I prefer tile in the bath and we currently have Pergo XP (laminate) in our kitchen. Our house is under contract and all of the potential buyers who came through have complimented the kitchen flooring. I would not do sheet vinyl if you are trying to improve resale value, tile would be much more appealing to buyers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our kitchen flooring

It really depends on your area. We sold our last house a year ago that was in a rural area on acreage. It was a lower-mid level home for the area and had vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms which was not a problem. We had a starter home before that which was in a city. That one also had vinyl in kitchen and bathrooms with carpet in the rest which was fine.

Do not change a bunch of stuff to sell your house unless you're in a really hot market (a lot of competition). Otherwise it will sit and sit and you'll kick yourself for spending extra money. Just think of the refresh as a really good cleaning. The most I would do is paint if you have some really crazy colors happening or some lighter curtains if you have something really dark and heavy.

Good luck.

Iowa....has some good points. Yes, it does depend on the area of the house and the surrounding homes. Since this is for resale, do homes in that area have vinyl, tile, or hardwood? If you are a do-it-yourself person, you can get some inexpensive tile, which would be an up-grade to vinyl.

If this was your personal home, I would suggest hard-wood. I have had this in two homes, and love it....easy to take care of and easy on the legs.

To me, the main thing for selling is being super clean! There is a lot of information about selling can be found on the selling a house forum.

Often, in this area, sellers will offer a 'flooring allowance' as part of the sell price. The allowance amount is determined by the estimated cost of what basic flooring might be.

The buyers feel like they got a discount. They also have the option to add a little more money and get upgraded material for their own preference of new floors.

I hate tile and it annoys me to no end that everyone is putting it on their home. I hate the tactile feel of grout, I hate cleaning it, how cold and hard it is to stand on, the fact that dishes smash when things land on it, etc etc.

I do LOVE vinyl flooring. Its warm, it's soft on your feet, and dishes often survive the fall. Its easy to clean, and very low maintenance. If it does get destroyed, it's easily replaced. If you pay for the higher-grade stuff, there are some very nice, non-tacky options available.

Just like how weddings have been 'uber glammed' to the point its 'not a real wedding unless you have chiavari chairs, crystals and swags hanging from the eaves, and a custom martini bar', I think home renos are going the same way. Many nice homes have been built with perfectly serviceable, and nice looking laminate counters and vinyl floors, but few people think that is good enough anymore.
Except for the very high end new homes in our area, carpet and vinyl floors are still common. Those wanting to 'show off' to their neighbors (or buy into the 'keeping up with the Jones'es) have started replacing with tile, granite counters, etc.

But even then, I'd hesitate to remodel. Personally I'd rather buy a home and upgrade the flooring to something I prefer, rather than 'settle' with something ugly because its new, and I've already paid for it.

I'm also not a fan of wood flooring (or click together laminate) in kitchens - they get wet, and wood hates being wet, and so it seems a poor choice that will inevitably do poorly in the long run.

This post was edited by Naween on Wed, Dec 10, 14 at 13:10

"I hate tile and it annoys me to no end that everyone is putting it on their home. I hate the tactile feel of grout, I hate cleaning it, how cold and hard it is to stand on, the fact that dishes smash when things land on it, etc etc.

I do LOVE vinyl flooring. Its warm, it's soft on your feet, and dishes often survive the fall. Its easy to clean, and very low maintenance. If it does get destroyed, it's easily replaced. If you pay for the higher-grade stuff, there are some very nice, non-tacky options available. "

I agree with all of this!

In my house at MoccasinLanding, the floors were hardwood tiles in all rooms but the bath and kitchen. The bath was ceramic tile, and as you say very cold to bare feet. The kitchen was an asphalt tile, I think that is what the material was. I hated the blah color, so when I did my $5,000 update of the space, I went to a faint patterned creamy white sheet vinyl. I used the same sheet vinyl to cover the floor of the enclosed carport (easy to clean up after my parrots), and to cover the painted plywood of the family room addition. Bare plywood was the result of taking up the tackiest stick-on tile squares I ever saw, painting the plywood white with a yellow border, and living with the painted floor for several years. When I found the sheet vinyl on sale, I bought enough to do family room, kitchen, and carport. I was quite happy with it.

Now in the current remodel, I'm done with tile on the floors. I want the comfort and the continuous look of light ash hardwood throughout. I will get a runner to cushion the kitchen in front of the cooking side cabs, and a cushy mat in front of the sink as I do the dishwashing dance.

Since Mama Goose mentioned the construction dance, I've thought of all our home chores as a dance. Somehow it makes the whole effort more appealing.

Come on baby, do you wanna dance? Do ya do ya do ya wanna dance? It is a happy state of mind.

In an ideal world I would want hardwood in my kitchen and bath. In the practical world I live in I would be fine with sheet vinyl or linoleum. No tile. No faux wood anything.

But I'd leave your floors as they are unless they are in really bad shape and drag the rest of the house down.

Another vote for sheet vinyl. I have it in my kitchen and bath. I have Marmoleum in my breezeway and I like it a lot, too, but it's harder than vinyl and more expensive. Don't spend a lot of money on fixes that might not be necessary. I would rather choose my own patterns and colors.

Many people, including myself, dislike vinyl due to negative environmental reasons. The process to manufacture it is quite toxic, and it outgases toxic fumes for a long time after installation. People with allergies would also be likely avoid it.

I personally would not buy a house with vinyl floors, siding, or windows unless I had no other choice. If I had such a house I would be saving up to replace the vinyl. Wood, tile, or authentic linoleum would all be preferable flooring to me.

Rosefolly

I find the glue to put down sheet vinyl too much for me to breathe in. They do have some that you can just glue around the edges - that'd still be too much for me. that's why I was so happy to find floating vinyl planks to use! No glue.

>> Wood, tile, or authentic linoleum would all be preferable flooring to me.>>

Yes, but you might be in the minority. A buyer needs to appeal to the WIDEST number of people, which by necessity won't be everyone. Most buyers go on emotion: overall appearance and a clean, pleasing "look". That's why staging helps; buyers need help to see themselves living in a new place. A few negatives won't deter them if they've fallen in love with the vision of seeing themselves living in a specific house.

If I bought a house again it would be because it suits how we want to live. And if it had wood, tile, or real linoleum in the kitchen, if I liked the rest of the house I would simply plan to rip it all out and put in sheet vinyl. I don't like any of those three products in a kitchen or bath.

In our starter home neighborhood, the important thing is wood flooring in the living areas. Bedrooms, baths, kitchens - not at all. The most important thing is to be reasonably consistent with the neighborhood, assuming you're concerned with maximizing salability.

We ripped out aging, cracked, cheap tile in the upstairs bath and put in sheet vinyl. Our master bedroom suite is downstairs and I wanted as little noise as possible:

In the kitchen I have Metroflor solid vinyl tiles, also a stone look but in slate green tones. The kitchen is right over our bed, so it MUST be quiet. And since I spend hours on my feet in the kitchen, it must also be comfortable underfoot.

As far as breathing glue, outgassing pretty much stops in six months. Good ventilation can cut that in half. You'll get a lot more outgassing from the wood products used in remodeling/kitchen or bath cabinets.

I won't have tile anywhere in my home except for the back splash in my kitchen, I hate it. I think that is what the realtor meant, use something simple and let the buyer decorate. I have lino in my entry way and when the subject comes up, they say "I thought it was wood".

And I have kitchen carpet in my kitchen and when I drop something it bounces instead of shattering.

This post was edited by EmmaR on Thu, Jan 1, 15 at 17:02

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