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cali59

Flooring? vinyl planks throughout or wood and tile

cali59
6 years ago

We have a large open floor plan and are debate which type of flooring to go with. The kitchen, living room, and dinning room is all in one open space pretty much. It seems like LVP are really starting to imitate wood well. We want something more waterproof in the kitchen and entryway. So we are either planing on putting in LVP throughout. Or, grey stone in the kitchen and hardwoods in the rest. Real wood is beautiful, however we would have to put in a different type of flooring in kitchen.


Questions:

1. What is your experience with Luxury Vinyl Planks (LVP) that look like hard wood?


2. Seems like there is some types of LVP that are quality and look good?


2. What do you think of two types of flooring in this open concept layout. tile (stone gray look) in the entry way and kitchen and wood in the rest. We would love to have real hardwood, however we have ruled out putting it in the kitchen and possible the entry way as well.




Comments (46)

  • cdee18
    6 years ago
    Will your kitchen cabinets be wood or painted? I don't have any experience with LVP, so I can't help you with that. Personally, I like tile in a kitchen with wood cabinets and wood- look floors with painted cabinets. I'm definitely not a pro, just wanted to chime in.
    cali59 thanked cdee18
  • PRO
    JAN MOYER
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Try FUSION max lvp in Chambord LVP.. High moisture/waterproof and I defy you to discern from real wood on install. Can go EVERYWHERE. Nice 7' x 7" click/float planks. More on the Fusion site

    I would NOT cut my space like your photo : ) # 2


    cali59 thanked JAN MOYER
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  • Angela Smith
    6 years ago
    We have a new construction open concept with LVP throughout.
    cali59 thanked Angela Smith
  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Looks great! Thanks so much for the pictures that's helpful

  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Did it end up looking the way you'd hope? And what brand Etc did you get and do you recommend it? Thanks

  • Angela Smith
    6 years ago
    We're super happy with it. We have kids and live in Wisconsin so they've been a dream with our slushy winters. Brand is Raskin Gorilla, color is Jackson Hill.
    cali59 thanked Angela Smith
  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Thanks so much Jan! You help me before a few days ago to. I was the one debating The Rustic knotty Hickory with white top cabinets. I'm ending up going with all Hickory with a Blue Island. Also getting white marble like countertops with a wood countertop on the Blue Island. Do you also recommend tiling if I'm going to have that much wood cabinets. I would just hate to break up the space so much with different flooring.

  • Angela Smith
    6 years ago
    We have also had several people comment that they didn't know the floors weren't wood until we told them.
    cali59 thanked Angela Smith
  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Also I really like that lvp is waterproof! However we love wood! But we're out in the woods and do a lot of activities outdoors. We are young family with one toddler and plans for one more. I just don't want to go cheap on the look with lvp however I'd have to break up the space with different flooring to fit our needs

  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Angela Smith I love hearing that! I'm so glad you guys are happy with them.

  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Angela Smith thanks for the recommendation!

  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Angela looks great together too by the way!

  • Amber M
    6 years ago
    We are in the same boat. Most homes in our neighborhood have real wood and tile floors and are considered higher end homes. We currently have tile and carpet but with kids and large dogs the carpet has to go, and I’m not a fan of the tile either. It’s so cold and looks a bit cheap to me.

    We want a cohesive look and considered doing real wood floors throughout. However we have large dogs, kids and are also worried about water issues in the kitchen with wood. I know I would be constantly stressed about maintaining them.

    We are leaning the route of LVP - Shaw Floorté brand. The sample looks very real and stylish. They are completely water proof, softer on the feet and very scratch resistant. My main concern is that they will look cheap when installed everywhere. Curious to see if other people have them installed in higher end homes and if they are happy with the result!
    cali59 thanked Amber M
  • PRO
    Mysha's Flooring Company
    6 years ago

    I would recommend Coretec Plus high quality, great product you will be very happy with it!

  • grapefruit1_ar
    6 years ago

    We have had real hardwood ( white ash) in our kitchen and entry for 32 years. Our kids were toddlers when we built this house. We love it as much as ever. We also have a second home, a condo, where we have LVP everywhere except the master bathroom. It is more open with most of the living on one floor. The LVP allows us to have a unified look throughout.....including bathrooms and laundry room. Does it look as nice as our real wood? No. Does it look good? Yes. We have oriental style area rugs where needed, cohesive decor, etc., The floors are not the main focus. I have no regrets. ( We also have 4 grandkids 3 and under who visit there a lot.)

    cali59 thanked grapefruit1_ar
  • Ron Natalie
    6 years ago

    Our main floor is Bruce engineered wood (Natural Cherry) which we have because we have radiant floor tubes in the gypcrete subfloor. There are a few exeptions:

    1. The kitchen has Mannington Ardura planks in it. We had rubber floors in our previous kitchen. We wanted something durable and water resistant (the rubber does this but it's limited in the appearance offerings).

    2. The laundry has a similar floor.

    3. The master bath.

    4. There's a tile "carpet" under the dining room table that breaks up the expanse of cherry floor.

      Upstairs it's Maple engineered wood with a tile border. On the ground level it's more Mannington Ardura (Spalted Georgian Maple in the bar and Seamist or something like that in the exercise room).

    cali59 thanked Ron Natalie
  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Grapefruit1 your comment is very helpful. Thanks!

