Yes, we have it in our kitchen/dining area. I do not remember the brand, we got it at Lowes several years ago and it was quite spendy-so I know we got the top line. Everyone who sees it comments that they thought it was wood...but I guess since we have the original HW floors in the house that I can definitely see (and feel) the difference. Regardless, it works well for us in the space.

It has been subject to a few nicks, which does not make me happy. And like most vinyl, it can be hard to clean since it's got a texture to it, but I still like it. Eventually I will change out when we do a significant reno of the kitchen, but for the kitchen, it's good to have since it has a bit of cushion, making it easier on the foot...and the occasional dropped glass does not break.

We have the plank type - very easy to install. Ours was from Lowes as well. It looks like wood, and better than most laminates. It's easy to clean and no scratches or defects yet so it seems very durable. It was 80 cent/sq ft!

Thanks for the info. Peskyl, I hear you about the texture. I luurrve the vinyl in my kitchen currently, which altho worn, is glossy with a subtle texture, and cleans like a breeze. The newer vinyls I've seen all have a texture than makes them more difficult to clean.

Tinan, how long has yours been installed, and in what kind of space? Based on several long threads in the Flooring Forum, I am concerned that the tile will shrink and make gaps when it is cold, or swell during humid weather.

Yes! We have it in our master bathroom and other full bathroom and love it! It's 6 years old and it's like brand new.

We plan to update our master bath next year but will keep the vinyl flooring because it's functional... and pretty too!

We used a wood look sheet vinyl in my craft room. It is a very heavy duty and cushioned sheet vinyl. It works great as it is over the concrete floor (this is the finished basement area) and I wanted something that would be easy to clean and sweep up pins and threads and such. Good thing too as the cat has "nailed" it several times (old, ornery male cat) and it has cleaned up easily. The cushioning also makes the concrete more comfortable to be on, yet my desk chair rolls easily across the surface.

I installed it myself in June. I am not worried about gaps, I believe that those issues are related to poor installation, installing on improperly-prepared surfaces, or installing in cold or very hot weather. The instructions are clear to install in a certain temperature range and to allow the flooring to acclimate to the indoor temp before laying it. Also laying it directly over unsealed concrete is a bad idea. Any flooring can buckle or warp if it's improperly installed. I made sure the seams were very tight and rolled them.

In fact i chose the Lowes product because the adhesive strip is like a tape, not an overlapping layer like the HD Allure - it seems less likely to cause warping problems because the tape itself can move without warping the floor. Hard to describe but if you handle it in person you'd see. Also I liked the pattern better, it was more scratch/scuff resistant (I tested samples with keys and other hard objects) and it was half the price to boot.

The reasons I chose the floating floor over sheet glue-down were: easy to self-install (cutting sheet vinyl for whole rooms is a nightmare), floats over floors so the subfloors don't have to be totally perfect to adhere to (eg old plywood with flakes), much easier to cut around shapes like doorways and toilets. In fact I got the upstairs and downstairs all in one continuous install, just paying attention to detail and calculating the plan carefully. I watched a youtube video how to install lowes Surface Source floating vinyl plank.

Ours went in over concrete slab ground level slab on ground floor and over plywood subfloor on second floor. I patches cracks and sealed the concrete with Drylock before laying the flooring.

The townhouse is 1500 square feet and I did the entire house for under $1000. At this price, even if the product did not hold up I could afford to replace it in a few years.

Some pics:

Concrete slab before - removed carpet and scraped off glue, etc
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Cleaned and sealed concrete
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Floor going in over concrete slab
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Floor going down in bedroom over plywood subfloor
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Continuous install through both bedrooms and hallway for a seamless look with no transitions - you can't do that with sheet.
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Continuous flooring into kitchen from entryway (I find continuous floor makes a space look much bigger and more flowing)
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Finished downstairs, with our stuff just moved in
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In the downstairs powder room
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The office
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Hallway looking into office
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bedroom
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entryway
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For the stairs I covered the treads with new pine treads and risers from Lowes, stained the treads and painted the risers

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Tinan, that looks A M A Z I N G!

