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Flooring Design Dilemma Polls

vinyl flooring or wood???

last year

Trying to decide if we do hardwood flooring on the first floor or vinyl and if so do you run it all throughout the downstairs or have a seperate kind of flooring for th half bath and laundry room

Comments (16)

Lyn Nielson
last year
all flooring should be the same, unless you tile the 1/2 bath and laundry room.

Although LVP is fine for laundry and bath.
colonel115
last year
When I did LVP in my last house I did every room the same because moisture was not an issue with the vinyl. In the new house I have the same tile in all the 'wet areas' (builder term for kitchen, baths, halls) and hardwood in the living areas.
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Hey all, I have been in and out of this forum for a few years. Based on what money and projects we can do. Own a house that is 100+ years old in the northern KY/Cincinnati area. We have managed to do a lot ourselves but are still only a little more than novices. Anyway, now the next project is the kitchen. We cannot tackle anything until our floors are evened out. The room is about 13'x 14' with vinyl linoleum flooring, standard wood subfloor and only one layer of linoleum that I know of. Problem is there is about a 2-3' section that is higher than the rest of the floor maybe no more than an 1" probably less, now we have looked over every one of the joists in the basement and have come to some conclusions. I realize that in the long run we will probably have a professional come and give us an estimate but in the meantime....some advice or ideas would be appreciated. We have one main I-beam that runs from the back to the front of the house made of three 2x8's. Those are level that we can tell. Now the floor joists which are also 2x8 are sistered together, but one is slightly higher/lower than the other(depending on how you look at it) in the very places where the floor has a ridge upstairs. The metal posts that are holding the I-beam have pieces of wood wedged between it and the post. The wedges are different sizes for each post. One would logically think that originally the floor started to sag and so they put in the posts for reenforcement but the posts were too short so they made hand made wedges or shims. It looks as if they over compensated and then just left it that way causing the joists and floor to eventually pop up. We bought a standard jack post thinking that by jacking the floor up, removing the wedges and letting the floor back down slowly this would even things out. However my husband seems to think that this is not going to work now and we could get the I-beam to go up far enough to work the wedged wood out. We are slightly baffled as to which way to go at this point. Is it a case of bulging joists or sagging floor etc...I can provide pictures possibly if need be and any advice is appreciated and taken with a grain of salt of course. Thanks, Melissa
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Hey all, I have been in and out of this forum for a few years. Based on what money and projects we can do. Own a house that is 100+ years old in the northern KY/Cincinnati area. We have managed to do a lot ourselves but are still only a little more than novices. Anyway, now the next project is the kitchen. We cannot tackle anything until our floors are evened out. The room is about 13'x 14' with vinyl linoleum flooring, standard wood subfloor and only one layer of linoleum that I know of. Problem is there is about a 2-3' section that is higher than the rest of the floor maybe no more than an 1" probably less, now we have looked over every one of the joists in the basement and have come to some conclusions. I realize that in the long run we will probably have a professional come and give us an estimate but in the meantime....some advice or ideas would be appreciated. We have one main I-beam that runs from the back to the front of the house made of three 2x8's. Those are level that we can tell. Now the floor joists which are also 2x8 are sistered together, but one is slightly higher/lower than the other(depending on how you look at it) in the very places where the floor has a ridge upstairs. The metal posts that are holding the I-beam have pieces of wood wedged between it and the post. The wedges are different sizes for each post. One would logically think that originally the floor started to sag and so they put in the posts for reenforcement but the posts were too short so they made hand made wedges or shims. It looks as if they over compensated and then just left it that way causing the joists and floor to eventually pop up. We bought a standard jack post thinking that by jacking the floor up, removing the wedges and letting the floor back down slowly this would even things out. However my husband seems to think that this is not going to work now and we could get the I-beam to go up far enough to work the wedged wood out. We are slightly baffled as to which way to go at this point. Is it a case of bulging joists or sagging floor etc...I can provide pictures possibly if need be and any advice is appreciated and taken with a grain of salt of course. Thanks, Melissa
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Just my 2cents. I love your color swatches. Very coordinated and very pretty. I agree with the others that I wouldn't paint those cabinets. I love white cabinets and dream of having them one day, so I understand where you're coming from. But the thing is, your cabinets are so pretty that it'd be a shame to hide them. Cabinets are usually bought white, or are painted to cover subpar or ugly cabinets. The color of your cabs goes perfectly with the sample of granite in your pic. Also, painting cabinets is a big job. You have to paint the insides, as well (as opposed to refinishing the doors). I think the mahogany floors would look great even with you keeping your existing dark cabinets. The granite counter (the sample in your pic) breaks up the two large areas of red colored wood. The grays you picked for the walls coordinate great. However - and this is just a personal preference - I'm not fond of gray in kitchens, except for metal. Gray is a cool color. The color of metal. And your appliances are already gray, as will be your countertop. The gray walls won't add anything, and to me, gray is not a good color for kitchens. I also don't like the idea of a gray floor for the same reasons (unless it would be real gray slate or something along those lines). If you stick with gray walls, then I'd go very light gray or a grayish white, to brighten up the area. Benjamin Moore White Dove is a grayish white, I believe. SW and Behr also have grayish whites. Love the new lighting!
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kandrewspa
last year
If you can afford hardwood, do that. It's a long lived product. LVP is never going to look as good as real wood and chances are whether it's you or the next person who owns the house, someone will be replacing it in 10-20 years (or less), which is wasteful. Powder rooms are frequently not tiled, but it's a good idea to tile a laundry room.
hbeing
last year
Wood. Plastic sucks.
Jen K (7b, 8a)
last year
We ran LVP through the whole house except the laundry room and the bathrooms. We chose LVP because it would withstand our life and activity without scratches or having to refinish. If you choose LVP know that it won't have the same exact vibe as hardwood, but it's close. It's our first time with it, after her many homes with tile, and it's much better - for us - than scratched up hardwoods.

