Is vinyl a better flooring than parquet?

last year

last modified: last year

To me anything that is wood is superior to vinyl.

I am reading this https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4951447/parquet-or-not-to-parquet and I see that the people hate it but to me the parquet is warmer and more natural than vinyl

I have parquet that is similar to the one in the pictures in the above thread but they are lighter

It was installed long time ago in a basement, glued to the concrete floor

I am planning to sand it and to apply a very very light finish to make its presence less striking and possibly the many lines the floor shows (the edge of the fingers that the parquet is made of) less visible

So what do the designers think about this old flooring material ?

Comments (26)

rwiegand
last year
If it's good enough for Buckingham Palace, it's good enough for me. I don't think the Queen would go for vinyl. ;-)
elcieg
last year
last modified: last year
Parquet is a design pattern made from smaller pieces of wood. So, what is the design of your floor?

To answer your question, it depends on whether or not your basement is damp or dry. If it is damp, then vinyl is better than wood which will buckle when wet.
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Jennifer Hogan
last year
It doesn't matter what other people love or hate. It is your home and the only thing that matters is what you like. I love my LVT flooring, it fits the aesthetic of my home and is super easy to keep clean and looking good. Don't have to worry about my dog damaging the floor, but tons of people hate LVT. I know someone who is having wall to wall carpet in her new home. Everyone hates wall to wall carpet today, but her and her husband are using walkers and have mobility issues. Area carpets cause trip hazards and hard floors are harder on their feet and joints. Hard floors are slippery and make getting up off the floor difficult if they do fall and the fall is less painful when they fall on carpet.

I'm not sure I would want to sand and refinish. I don't have any experience with refinishing parquet flooring but there are two issues that would worry me. One - the flooring selected for a basement, so most likely it was an engineered parquet with a thin layer of hardwood on the top. You don't know how thin or thick that layer is and it may not be thick enough to sand. Two, I don't know how you would sand with the grain being that the grain is different directions.

If your going to do this test a small area in a closet or somewhere inconspicuous before proceeding.
littlebug zone 5 Missouri
last year
Better is a subjective term. Better in what way? Cost? Appearance? Wearability?

IMO, plastic has its place. My floor is not its place.
Ivan Turbinca
Original Author
last year
@Jennifer Hogan I am talking/asking about the general perception reflected by price and use by people who can afford each category of products. I do realize it is a matter of taste but as far as I can see hardwood is more expensive and that is probably translated into some objective factors. Ferrari an Toyota Echo are cars and they address different needs and serve different purposes. It is not only a matter of taste but also a matter of quality and performance.

Particular needs and pets are not included here. Not every family has a pet or disability issues.

The parquet I am talking about can be sanded there is plenty of examples on youtube
Helen
last year
As others have said, what difference does it make since it is your home. The flooring is already there and you already like it and it has been functional for many years.

Parquet flooring of the kind you describe is probably parquet tiles. They were a relatively unexpensive type of flooring that was popular in the 1970's and 1980's. My parents installed it in a retirement condo because they wanted "wood" floors.

"Real" parquet floor is a classic flooring and can be very high end. It would have been installed by skilled craftsmen on site and often had decorative motifs - i.e. insets of walnut in a design around the room. It was also a very popular flooring in MCM homes in that era.
palimpsest
last year
last modified: last year
I would take existing wood parquet over vinyl any day of the week. And I am no flooring snob, I am getting ready to put VCT in my kitchen.
Ivan Turbinca
Original Author
last year
yeah true but there is a lot of work to refinish this and moving a drum sander to the basement is not something really easy to do
Maureen
last year
last modified: last year
Make a list of your pros and cons that reflect your budget/labour/longevity, etc. Perhaps getting quotes and looking into other than vinyl may help. Is the parquet suiting your lifestyle/durability and worth redoing. Basically that’s the decision.

