Chicago. And I've contacted at least five places that were on the Wicander site and either they had old, old samples, or they didn't do Wicanders anymore. But really, I'm ready to move on. There was a floor man here yesterday -- after he, too, TOLD me I didn't want cork -- anyway, he brought over some engineered hardwood flooring samples, but because the area is so small and it butts up right against real wood floors on two sides and for layout purposes -- we have a small desk that they'd have to cut under, etc., and put molding in around the desk -- I'd rather go with a good vinyl. So you think I'm okay picking sheet vinyl flooring if I go with a higher end choice with, say, Armstrong. And it will definitely be professionally installed. Thanks for your reply

I put a high quality, floating floor in my apt kitchen in NYC to help with pet wear and tear. NOT the best option. If one piece needs to be replaced (and with pet accidents it bubbles very easily), you have to undo a whole section because they are interlocked. Also, they just don't look that great, no matter what we paid. So when it came time to make the rest of the apt floor look decent, we switched to vinyl planks from Lowes. Sounds gross, but they're actually amazing looking. Our apt was built in the 1880's, (the original floor was long destroyed and removed before we got it),and I found a dark gunstock in a wider cut that almost matched our neighbor's original floor exactly. You ready for this? 98 cents a sq foot! If one gets damaged you peel it off (with some effort) and put a replacement. Echoflooring is sooo right about batch colors. Get it all at once and mix up the boxes as you lay it. We have a bunch of mixed ones for replacement and haven't used one, not one, but I know we have them. Lowes will recommend their sealer,but we didn't use it. They self stick just fine. One or two spots came up after we were first done and someone on line told us to use a hairdryer to reheat it and lay a book on top overnight. Worked like a dream. Our apt in NY is 800 sq ft and our current tenant is a photographer with two rescue cats and she loves the floor. Even with her keen eye, we had to tell her they were vinyl and how to replace it if she had a pet accident. She was blown away! I will try to post a picture of our NY apt floor for you. To be fair to our tenant the photographer, I took the horrible quality pics w my cell, not her! LOL! Choose wisely for your space and go with your fave, not what everyone says you should do, incl me. And pls do remember the color batch issue echoflooring brought up. Good luck :) Here is a link that might be useful: NYC vinyl plank floor

A new sheet of floor has been reordered and will be (hopefully correctly) installed again! A rep from the business came out, looked it over and was willing to redo it. We really liked the look of the pattern we chose and we wanted a mid to low price point product for this particular space because, well, because it's in our barn :). We have used inexpensive sheet vinyl in the past with excellent results so I was scared with how quickly this tore, but it was due to a lack of cleaning the floor thoroughly. Hopefully the next installation is done better.

Sheet vinyl is the only 'vinyl' product that is 100% water proof. Even if it has a seam, the installer will 'weld' the seam (either chemically or thermally). That means a sheet product is EXCELLENT for 'leaky animals' (including humans in a splash zone). I'm not fond of sheet vinyl in a dining room (formal especially) but 'eat in kitchens' have often been covered in sheet vinyl. It all depends on the space. Vinyl planks have seams. Thousands of seams. Each click edge (4 sides of every plank) has a limitation. They can be water resistant (a large spill = gallon of milk = stand for 24 hours without issues) but are never 100% water proof. Ever. The gallon of milk may not seep through to the subfloor BUT the milk will settle in between the planks = no amount of cleaning will get it out. That's when odours occur. The milk, being an example, will sour and then you have a large patch of flooring that smells like sour milk (because you couldn't get every stick of milk out from between every single plank). The same thing happens with body fluids from pets. The planks can prevent the urine from reaching the SUBFLOOR but it won't stop it from pooling in between the planks (in the seams). I have a soft spot in my heart for sheet vinyl (for some weird reason). I think it is a product that has EXCELLENT properties for certain situations. Not everyone 'needs' those properties. That's why vinyl planks were invented. It makes people feel like they've done something 'good' for their home. Which can be very true. Your personal situation will dictate what you use. If you need water proof (ie. snow/rain has to be stopped at the doorways) then sheet is your go-to product. If you have an area that gets some splashes from the sink but nothing more than that, the vinyl planks do very well. Dog drinking bowls are known to cause 'bigger than we thought' water issues. And dogs will age. Sad but true. Photos of your space will help us understand what's going on.