We have it in both bathrooms as well as our laundry room and haven’t had any problems. We wet mop with water and vinegar for cleaning. Love the look and durability.

Our temporary apartment has vinyl in the bathrooms and kitchen. It seems to work well. For our remodel we chose to go with ceramic as I don't trust the chemicals in vinyl, but I'm crunchy like that! I go as low VOC as possible.

Good point, Chi--I had not considered that.

I like the "look" of ceramic or porcelain tile in a bathroom, since I can match it to the tub surround tile and do baseboards to match. But....LVT is very pretty....very tough....a great product!

Maybe not in your area or this is an old install or it wasn't done to code, but the building code where I am requires tank water heaters to be in pans that will contain a leak. These pans must have pipes that drain to outside the structure. If you have both a washer and a water heater in the closet, you can also put the washer into a rectangular pan and maybe share the one piped drain line between them. Or, another approach would be to make that closet a basin- build a ridge in front, put down a waterproof base, make a floor drain in the center (made to be the lowest point) and then tile it. Either way, you can then do in the house what you want.

Plan for success, don't plan for failure. Good luck.

You might want to look at Coretec XL Plus luxury vinyl. It is advertised as water resistant. We have Coretec in our kitchen and backdoor inside entrance. It is 3 years old . The plus was not available at that time. It has exceded my expectations as far as scratching or wear in work areas. Looks like day it was installed. Was installed over an existing one piece floor covering. We have a lab. , no marks of any kind from him. We paid about $5.50 SQFT for the material.

Have resarched the XL plus and will be installing in bath that serves less then careful young adults. Good selection of colors now available. Most flooring stores have a display. Not so much, three years ago.

I did a whole house in LVT by Armstrong. There's NO wood in it, so it is amazingly water proof. Found it at a discounter for .83 cents a sq ft See link. Three years with renters in it, looks new!

We used vinyl in a lot of our house, but not in the bathroom as we wanted to put in a heated floor, and the heat can dry out the glues used with the vinyl causing them to lift. So we have porcelain tile and a toasty floor for the winter.

Anything that is installed in pieces is not going to be "waterproof" unless the underlayment is waterproof and unless the seams between pieces are sealed in some way. Another consideration is that it depends on the house, its location, and its value. Vinyl flooring of any kind, anywhere, is considered a low budget material. For some houses and for some people, it doesn't matter. For others, it could matter a lot.

elmer, considering the cost of our lvt was more than twice that of hardwood, I wouldn't think people see it as "low budget".

Chi, we used Marmoleum in our kitchen for that reason; I have a hard time knowing that huge pieces of non-natural flooring will end up in the landfill one day. Having said that, and possibly because our contractor wouldn't listen to me about the specs of installing such, it hasn't held up as well as I'd hoped. Oh, and I managed to flood the kitchen floor soon after completion by filling up the kitchen sink to soak something, then stepping out to talk to my neighbor--not pretty. If we redo someday, I'm going to look into cork flooring as I'm pretty sure I'll wreck wood. :(

No absolutely not a low budget product. Not the new luxury product. Very expensive, in fact often more expensive than ceramic tile and hard woods and stone.

LVP is not the old vinyl flooring of the past. It's found in very high end luxury homes. Annie's beautiful home would be a perfect example of that type of home.

Plus it's easier on the joints than hard tile. I have all real wood hardwood floors and ceramic tiles but I would definitely consider LVP should I need to change.

I hated the tile in our laundry room and I'm the one who chose it. Last year we tore it out and replaced with COREtec Plus. I LOVE it! We're going to put it in the main bathroom next year.

http://www.usfloorsllc.com/display-category/coretec-plus/

So you're suggesting that it's viewed as a premium material with a cachet of quality, when compared to and in preference to a solid wood or ceramic tile floor (depending on the type of room and location) ?

Sorry, it isn't so.

Elmer, it obviously IS so for some people, especially the newest products, which you may not be acquainted with since you seem to have already made up your mind. Or are you saying that you are the last word in how people view things?

LVT is an expensive choice. The prep can also add significant $$. Most floors require some prep and even underlayment to produce a professional looking, long lasting performance.

I'll be installing COREtec HD in my daughters kitchen after the holidays. It's 100% waterproof!

It's about $5.95 SF.

I just bought a modern and up-market real estate property for my own use, not as a rental or investment Many of the listings I saw and visited prominently featured descriptions of "solid wood" or "ceramic tile" or "porcelain tile" floors, including saying stuff like "recently remodeled with premium xxxx installed". None of them said "you love the living room with its vinyl floor". And none of the places I saw, admittedly all of which were at the middle of the market price-wise or higher, had vinyl floors anywhere.