  • artistsharonva
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Whatever flooring material you get, buy extra & store it for unexpected patch ups. I had a neighbor where there fridge leaked while on vacation & damaged there wood floor. They removed the 4x4 damaged area, but had not been able to fix it. I asked what is going on. They were having a difficult time finding replacement matching pieces because they were discontinued.

    There are a lot of good suggestions above. I have heard a lot of good things from remodel contractors about LVP. My parents have wood, 30 years later still looks good, but they never had a bad leak on them.

    I personally like same throughout on an open floorplan room. It helps keep everything cohesive when decorating later.

    I like softer floors in kitchen. I use to have tile, but didnt like it, because, when I accidentially drop a glass or plate, it shattered everywhere.

    cali59 thanked artistsharonva
  • Michel Smith
    6 years ago

    I am going to only mention LVP's as discussion on the rest can be quite long and I am not an expert in it. I am not a LVP expert either but I went through the process last summer, so hopefully my insight would be helpful. Before I go on, I wanted to mention my issue, where LVP made a huge difference. I installed it in a furnished house, so contractor moved around the furniture as he was installing it. My other issue was my floor is poured concrete that's 100 years old. It was not possible to make it flat and it has some cracks, so LVP is much easier to deal with at this point. If I had open space, maybe my thought process would have been different. Other considerations: speed of install - my contractor did 600sqft in 2 days + all molding. Cleanliness - he only had 1 portable saw in entree way to cut molding and few pieces to fit.

    How are LVP are different? There are 2 main kinds: glued or floating. Glued just what it says, you put layer of glue and attach them. Benefits: sturdier finish, many more options/sizes. Negatives it's glued, so if any damage/replacement needed, it's much harder to do so.

    Types of LVP (not counting color). LVP vary by length of planks, thickness of planks, width of planks and thickness of poly coating (scratch resistant). Things that I was looking for thickness. I wanted at least 7mm thick but ended up at 8.5mm. I seen some up to 12 or even 12mm and some were 2-4mm (mostly glued on options). To me thicker = sturdier, but that's not always the case to keep that in mind. I also wanted at least 20mil surface thickness. Some are at 12mil and I seen some at 28mil, but most are around 20mil. I also wanted a textured surface to emulate wood more.

    I believe most LVP come with vapor barrier and extra dampening, the biggest things I would look for would be these: looks/fit/finish - make sure it's what you like, decent finish/think lip to grab on. Good store warranty to cover initial damage and such. In the end, as long as your floor is flat and install is correct (you have to leave around 1/2" all around for the floor to float over the time), it should be a very sturdy surface.

    My floor does say it's waterproof but there are few other concerns I have about it. Can I use steam mop on it? What about robotic vacuum? Both concerns are with wearing out of the poly coating... I guess time will tell :).

    I hope this helps.


    cali59 thanked Michel Smith
  • handmethathammer
    6 years ago

    I think LVPs look nice, and seem very functional, although I sometimes hear they aren't great with wet environments.

    However, at this point in my life, I would rather have wood floors. Honestly, I don't consider the LVP floors much above sheet vinyl, which is also very practical and easy to clean, but cheap flooring, In fact, I think sheet vinyl is MORE practical than the LVP floors, which can still buckle and get weird.

    Twenty years ago, my mom redid her floors. Pergo was the thing back then, and good for "wet" environments. She put it in her bathroom. Then put in solid hardwood in the rest of the house. Twenty years later, that Pergo looks like crap, and has for a while. The hardwood is perfect, although the planks are too narrow for today's fashion. Even with that, it looks good.

    I'd go hardwood. I did an engineered hardwood in my home 5 years ago, including my kitchen. My floors are glorious. I expect them to be for decades.

    cali59 thanked handmethathammer
  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Jan Moyer you are so right! Im working in convincing my husband. He has been sooo against hardwood in the kitchen. You're a God send. Thanks for speaking your mind.

  • cali59
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Jan I also am really glad you mentioned picking a non busy grain of wood for flooring. This is so helpful. I had luck today talking to my husband about flooring. Lol. I love your honesty and expertise.

  • muskokascp
    6 years ago

    Wood flooring in kitchens is very common and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. In fact it would be my preference.

    cali59 thanked muskokascp
  • ashley7212745
    6 years ago

    We had a similar debate about hardwood versus vinyl planks. I totally understand the appeal of the vinyl, but then I thought...hardwood adds value to the home and I don’t know that vinyl would! Then I decided what some of the others said, kitchens don’t get that wet.

    cali59 thanked ashley7212745
  • Melanie Rubery
    6 years ago

    Provenza LVP....a great product to consider


    cali59 thanked Melanie Rubery
  • emilyinmb
    6 years ago

    Whatever you choose, with an open plan, a single material is SO much nicer. BTW, I had real hardwood in my kitchen for years and loved it.

    cali59 thanked emilyinmb
  • cali59 thanked Melanie Rubery
  • Penny M
    6 years ago

    Melanie,

    Do you have pictures of Provenza luxury vinyl plank that has been laid. I am desperately trying to find some. I am particularly interested in the Moda collection both At Ease and Sweet Talker.

