I put in 5mm vinyl click plank from LL in a stone pattern in my kitchen. the thickness does make it a bit tougher to cut so any advantage that the thickness has in making it lock together is balanced by it being harder to make cuts (assuming score and break with a blade and not power tools). Overall, it does take a bit of time and patience to get it installed well. In my installation, seams are all very tight with no signs of any separation after 8 months, despite all this ridiculous cold weather no doubt causing more contraction than what I would normally ever see. Mine is on concrete slab so I don't have experience with it on wood subfloor. Overall, I am happy with it. Note that the surface wear layer will scratch. You should still put protective pads on furniture, etc. It is much more resistant to gouging from dropping heavy stuff on it unlike the cheap sheet vinyl I've had in the past (and worlds better in this regard then laminate and wood). These characteristics may not carry over to all the other 5mm. LL private labels from multiple manufacturers, even stuff they label as being in the same series. In getting stone style click vinyl samples, I noted that they came from at least two different manufacturers. When I've looked at their laminate samples, I've found at least four different manufacturers (and again at least two were supposed to be the just different patterns in the same exact series), some were clearly better quality than others despite being the same price.

The only time you would use embossing leveler is when you are going over existing flooring that has an embossed surface. The overall price is about where it ought to be in some markets, but would be considered overcharging in some others. He is charging $1.29 per square foot for the preparation without looking at what's under the carpet. There will be prep work to do, but how much? I think he's given that price based on what his experience is with these types of jobs. We used to prep and install vinyl all the time...and we would spend an entire day just removing the carpet materials and prepping the slab. You really have to make the substrates smooth and debris-free to have an attractive and successful result in the long-term. A grain of sand under the floor at a critical location can make for an eyesore in an otherwise good installation. Preparation is most important...I cannot stress that more. Also, any filler needs to be a cementious formulation. Most 'white' floor fillers are not cementious and are not suitable for use as a floor filler. Your job should take a 'minimum' of two days to do from start to finish, especially if there is much prep to do. I would be uncomfortable were I told a job of that size would be complete in just one day. You don't want a rushed job...for it is usually on jobs that are rushed where there are problems down the road. Good luck.

I think it was this thread that led me to try removing the top sheet a couple of years ago! And OMG, I love it. So does my spouse. No more sheet getting tangled around me or in my legs and feet! During the summer we remove the duvet and just sleep with the cover, or sometimes I put a thin blanket in it. I don't have any trouble stuffing a duvet though. We have it down to a science. Probably save time doing that once a week vs. futzing with the top sheet every day.

I used commercial-grade sheet linoleum in my very small bathroom 8 year ago. It's a light beige wood-look pattern called "driftwood" - very neutral. Cleans with wet or dry Swiffers (my knees won't take hand-scrubbing anymore) and is so durable it's used for art galleries. It wasn't cheap, but looks the same as it did when installed.