Alexander Smith Luxury Vinyl? (Need information or similar options)

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Hi - first time poster! I am trying to select a luxury vinyl plank for our house, and one that the flooring store we visited has on their website floor visualizer is "Alexander Smith - Antique Legends, Natural Blonde". However, the link to a product page is broken, and I am not seeing information on this brand really when I google. I have not gotten answers yet from our contractor from the store yet either.

Is anyone familiar with this brand? Or, if not, any suggestions on a similar LVP we can get for around $4.50/sqft or less? Ideally a neutral (but not super grey) mid-light tone wood without extreme variation. Also hoping for at least a 20mil wear layer because dogs :) Open to samples that are a bit lighter and more neutral than this particular one as well (for example, Hayes Oak by Coretec looks great but pretty sure it's outside our price range).

Located in the Seattle metro area if that helps!

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Vanessa
Original Author

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Thank you for your response! That is good to know to avoid the Alexander Smith essentially.

Interesting about the price though. When we went into the store of the contractor who has given us a bid so far, they didn't even seem to have LVP for over $5. The sample we looked at the most at the time was Cali Vinyl bc xl LVP and the guy told us that it is "the best" and better than any other vinyl they had really and its priced there at 4.49. They are one of the best rated places in the city for floors that we could find and our realtor said she uses them all the time. So, I'm not sure what is going on but it sounds a little sketchy now...

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SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
I'm not seeing much either. The companies that carry Alexander Smith are showing the same 'website design' which tells me they are affiliated to a bigger system of distribution.

The AS vinyls I found are either 2mm glue down (wow...that's THIN!!!!) or a 'luxury plank' that is also thin with edges that glue togetehr (with a weird edge system I don't recongise) or 'solid core' planks that click together (again with edge systems that I don't recognise).

I cannot find anything on their construction...nor their wear layer. This is a good indicator that they don't want to advertise how they build there stuff.

Advice #1: Increase your flooring budget. At $4.50/sf you are looking at a mid-range vinyl...that's it...that's all. If you move to LAMINATE the $4.50/sf is GENEROUS and you can afford HIGH END European products. And that's always better than medium grade Chinese vinyl imports with a pretty name.

Remember: Floors are like roofs. They are the MOST ABUSED surface in the house. In the PNW, you are very aware of how your roof performs. If you would NOT go cheap on your roof then do not go cheap on your floors.

To get a decent product (in any category) you really need to increase your budget.
Vanessa thanked SJ McCarthy
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Tell me again what is specifically personal about "Chuck in a Truck". That is neither personal nor an unknown term in the contracting industry. It not meant to be derogatory in my estimation and is merely meant to refer to persons that are sole proprietors that have little to no overhead in comparison. If you take issue with Fridge, by all means, take it up with him/her. I would respectfully request that you deal with them by name and leave me out of the response. If you would like to discuss the cost of doing business in a more employee driven system and why those expenses may be higher, I would be happy to do so. Perhaps it will give you some more insight and a better understanding as to why and how things cost the way they do in a different type of organization. For the record, I have more than a few friends that are enormously successful and competent contractors as sole proprietors. I take no issue with that, but to make a comment with regards to "mark-up" that it is merely a company making some enormous profit on the consumer, it flatly false, uninformed, and somewhat irresponsible. You are quite right, it is and open forum and you are more than entitled to your opinion. I would only caution that if you are going to hold yourself out as a resource of information, that the information be somewhat enforceable and factually based is all. I would no more cast dispersions about sole proprietor contractors that paint them in a negative light than I would comment on any large group of persons that are as varied and different as the weather. Perhaps that would be advisable for everyone when it comes to levying negative commentary that they be based in fact rather than opinion.
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SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
CoreTec Plus = $8.99/sf

This is the PLATINUM STANDARD for vinyl. The 'guy' that you went do does NOT pay to carry CoreTec (by the sounds of it...you have to pay a licensing fee to carry the big names).

Again, a European import laminate = $5/sf. It will out perform low-end vinyl or mid-grade vinyl. Remember: Realtors like to save money on flooring...because to them every house is a 'flip'. So long as the house looks good when it is sold, they don't worry about things like "longevity".

I'm in Vancouver BC Canada (just North of you)...So I'm very aware of what the weather is like. So long as you have tiles/vinyl in entranceways, bathrooms and kitchens, you can have a very good laminate throughout the rest of the house.

To have 'water proof' floors in areas where you have NO NEED for the extra protection (why require water proof in a hallway to a bedroom?) when you don't need it.
Vanessa
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
We actually want to do waterproof hardy floors all over because we have a dog and plan on eventually adopting a puppy (and maybe even another 3rd dog further in the future). Also, we are ripping out carpet and covering some bad looking old hardwood with the vinyl, and wanted to have a cohesive look throughout the entire house. The bathrooms are the only place that we aren't putting new vinyl at the moment, but we are planning to completely remodel them in the future and do their floors then with heated tile.

We will look into expanding our budget however. Are there other good brands besides Coretec? I've seen Mohawk, Mannington Adura, Shaw, Armstrong, and Flooret mentioned a lot but not sure if any are great, or just good for their value. We will keep searching for more contractors as well who seem to be more reliable sources. This guy gave me bad vibes anyway, as him and his colleagues had their masks off indoors whenever they could manage to, and other info he gave us also contradicted things we've heard elsewhere (I know the mask thing doesn't affect quality of work, just a personal peeve...)

Oh, and we have been told that no one will allow us to purchase our own flooring materials if we want a professional contractor to install them because places want to upcharge for their own stuff... is that true?
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Sigh. Just remember to rip out old wood floors. As for companies only installing their own stuff, it can be true. What level of reno are you looking at? Is it JUST flooring?

You can hire a private installer to install anything you want. It is risky...but due diligence and common sense will get you through it.

A LONG standing independent flooring store (locally owned) can offer a one-stop shop. They will carry quality they know works. They will have a higher price. They will offer an installed price (in house installer) or a product only price.
Vanessa
Original Author
3 years ago
We are just doing floors for now, maaaaybe painting but undecided. The contractor did say they were planning to do a floating LVP over the hardwood, should they not be? The hardwood is ine fine condition (installed in 1999) wood wise, it's just stained poorly and not our style (small plank yellow maple and it's only in a 1/4 of the house with everything else being carpet)
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
NO vinyl over wood floors! EVER! Imagine wood soup under your vinyl? Now imagine the orange stain on your vinyl because of the wood soup.

It's your call. I can't say it any clearer.
Vanessa
Original Author
3 years ago
That is good to know. Wondering why the contractor said it's fine. Wouldn't they want to convince us to rip out the wood so they can get more money? Starting to wonder if this dude payed for good reviews on his store haha

Alexander Smith Luxury Vinyl? (Need information or similar options)

Vanessa
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Alexander Smith Luxury Vinyl? (Need information or similar options)

VanessaOriginal Author

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SJ McCarthy

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