it look much more real and is so slight that it doesn't effect cleaning.

An excellent solid vinyl plank is made by Roppe. Not so widely known, but make very durable products. They have a collection called Wood Naturals in their North Coast Collection available in 14 patterns; solid vinyl; commercial warranty; square or bevelled edge;
www.roppe.com
If you end up with a laminate floor, better grades will have a wax impregnated edge to help with moisture resistance. Also look for a textured or embossed surface to help with scratching. the smoother the surface, the more likely to scratch.
good luck

Thanks for the responses everyone. I appreciate your time. We have decided to go with carpeting in the bedrooms, but are deciding between a Quick Step laminate in the Elegance collection and Amtico for the living room and hallway.

Is Quick Step Elegance considered a "better grade" laminate? I've been abusing the sample from the showroom (not the showroom from my original post) and it seems tough. No marks from my high heels.

I really like the Amtico, but my husband likes that the Quick Step is floating vs having to glue down the Amtico. We will be having this installed so it's not like we're doing the work ourselves, but I guess the floating laminate would be easier to replace in the future.

For those who have Amtico, can I ask what you paid per sq ft? I was quoted $6.80 not including underlyament and installation.

I'm still on the fence with this whole thing. Ugh.

I don't remember actually what I paid for my Amtico. The man I hired did the installs for Home Expo but since I went to him directly he charged me much less then if I went through Home Expo.

I believe I paid about $5.00 a sq. foot and $2.00 a square foot for the install. I remember thinking it was cheap for all the work they did. There was an extra charge to remove the old floor and for the underlyament.

They spent 2 days prepping the floor to install it, they had to make it completely flat (and it was far from it) and less then a day to install the floor.

I have an extra box of the floor and was told that if a plank was damaged that it could be removed and replaced fairly easily.

Thanks happyladi. That is good information to know.

I love Novalis peel and stick flooring. I used it in my previous home in the entire house and it sold quickly. My previous home was not a cheap starter home or a mobile home but a nice home in a desirable area. It is easy to install and durable. I have expensive tastes and this stuff looks great. It looks like real wood. It has a texture that feels like wood grain. I will post pictures on this page of my novlais floor that I installed myself in my master bedroom. I laid it directly onto the slab. No underlayment or professional leveling or a professional installer to come in and help me. I used heavy duty shears to cut the pieces to fit. To give it an even more upscale look I laid the planks in a herringbone style and it looks fabulous. It looks like designer flooring straight out of a magazine. I spent about 300 dollars on materials and nothing else. My room is about 15 by 18 almost 300 square feet. I don't have fancy tools either. That is awesome compared to the 1400 dollar quote for laminate to be installed. More people should use this. They are all hung up on real wood and spending
thousands of dollars on their floors. You dont have to do that to get a great look. You can have the look of hardwood on a budget. You can do it. I am a 45 year old mother of two with a full time job ouside the home, if I can do it you can too. I could afford to purchase real wood if I wanted to but why spend more if you dont have to. Using novalis on my floor left more cash for me and my family. And for the naysayers--no problems with loose or peeling planks or shifting. As long as you fit them in tightly when installing that does not happen. If it does happen occassionally remember that also happens with distressed floors so whats the big deal it is so small no on would even notice it. I will upload photos of my room so you can see for yourself how great it is. P.S.--I do not work for Novalis but I should because I really believe in this product!!!

I had Amtico planks on the floors in a busy restaurant in Melbourne, Australia. They were just fantastic; easy to clean, hard to scratch up, and they looked so real that I once had a timber merchant down on his hands and knees examining it, because he couldn't believe that it really was a vinyl plank.

I have lived with laminate for years. We have to kids and a big golden retriever with nails. The stuff does not scratch. Moisture from spills is no problem. Only issue we had was in Kitchen where a pipe leaked for months before the floor finally swelled and buckled (alerting us to the leak). I can think of no better flooring option for one with pets and kids.