I agree with Lucille to an extent but I'd said the same thing myself - it depends on the house, the location, and the market. Just like fiberglass/plastic bathtubs and stall showers instead of porcelain coated tubs and tile showers, it's considered a cheaper way to go and unless you're talking about inexpensive/down market properties, can be a negative. If not in your areas, fine, it is in mine and I don't think mine is all that unique.

We installed vinyl "wood" planks in our hall bathroom 13 years ago. This is the bathroom that the kids and grand kids use. It has worked fine. We use a bathmat for stepping out of the tub or shower. It looks as nice as the day it was installed.

I looked up the Armstrong LVT and it sold for $10 a sq ft. When I went looking for an apartment to rent, between homes, ALL the newer luxury apartments had LVT flooring.

Travertine and herringbone black walnut wood flooring are a premium, but you don't have to have "the best" natural products in the $600k-$700k homes around here......in this market. :0)

Flooring has become a diverse, personal preference product.

Our 1950s house has the original red oak wood floors. When we created the addition we tried to match those floors as closely as possible in the kitchen and keeping room. I chose tile for the second bath and the laundry room. Hated the tile in the laundry room. It mimicked slate, but was a PIA to clean; not to mention hard underfoot. Best decision I made was to switch to vinyl. It's soft underfoot and incredibly easy to clean. That's very important, because the litter box is in that room.

second bath tile:

former laundry room tile:

New wood look vinyl:

While there are some rooms that I think vinyl is appropriate being old fashioned the main rooms to me would be a no. Some of the tiles look nice but in the back of my mind I would think that the builder was simply cutting corners and wonder what other areas did they cut corners.

We had vinyl planks installed in our bathroom redo. Love the look.

Also, we do not have pans under our water heater, water softener or washer. House built in 1970. Keeping fingers crossed!

Even in the garage, as location for the water heater you "have to have" such a pan under the water heater.

Go figure.

Moni

Not a water pan but if you install something soft in the kitchen you should put something hard under the legs of the refrigerator because the ones with the little adjustable peg with a glide pad on the bottom can sink into the floor underneath it.

moni, maybe a leak containment pan isn't required by code everywhere. Where I am, they're required whether indoors (as in a closet), in an attic, or in a garage. The same containment is required for pressure release valve output too, that's potentially even more dangerous if not contained in a pipe.

Not everyone who does such work necessarily follows the rules. That's a problem too. That was what I was intimating in the earlier comment when I said to plan for success and not plan for failure. Considering the possibility of a water heater leak in deciding what material to put on a floor is a notion no longer necessary. Even if not required where you live, a pan can always be used. Or always put in after the fact. Pans aren't expensive.

You're all nice people and I'm sure we would get along famously in the real world. But many of you seem to follow the approach - Oh, I did (or have) something other than what this person is talking about, so THEY MUST BE WRONG. Same is too often true about political ideas too. If you hear something that's different from your own view or understanding, do two things - First, remember there are always multiple ways to look at something and your's isn't necessarily better than someone else's just because it's your's, and Second, try to learn from new ideas you hear, there could be good reasons for other views. It doesn't mean you change your approach, but you'll broaden your own understanding by hearing about how and why others have a different opinion or perspective.

I think it was maifleur above who said that an impression can be - okay, they went cheap on this, what other corners were cut?. Nicole, I snorted to hear you suggesting that what you saw in apartments may be being indicative of what goes in premium construction. You being an owner of rental properties yourself, you know better than that.

I described what I saw and have consistently seen and heard, you can like it or not like it.

CindyMac and Nicole those floors look great!

After replacing the subflooring in mom's house, we used "budget" vinyl planks in the kitchen, dining room and bathroom. It looks great and is easy to take care of. I would use it myself. My brother is remodeling a small bath and is using the Smartcore brand.

As I said in my original post, we used the vinyl planks in a bedroom (a flip project) and were very surprised at how great the floor looked--really attractive. So the plank vs tile question was not a matter of budget, but a matter of what would be the most practical choice in a floor that will potentially get wet. I've read that the vinyl is good with a tight seal in between each plank, but I'm guessing tile is a little more fail-proof, due to the grout. We're not considering resale (thought that is a good point, of course), we're really concerned with doing the job once. The backstory is that we bought this house and the tile is failing in that bathroom--perhaps the floor underneath has "movement" and will have to be replaced, so we'd like this to be the only time we have to do that particular floor. Thanks for your responses!

I have vinyl planks in the long hallway on the other side of the house, 1 of the back bedrooms there, and thru the kitchen. the kitchen had beautiful wood flooring and I had my handyman rip it out to put down the vinyl. I had him put it in my walk in closets.