Peoples’ comments of course are based really on their lifestyle, usage, location, tastes and budget.
Connecticut Yankeeeee
last year
Ivan - I vote for keeping the parquet and refinishing, even if it seems like a lot of work. My brother refinished ours years ago and it was gorgeous. To me, way better than vinyl.
kandrewspa
last year
I will say in defense of vinyl that I think it's a good product for a basement. I wouldn't put it on my first or second floor - although people do. So if you don't have luck with refinishing the parquet you could consider LVP. As far as resale, real wood flooring in basements is uncommon, so no one would be expecting it. Whether it would enhance the value is a different question which is difficult to answer as there are as many opinions as there are people. LVP is commonly put in basements so I don't think it would devalue your home at all. If you have a friend who is a real estate agent ask them about perception at resale, or contact the agent who sold you your house for his/her opinion.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
last year
last modified: last year
Anything is better than LVT. It will shrink over time and it will never last as long as your parquet has lasted. Might be able to refurbish the finish without sanding it off. Check around for your options.

https://yourniftyhome.com/why-do-vinyl-floor-tiles-shrink/
Ivan Turbinca
Original Author
last year
I had no idea that LVT can shrink in time
Jennifer Hogan
last year
@Ivan Turbinca, "hardwood is more expensive and that is probably translated into some objective factors. Ferrari an Toyota Echo are cars and they address different needs and serve different purposes. It is not only a matter of taste but also a matter of quality and performance."

LVP/LVT vs Engineered Parquet Tile is not comparing Ferrari to Toyota, I would say it is more like comparing Honda to Toyota. I happen to own a 2006 Toyota Matrix with 150,000 miles. My niece recently bought a new car and offered me her 2011 Honda Civic with 50,000 miles. I bought her car and am selling my old Matrix. The truth is that it doesn't make any difference which car I have. I drive an average of 1500 miles a year since I moved to a small town and work from home. I figure the Civic will last me until parts are no longer available. Both will function fine for running errands every Saturday

Your parquet flooring will cost very little to refinish, but will be labor intensive. Replacing with LVP will cost more, but will be less labor intensive. Both will function well as basement flooring. The sale price of your home will not be impacted by this choice.

Beyond the time vs money, the only other decision point is which you will like living with more. It is what we often refer to as the joy factor. Most home improvements cost far more than you will ever get back.

On average a major, midrange kitchen remodel cost $75k in 2021, the estimated increase in value was 57.4%, meaning you would recoup $36K when you sold. What makes it worth doing is the joy of cooking and spending time in your new kitchen. If you are selling in a year you have to justify that the joy you got from cooking in this new kitchen was worth $2,8 k a month. If your living in the home for the next 10 years you have to justify that the joy you got from cooking in this new kitchen was worth $282 per month.

Only you can determine which option will bring you more joy and if either option is worth the investment.
Ivan Turbinca
Original Author
last year
"On average a major, midrange kitchen remodel cost $75k in 2021,"

I can only say this: people who pay that type of money are insane or rich

Some's ambitions to have the ultimate kitchen are hard to understand. The obsessions I am seeing these days to have this and that at the cost of going bankrupt or taking a large debt are pandemic to say so
Ivan Turbinca
Original Author
last year
"$2,8 k a month. If your living in the home for the next 10 years you have to justify that the joy you got from cooking in this new kitchen was worth $282 per month."

For that money I can travel around the globe for one year ...and that will he the highlight of my life :-)) "Joy of cooking " ? Yeah people have all sort of joys ...can't argue with that. Like the battles, you have to pick your joys these days
palimpsest
last year
last modified: last year
The floor is already there and I am assuming it's in good condition except for the finish. I am not sure how removing that and replacing it is going to be a lot less labor than refinishing it?

The average kitchen costs are what the average kitchen costs are, and people who are neither rich nor insane are spending around there on average because that's what it costs.