Every choice you make in life has a trade off regarding the environment. There is no environmental neutral flooring - each has an impact.
User
last year
I would say it comes to budget. A high quality LVP can work well. I have it throughout my downstairs and am very pleased. I think the mid to lighter LVP look best. My LVP is holding up MUCH better than the cheap grade engineered wood that was in my house originally. However, If a solid wood floor that can be finished on site is an option for you, I would recommend that and use it everywhere but laundry and baths with tubs or showers. There is nothing that compares in beauty
shirlpp
last year
I have hardwood all on the first floor - except the laundry room and powder room. I'm changing the floor in those rooms and will go with porcelain. Consider porcelain as well for the laundry and powder rooms.
eld6161
last year
last modified: last year
LVP have a place in certain homes. I am more than thrilled with my Coretec LVP in my Florida home.

Trust me, hardwood would not be a good choice in this home.

Porcelain is not an option for older people. It is too hard on the joints. Maybe it doesn't effect the younger crowd.

My home is single level.

If you choose LVP, you need an experienced person to install it on the stairs.
Kimberly Wendt (Florida Z. 10b)
last year
last modified: last year
We have hardwood (oak) upstairs. Terrazzo downstairs. We also have cats, with claws. The upstairs baths are done with tile. Laundry is downstairs, so that's Terazzo. I LOVE terazzo... cool in the hot summers, impervious to almost everything, including floods. Only pain is, it does need to be resealed/coated every few years in high traffic areas like kitchen, entry, baths. The Oak hardwood we had sanded and recoated when we bought the house 20+ years ago... still looking good. Sure there are a few bumps, very few. It's held up great.

Our 2nd home is a farmhouse. We have ripped out the old carpet and are laying down a 2ndary subfloor and putting 3/4 oak HW throughout, except for high end *vinyl plank* in bath and kitchen. Simply because of high traffic, water issues.
ci_lantro
last year
Kids, dogs, climate, city, rural, beach, pool...?
dan1888
last year
Engineered hardwoods are available with the same SPC core and installation as lvp. Not as stripey. Not with the repeat of lvp.
Kimberly Wendt (Florida Z. 10b)
last year
@ci_lantro, if those questions are for me??? Here are your answers.

1. no

2. In town no; Farm yes

3. In town = z10b subtropical, 3 miles off intracoastal humid, SAND (which is why we stuck with straight terrazzo; Farm = z4a, on ridge near Canada, hot/cold (husband says 'mostly cold' - dry.

4 and 5. In town=yes; Farm=rural major city with Walmart is 45 minutes away.

6. pool? In town: no pool, dock on river and ocean 3 miles away; Farm: no pool, farm pond, lakes abound. Could lay down in a snowbank??? lol (all tongue-in-cheek)
Kimberly Wendt (Florida Z. 10b)
last year
last modified: last year
We also have friends who put in Pergo when it was all the rage. 5 years later, the seams have swelled, 'boards' have buckled, scratches galore. Other with the vinyl plank flooring, not laminate... are way more fortunate. (And I need to correct myself... at the farm we used high end Vinyl Plank - NOT laminate. Huge difference and I'm sorry for the confusion.
HU-297518195
last year
I believe the rich texture and color of wood is more beautiful and gives a home more character. However, vinyl flooring is much easier to clean and maintain. It depends on your objective. Which is more important. Joy
chinacatpeekin
last year
I have wood flooring and it is extremely easy to clean and maintain. I raised two kids and an assortment of pets without any issues during the 30+ years I’ve had wood floors. I’m not a fan of surfaces that are trying to look like something they’re not, and to be honest I’ve never seen LVP in real life that looked or felt like hardwood. Perhaps it exists, but I’ve never seen it.
ci_lantro
last year
No, Kimberley. The questions are for the OP. Information that should be provided in the posting and considered before deciding which material would be the better choice. Along with information about the exiting climate control in the home.

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