I had planned on tile flooring but my sister built about 5 yrs prior to me moving in here and she has tile all thru-out her main floor. Every time I'd been over there my legs and back were sore for days. it took me a few yrs to connect it to spending a few hours there walking her hallway, kitchen, dining area, bedroom etc. when I finally figured it out I nixed putting tile in here. In past years that has come up rather often on 'kitchens'. Besides it is harder on you if you fall than vinyl would be. I had to think of those things as I aged. and I do believe that is the source of a lot of my sister's problems with her legs and back.

I had Armstrong planks put in. took me a long time to decide on one and then find one that wasn't busy or ugly or cheap looking. that was about 6 yrs ago. I'm sure they have improved. I wish I could have gotten more of what I did - but I bought all they had and then it was discontinued. now I have to find something I can live with (pattern wise) for my bedroom and the other 2 bedrooms on the west end of the house - plus the bathrooms and laundry.

I also decided that if there was a water leak in the kitchen, these planks would be much easier to pull up and dry out / replace than tile would be. Besides, there's no way I want to contend with grout these days. I wanted something that would be easy to clean and less dangerous to me if I fell on it. My comfort is my priority these days.

CindyMac - I love the look of the wood vinyl in your laundry room! what brand is it and what is it called? I'd like to see if I can find it locally. I think it'd work in my TV room and 2 remaining bedrooms.

I have had a cork plank system in my bathroom for almost 15 years now. It never gets cold the way tile does, and it looks as beautiful as the day it was installed. Cork systems are available in a huge range of colors and designs.

In terms of water alarm systems and pans, I can't imagine why anyone would NOT do everything possible to contain a flood.

In my current remodel I had the following systems installed with both a pan AND a water alarm system

HVAC - my unit is in the ceiling and because of a common line water cooling system, it backs up and then floods. It also has been known to freeze up for whatever reason in which case it also floods. When it floods or even leaks a bit, the ceiling and floor are ruined. My system has a pan PLUS a water alarm system that shuts off the whole thing as soon as it senses any amount of water

Washer/Dryer - Units are Bosch and come with a pan PLUS a water alarm system that shuts off the whole system when it senses water

Refrigerator - Because it has an ice maker, I installed a water alarm system which shuts off the water as soon as it senses water PLUS a pan

Dishwasher - The Bosch has a pan and water alarm system built in which shuts off if it senses water

As to the virtues of LVP versus wood or tile, my own experience with relatively high end properties is that I have NEVER seen any kind of real estate listing in which it is featured as a selling point unlike hardwood or marble flooring. Even laminate flooring is not mentioned - if wood like floors appear in the photos, the material they are made of is not mentioned unless wood or marble.

Not to say that someone shouldn't install them if they functionally work for them but they are not selling points in high end homes in my area (SoCal).

From the standpoint of a home buyer touring through a house, I think irrespective of how much the vinyl material costs, it will be perceived by someone looking at it as a "cheap" alternative to "the real thing" (meaning whatever it is trying to look like. )

As the material cost goes higher and higher, one of the main benefits that you are paying for is that it is harder to quickly tell that it is vinyl rather than "the real thing". The other (more important) benefit a higher price buys is a more durable wear surface but that can't be directly perceived by a casual viewer.

The other big benefit as those above have mentioned is it can take much less time to install so that even with a higher material cost it can cost less overall when you add in labor.

For instance: This house has laminate flooring through out. It sold VERY quickly!

$600K Colorado Springs

The house I was working on in July....very modern...sold in 3 weeks .....with laminate flooring. It would have looked just as good with Brazilian walnut flooring....but @ .89cents a sq ft for the fake stuff.....and yes the realtor who's buyer purchased it said to me, "I can't believe you didn't use real wood for a house in this price range." So .......yeah.....it did get some comments.....but it sold! Elmer, you aren't incorrect....it's just a "look" that can sell a house....and location...and amenities....so it all depends. I have a few "choice" rugs I threw down....and it looked like a million bucks!

When I watch "Flip or Flop," they often use laminate flooring throughout houses near the $1,000,000 price. I was surprised, but they still seem to easily sell these homes. But maybe $1,000,000 in California is a mid--budget home.

I don't like laminate flooring and will never have it again especially in a wet area. Laminate is not the same as LVP. I would have LVP. When our house flooded the first time our laminate flooring showed us why it is called floating floor! It was floating around the house, we found pieces of it totally across the house from the room it was installed in. And when someone spilled water on it and I didn't know, the flooring that area started delaminating at the joints and was very noticeable. It looked beautiful however and we got lots of compliments on it.

Desertsteph, it's COREtec Plus. The color is Red River Hickory.

http://www.usfloorsllc.com/flooring-products/red-river-hickory/