Vinyl and sunlight are a bad mix. If you have the money, then finding UV blocking windows will do the trick. If you don't have the money, then using UV blocking film could be an option (check the warranty page of your windows...and contact the manufacturer for allowances before moving ahead). A decent film should be clear/colourless and should cost $100 - $200/window.

It only needs to be added to the areas that have direct sunlight that pools on the floor (and heats the vinyl/fades the vinyl). The better UV films can be added without anyone knowing the difference.

If this isn't an option, then tile is your best bet. After that, I would look at the moisture resistant laminates. And remember: rental unit floor has a life span of (roughly) 7 years. Go ahead and take that number and see where it leads you on your renovation path.

Personally, the UV blocking is the easiest way around this issue. It means you can have your cake and eat it too.

@cancork - Do you have a wood you would recommend? I wouldn't mind re-finishing every 7 years.... I could do a laminate, but laminate is so susceptible to scratches etc.

If you want a hardwood floor that can be refinished every 7 years, then go with 3/4" solid white oak. A solid hardwood should have 3-4 "refinishes" in it. If you do this every 7 years (and remember the average price for a full sand/refinish = $5/sf), you will have a floor that will offer 21-28 years and then it will need to be ripped out and start again.

And remember: you need to work with NARROW strip hardwood (like 2 3/4") that is WELL acclimatized (2-4 weeks) and a space that is well conditioned throughout the year (this is true for all floors but doubly so with hardwood). High humidity MUST be dealt with! An HVAC upgrade to get the humidity DOWN is a MUST! I mean REALLY NEEDED! As in those floors will cup and warp inside of 1 year! An HVAC upgrade with a whole-home dehumidifier will range in the THOUSANDS of dollars. But once it is done, it is done.

Solid hardwood is economical when you leave it in place for 60+ years. I will leave it to you to decide if refinishing every 7 years (at $5/sf each time) is an optimal way to spend your time/money on a rental unit floor. And the floor is probably unusable for 2 weeks each time this happens (and you have to store your furniture somewhere else, etc).

Personally I think the UV film on the windows is a "one and done" event. You can have the floor that is the best option (vinyl) for your situation. The other option is to look at the water-proof laminates on the market.

And BTW: every floor scratches - some vinyls scratch faster than laminate! The only thing that won't = porcelain. Everything else will show scratches - including hardwood.

@cancork - That seems high for refinishing? In Baltimore we are paying - $2-$2.50 sf depending on staining color.

Thanks for the information!

Terry -

Good on you for doing such research before choosing a floor! Cancork makes excellent points and presents the pros/cons of the materials you're referencing very well. If you'll be renting out the unit more than living there, going with LVT or hardwood that is able to be refinished is also a great investment. We also offer a prefinished USA-made option with a very thin real hardwood top and an extremely strong HDF backing leaving you much less susceptible to moisture/denting issues with dogs/scratches (check out the collection here). This allows you all of the look/feel of real hardwood (because the top is real hardwood) without the many layers of wood beneath it to get you in trouble with moisture/denting.

Should you want to move forward with hardwood, our site gives you a proprietary shopping experience tailored to your climate (down to zip code) and lifestyle so you can be sure you're buying a prefinished option that works best for your space (leaving wet clothes on the floor excluded in that algorithm ;-) ). Hope this helps! - Revel Woods

@Terry - local prices will vary a little bit. The building industry is about to go into over drive which means lower priced areas such as yours (a buff and coat = $3/sf for a single coat of poly in the expensive/Canadian markets) will start to feel the heat VERY soon.

A *profession (yikes) who uses $60/gallon finish will only charge $3/sf. A high-end professional who uses finish that is $170/gallon will charge $5/sf. I've seen both the low end ($3/sf) and the high-end numbers in my neck of the wood (very expensive Vancouver Canada market). The "Chuck in a Truck" guys are often $3/sf in Canada. The NWFA Certified Sand/Refinishers are all $4.50 - $5/sf. And that goes for most of the USA as well.

Good luck. Check the finish that is being used for $2.50/sf quotes. I can almost guarantee it is Minwax.

@cancork - thanks for the input on floors.

The UV film seems like an easy fix for the LVP, I am just super hesitant with all the buckling stories I have read. Continuing to do research.....

Becareful as some window films will void your warranty on glass if you have (and absolutely should have) insulated glass...................

LVT floors do quite a bit of expansion when exposed to direct sunlight.

WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) floors (Coretec, Adura Max, Lux..every brand in WPC) also has issues with full sunlight. If the floor gets too hot, the vinyl will delaminate from the core board. This is a real issue.

WPC floor does not like cold temperatures. The cold claims we have encountered have been mostly in rentals and vacation homes that are not conditioned all the time. If the floor gets below 55 degrees for an extended period, the end joints will come unclicked.

WPC does not like things rolling around on it...like chair casters. Over time, this can lead to delamination of the vinyl from the core board.

Our new SUPECore product has a SPC core. SPC stands for Stone Plastic Composite. Instead of wood/bamboo dust used in the core, stone dust is used. This is a much more stable product and does not require the core thicknesses required in WPC. Even with a thinner core, the SPC far out performs the thick WPC core.

There is NO vinyl top layer to delaminate from the core in SPC like in WPC floors. Its dimensionally stable from -30 to over 150 degrees. It does not move, period. It can take the sunlight, the cold, the water....anything you can throw its way. It is substantially more dense than WPC (which you can watch on the video below) and it will take the load of any furniture. It has a commercial wear layer that we are giving a limited lifetime warranty. It is by far, the toughest flooring that I have ever seen.

When I specified this flooring, I wanted to provide the consumer with the very best flooring possible at the very best price. SUPERCore is just that. We're selling it far below the price of any WPC on the market....and its a better floor!

Alan Ward
WeShipFloors.com
http://www.weshipfloors.com/flooring-type/supercore
1-844-356-6711

@weshipfloors - is the SPC waterproof like the LVT? My 2 concerns are people coming in from the beach and leaving wet towels and bathing suits, and also sand tracked in.

@weshipfloors - can you list the major flooring companies currently offering an SPC product? I am in Canada and looking for a company that carries an SPC floor here.

Terry,

Yes, SPC is 100% waterproof. So is our EVA backing, I can't say the same for the people using cork backing....

I'm seeing one of the brand names out there putting a vinyl topper on a 2.5mm SPC core board. Inclusion of vinyl in the product TOTALLY defeats the purpose of using SPC. The vinyl is the cause of delamination in full sunlight windows, not the core.

Alan Ward
WeShipFloors.com
1-844-356-6711

Terry-

Thanks for bringing your question to this flooring discussion. Above are all good answers to me.

I can tell that you like to hear wood floor options. We have these two 3/4" solid engineered floors which structure is named Millennium by manufacturer. It serves both solid and engineered purposes. It is manufactured to last long time and super stable. The UV oil finish can be reoiled with a fairly easy effort with no sanding and refinishing.
4" Millennium French Oak Oiled Hand Scraped

3-1/4" Millennium Hickory Oiled Strip Hand Scraped

We have long time hands-on experience both with the structure and the finish. We also offer many other wider Millennium options. Due it's for a beach house, I would recommend to use narrow boards to even increase the stability. Hope this can be your help.

Please do not post advertisements posing as comments.

This is not the place and it just reflects badly on your businesses.