    Thanks.

  • Melanie Rubery
    6 years ago

    Yes, we used Posh Beige

  • Miranda
    5 years ago
    Melanie, looks great! How is it holding up?
  • Melanie Rubery
    5 years ago

    Great! I love it. For us it was all about durability and easy clean. We have a very active house with 3 kids etc. Feels great on the feet as well. The Provenza line is limited lifetime warranty with 20 ml wear layer. Its def one to check out if you are considering LVP

  • HU-213713032
    5 years ago

    Melanie- would you be able to post more pictures of your Posh Beige LVP flooring? Ours was just installed in our new build and it's much darker than I was expecting.

  • Cheryl Hannebauer
    5 years ago

    following, as we are in discussion with each other about this for the new build..hubby wants to use LVP in the mudroom, guest rooms & laundry. The open main areas are engineered hardwood & tile in kitchen & foyer... & no I could not talk him into wood throughout the whole open space..


  • Melanie Rubery
    5 years ago

    Sure! I t all may depend on the amount of light you have....however yours is beautiful! Also, after living with it for 6 months I can honestly say I LOVE it. We could not do hardwoods because that would mean replacing subfloors...plus I didn't want hardwoods in kitchen. That left engineered, vinyl, and tile. Tile=more grout-I nixed that one. We couldn't be happier:)

  • Melanie Rubery
    5 years ago

    Also....LOVE your stairs:)


  • Melanie Rubery
    5 years ago

    Did you go with Provenza for their engineered?

  • HU-213713032
    5 years ago

    Thank you so much Melanie! Your floors are definitely the outcome I had envisioned. We ordered the Provenza LVP in Posh Beige for all of downstairs including our stairs. They look SO much darker and much more grey than yours. I've put in a call to the contractor to request a picture of the box, showing they are indeed installing the correct color. I understand some color variation, but they don't look even close to the same to me.

  • silicon74
    5 years ago

    I turned my nose up at LVP, I had lived in Canada and Midwest for many years and higher end and even simple homes all had decent quality oak or maple floors.

    I moved to silicon valley and nearly passed out. LVP is used here very often in 3-5 million dollar homes. 5-10 mil is done in hardwood. LOL, totally crazy. But I'm not making this up.

    Friends spent 3mil on a newly renovated home with LVP, in Palo Alto (slums of Palo Alto) I thought it was wood. It looks like wood, it "walks" like wood (not that cheap Pergo feel). It is completely water proof, so if something overflows, there is no wet wood. Termites munch on wet wood around these parts, this is not a problem in the north because termites die over winter and are not a problem there. Termites don't eat vinyl. Enough said.

    Wood versus LVP is definitely a regional thing.

  • Kesha
    5 years ago

    HU-213713032, did your contractor did your contractor get back to you on what color Provenza lvp they installed?

  • sherndon0220
    5 years ago

    My husband and I recently relocated from Indiana to Florida. We installed LVP in our Indiana home prior to selling. With so many different types of flooring (hardwood being one) we wanted a co-hesive look for the 1968 home prior to putting it on the market. We used floating as to not damage the existing hardwoods should the new owner choose to refinish. When we moved to Florida the home we bought had old carpet, it was a no brainer on our part to replace the carpet with LVP due to humidity issues is Florida. We used the same brand just a lighter shade in our very large greatroom, dining, kitchen and guest bath areas. LVP is easy to clean, wears well with our two dogs, stays cool and provides a great waterproof surface when coming in from the pool. It's affordable and relatively easy to install for any DIYer with some experience in home remodel. We get compliments all the time and visitors have to reach down and touch the floor as they believe it is hardwood. I am sold on the product.

  • Kesha
    5 years ago

    Miranda, this is unrelated to this specific post - but are you able to message me here on Houzz? I have a question regarding your flooring, but our other thread about it was deleted.

  • Miranda
    5 years ago
    Hi Kesha, I have updated my settings, but I dont see the box to message you. Can you look at my profile and see if a box to message comes up?
  • paigescox1
    5 years ago

    @sherndon0220 Can you please share with us the brand and color you used in both homes? I have to select a product this week and would appreciate the input. Also, if you have any photos, can you please post them? Thanks so much.

  • R C
    3 years ago

    @Melanie Rubery I know this is an old thread but I’m wondering if you’re still happy with your Provenza LVP in Posh Beige? That’s what I’m considering in my living room / dining room (large open area). we have two big dogs and a pool so I need something durable. Also, can you comment on how you clean it? I’ve recently read many folks complaining that the matte finish shows every smudge and paw/foot print and never really looks clean, so that worries me. Also, I’d love to see any newer pics of you have them. Thanks so much!

  • R C
    3 years ago

    @HU-213713032 Did you end up having the correct Provenza Posh Beige LVP installed? If so how are you liking it? Are you having any of the cleaning issues others are having with matte LVP (smudges/paw & footprints showing and difficult to keep clean)? Do you have any pics you can post of it installed? Thanks so much!