I haven't used the planks but we just had sheet vinyl installed in the basement, and this is my impression: Planks are better if you want to DYI, sheet is in and done quickly (by someone else), sheet has no seams to deal with (peeling up or leaks from doggie), planks may be better if you want to avoid pattern repeats. We used sheet mainly because our basement floor is uneven and that was the simplest way to deal with it. We also have a dog (very old and somewhat incontinent) who sleeps there, and having no seams was a plus. The sheet vinyl certainly wasn't inexpensive, and installation was a big part of the cost; I imagine DIY planks would have cost less. Because I was not sure how wood-style sheet vinyl might look (pattern repeats etc), we used a tile pattern. I am very happy with it; it's cushioned, warm-ish and surprisingly non-skid for our dog. I've been impressed with the look of the wood pattern vinyl planks that people have posted here and in the Home Decoration forum, though. I haven't seen that in person, or the wood-looking sheet vinyl for that matter, to really be able to compare the way they look, though.

Hi mabeldingeldine, I see you also asked over at Home Decor and got a lot of great replies there. I didn't reply there, but will add that I think I am going to go with Lowes Surface Source Floating Vinyl Plank or something similar. It looks great, and sounds like a good looking, fairly easy DIY flooring. Sue...a lurker Here is a link that might be useful: Wood look sheet vinyl?

Sheree, I have vinyl "tile" in the kitchen (and wish I had the above wood look instead) and real wood just beyond it. My elderly dogs tend to drip after drinking water, and I've told myself "water is the enemy of wood" so many times that it's practically become a mantra. Most of the time you can find me with a microfiber cloth in my hand, wiping up drips. I'm so glad I don't have real wood in the kitchen.......

Sheet vinyl will most likely be more cost efficient. If you were to damage the sheet vinyl you would need to replace the entire area or cut out and patch (which can turn into a disaster if not complete correctly). With LVT you can pull the plank, clean glue off subfloor, add new glue and replace. Very simple. Are you looking at a glue down vinyl plank or a floating vinyl plank?