Two people in my family did or are redoing kitchens last year and this year. One was a like for like replacement of kitchen cabinets, new counters, paint. No removing walls, no new drywall, no new electrical no new floor. Just cabinets countertop and paint. Standard cabinets. Level one granite. $25,000 low cost of living area. I think a Lot of people do this sort of remodel, but that's still not particularly cheap, nor is it really very comprehensive, if the electrical or plumbing stays the same.

The other is taking a non bearing wall down, tweaking the cabinet layout slightly, and doing some electrical upgrade, but nothing fancy. That's coming in around $65, but it will probably go higher. They are not rich or insane, she's a schoolteacher. High cost of living area. The first kitchen was falling apart, the second kitchen is in okay condition but 50 years old. I don't think either of them are spending money just to spend it.

I know a "rich" person who spent $300,000 on a kitchen. That kind of project. probably pulls the numbers up a bit.
Jennifer Hogan
last year
@Ivan Turbinca - I don't disagree with you, but like you mentioned above, some people think a Ferrari is a reasonable purchase, while I am content with a Honda or Toyota.

I bought a fixer and am renovating end to end for under $75k, but my brother and SIL are renovating their kitchen and will probably spend as much on that room as I will my whole home. I'm not proud or that fussy - I am taking their Amish made solid wood cabinets that they are replacing and using them in my home. Not sure if they will work in my kitchen, but I know I can use them in the laundry/pantry/basement or garage.

How we prioritize spending of our money is very personal.
Jennifer Hogan
last year
All flooring expands and contracts (even tile - although it is almost perfectly stable.) Hardwood and engineered wood floors expand and contract more than a click together LVT flooring will.

Old vinyl plank floors seemed to have a lot more issues than those installed today.

https://floorstoyourhome.com/blog/which-flooring-expands-and-contracts-the-least/
Ivan Turbinca
Original Author
last year
Re: the costs of renovating/buying a kitchen: the prices they pay have NOTHING to do with "the cost of the area" They are a notorious illustration of the rampant financial illiteracy that is plaguing our societies these days

If you add the numbers and you look at how much you make and how much you are paying a trade and a vendor to give you a better finish you will realize you pay two or three times your hourly rate which is insane. The value of the goods and the quality of the work you get is arguable as everybody is cutting corners and rushing jobs these days

So if you able to (and in my opinion any mentally and physically healthy man should be considered able) get off your ass and stop watching those games and get your hands on tools and start learning to do these things you are being charged a leg and an arm for.

Months ago I got the same bullshit around here (large tiles should be left to install for the pros) Well guess what I was able to do a very nice bathroom that would have cost me around 30K (at least) for under 10K and I learned a lot in the process. These guys don't go to Uni to learn these things and you do not need to learn ALL the secrets of the trade, you need to learn what applied to your case. You will make mistakes but trust me for 75K you can build three kitchens yourself and get it wrong two times :-))

As for the floor discussion we are having - I would say that yeah look and feel matters and that is personal
Connecticut Yankeeeee
last year
So, I’m not understanding then, what’s your question? What’s your point Ivan?
palimpsest
last year
This is one of the wierder threads I have answered in in a long time. Do whatever the hell you want without anyone else's opinion.
Ivan Turbinca
Original Author
last year
@Connecticut Yankeeeee that was a digression OK ? the question stands
Connecticut Yankeeeee
last year
Thanks Ivan. I stand by my suggestion of refinishing the parquet. You seem like you’re a good DIY’er or can learn. Good luck to you!
Gerry
last year
My condo was built 38 years ago with light parquet floors. Over the years, most unit owners have replaced them. But I recently saw a unit for sale that had the original parquet floors but were refinished to a medium stain. They looked stunning. My former unit owner, unfortunately, replaced our unit with a dark laminate wood floor. I say go for it.
User
last year
Not a wood expert, but in my experience, seems that refinishing it with a water based sealant with a matte finish will give the grain a more subtle look.

I really love the idea of fixing rather than replacing finishes. It's better for the environment, and like you said -- better quality too.

Is vinyl a better flooring than parquet?

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Is vinyl a better flooring than parquet?

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