I will make a trip to Lowes this weekend and reconsider. We will be putting in a new subfloor, so we'll have a great surface to work with.

How difficult is it to cut the tiles to fit? I am wondering about cutting along the tub apron.

Annie, yours is also beautiful, and you remind me about the cushioned effect, which is one think I love about the new floor in my laundry room. Do you recall the brand?

Mom2SF, do you recall the brand or have any pics?

The planks are 6" wide by 3' long, and the best way to cut them is to score the top with a sharp exacto knife and then snap the plank. Since the planks go down like wood floors, you only have to shape the directly-affected planks.

Curves shapes are a bit trickier but I did around the toilet by scoring the surface and then using needle nose pliers to break the plank off at the score. The planks are very cheap so you can practice on a few, for the toilet area I did waste 1 or 2. The planks are thicker than sheet vinyl so you can't cut with scissor or even tin snips - I tried. Score and snap is definitely the way to go.

Here's the exact product I used: Lowes Surface Source Floating Vinyl Plank

PS this was my first ever flooring project, it was very easy although i did it in 4 days and my hands were bruised from where I pressed with the knife. I worked on it 12 hour days I would recommend taking your time a bit if you can!

I love it, it looks great!

Sorry, I don't remember the brand, but unlike tinans, mine was sheet vinyl.

Upstairs we have plank vinyl...amtico...that was $$$ and definitely not DIY.

I went and looked at the Lowes plank flooring, Tinan, it looks really great. We are thinking we might go for it as out bathroom is only 5.5x7. Cutting with scissors is very appealing to me!

This is what we have:

http://www.mannington.com/Residential/Resilient/PremiumNaturals/Carolina%20Oak/17300.aspx

I do highly recommend it! I would not try to cut with scissors it is thicker than sheet - instead score the face with an exacto knife and then bend until it snaps. The coating on it keeps it from snapping when intact but if you score through that it will break clean. You can always practice on one plank first. For a bathroom, the toilet area is the hardest but I made a template using a large sheet of paper and then drew the sections of the curve on each plank.

Here's the video I watched to learn how to install it; Install Lowes Surface Source

tinan - could the vinyl planks be cut with a dremel tool?

Possibly, I didn't try that but wear a mask if you do - vinyl dust would not be good to breathe in. Really it's so easy to score and snap I didn't see the need for another method. I can see how curves might be easier that way but I really don't know how the material would respond. Since each plank is less than $1 it's not too painful to experiment!

I installed the Allure which is actually thicker than the Surface Source and used this:

Actually the Allure and Surface Source are the exact same thickness, so is Armstrong etc I had about 50 fulle-size samples in my house before I chose (the HD and Lowes people gave me odd planks from some open boxes). I tried tin snips and was unable to cut through the planks myself - but maybe the snips I bought were not powerful enough.

tinan~ how thick is the Surface Source ?
I must have read it wrong at Lowes....

tinan, your floors look great. How long did it take you to do the whole house by yourself, and how long were you in traction afterwards? ;)

I don't know how thick the specs say, but I had a few planks of each as samples and they stacked right up beside eachother the same thickness, at least the ones I had. Oh, and this was the self-adhesive floating Allure I know they have an interlocking version that is thicker, come to think of it.

I did that floor install all in 4 days of working about 14 hours a day, and I did treat myself to a massage afterwards! I was very sore from all the bending and my hands were bruised on the palms from pressing on the knife. I didn't think I was pressing hard but do it hundreds of times a day and you get pain! My hands actually became very swollen and I had to ice them.

But, I minimized the time between our closing date and the time we could move in - we were renting a temporary furnished apartment between the sale of our previous condo and the move in to the new one... so I wanted to complete carpet removal, paint everything and install new floors in 10 days, and I did! So we saved a lot of money on additional rent as well as installation costs.. But I never want to do that again!

I'd recommend going at a more reasonable pace :)