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Vinyl Plank Floors vs. Engineered Hardwood.

6 years ago

We recently purchased a 1980s 4000 sq ft colonial home and are in the mist of a complete remodel. We have opened up walls and staircase, installed recessed lighting, gutting the kitchen and all that goes with this undertaking. The biggest stress point for me is deciding on what flooring to go with. We have horses. My style is traditional, elegant but not over done. I does the high-end vinyl look as good as good quality engineered hardwood?

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Comments (4)

PRO
Oak & Broad
6 years ago
Glenda Miller you will need to get samples of options that you like from both kinds of flooring and compare them. Keep in mind Engineered Plank does not mean its also prefinished. It could also be unfinished and then installed and finished on site. Just make sure you go with a quality product that will let you refinish them when you decide to. Thats one of the big advantages of a high quality planks over Vinyl.
Chessie
6 years ago
“Look as good” is completely subjective. Go check out some samples. The only opinion here that matters, is yours. If you are someone that does not ever care to undergo a refinishing process (I am one of those) then you don’t need to be concerned with that part of it. Most decent engineered wood floors are going to give you 15-20 years minimum anyway. A high end vinyl ( CoreTec , Mannington) will certainly last that long.
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I am not a huge fan of vinyl plank flooring. It feels very fad'y. Ten years from now, it'll be the one thing that lets you date when you did the remodel. Having said that, they do have pretty decent designs these days. They come really close to fooling you into thinking it's the real thing. And while some of the hype seems to be just that, they reportedly do stand up to abuse much better than older man-made materials. The nice thing about real hardwood though is that you can relatively easily refinish it. Or you can pick a material that looks great even when it is distressed. Neither one is really an option with vinyl planks. On the whole, I do agree with you though. The much better flooring material in the kitchen is tile. No need to stress if you spill something. And if you install radiant floor heating, it feels really nice on your feet, too. And if you carry if through the rest of the house, you can use area rugs in select locations. But that's going to be more expensive than putting down LVP. So, it's a bit of "you get what you pay for". On the other hand, if you plan on living in the house for the long run, it might make sense to do things right once, rather than replacing the cheaper flooring every couple of years.
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PRO
WoodCo
6 years ago
Hello Glenda! Vinyl flooring is an image that is printed onto a plank of some sorts. Whereas engineered wood flooring is real wood laminated onto a backer. You maybe able to find a good vinyl that looks realistic but it will not feel the same as the engineered wood. Here is an article you may find interesting -- https://www.woodco.com/news/laminate-vs-engineered-flooring/

Best of luck with you new home!
PRO
Cinar Interiors, Inc.
6 years ago
A good looking vinyl plank or tile that mimics wood will fool anyone's eye who doesn't know the difference.

Last year when I was house hunting I can't tell you how many homes I walked into that advertised with wood floors...only for me to inform the listing agents that the floor was actually vinyl plank. I would claim false advertisement and their answer 99% of the time was, "Well I thought it was wood..." --Yes, a lot of newer products hitting the market now are very realistic.

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