So my current floors are 30 year old wood parquet that doesn't look so great with gaps and splinters in some places. I am considering replacing my floor and am wondering people's thoughts on luxury vinyl plank vs engineered wood. From the research that I've done, luxury vinyl plank seems like it has a lot of great benefits. Waterproof, better tread for dogs/cats, durable, doesn't change with... [more]
So my current floors are 30 year old wood parquet that doesn't look so great with gaps and splinters in some places. I am considering replacing my floor and am wondering people's thoughts on luxury vinyl plank vs engineered wood.
From the research that I've done, luxury vinyl plank seems like it has a lot of great benefits. Waterproof, better tread for dogs/cats, durable, doesn't change with humidity, looks just like real wood, easy to install, etc. I am leaning towards it but am afraid of resale value and "cheaping out". Do people consider luxury vinyl plank cheap and would it hurt value? Can people tell the difference between them?
The other option is engineered wood floor which I've lived with before. I had engineered Mirage maple (supposed to be pretty premium and a hard wood) and I found that it was so easy to scratch and dent. A friend brought a dog over and it scratched up the floor just scrambling around. And whenever I dropped my keys, it would make a dent on the floor.
Thoughts on the perception/resale value between the two?
[less]
Response by Juxie100
almost 8 years ago
Posts: 39
Member since: Dec 2014
Take a look at cork flooring. It's natural and got the "green" cache. We put it in our kitchen and I love it. There are a number of different manufacturers and different densities. Some of them are very durable. It's nice underfoot, too. And it comes in lots of colors and, of course, natural cork color. It goes on like tile. I bought mine at Raskin Carpet uptown.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by 300_mercer
almost 8 years ago
Posts: 10537
Member since: Feb 2007
Get wood/engineered wood unless it is kitchen. Vinyl/wood imitation screams cheap. You should not be able to scratch or dent pre-finished floor that easily. Look at Lauzon. Several other manufacturers with very tough coatings.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by 30yrs_RE_20_in_REO
almost 8 years ago
Posts: 9876
Member since: Mar 2009
Engineered has been widely used lately so it has become acceptable. Personally, I am not too fond of it. But as far as vinyl plank is concerned, I do think it will affect the marketability of your property negatively.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Aaron2
almost 8 years ago
Posts: 1693
Member since: Mar 2012
My apt (built 1964) had it's original parquet floor, which was in ok shape. Contractor was able to patch in a number of replacement pieces, refinished the whole thing, and now it looks great - a good floor guy may be all you need.
When I was looking, engineered wood was a second choice to 'real' wood -- most of it looked bad, and wasn't wearing well. 'Vinyl wood' was an absolute last place -- I considered it something to be replaced. Nothing 'luxury' about it.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by rpa619
almost 3 years ago
Posts: 37
Member since: Oct 2008
Aaron2 - I just bought an apartment in a building built in 1964. It has the original parquet floor that needs to be patched and refinished.. Can you share your floor guy's information? Thank you.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Aaron2
almost 3 years ago
Posts: 1693
Member since: Mar 2012
That was 10+ yrs ago, I'll have to dig out his name -- he wasn't a floor specialist per se -- just the general contractor (perhaps showing just how straightforward it is to do these sorts of repairs on something that was of reasonable quality to start with).
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by WoodsidePaul
almost 3 years ago
Posts: 144
Member since: Mar 2012
I think that both engineered and vinyl are cheap cheap cheap. How can a place sell for $1k+/sqft if they can't even afford hardwood?
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by 300_mercer
almost 3 years ago
Posts: 10537
Member since: Feb 2007
Depends on the wear layer in Engineered. 4mm or thicker wear layer is about the same price as hard wood and has desirable properties when it come to gluing down on concrete slab as it is much more stable dimensionally than hardwood. Then of course, there are engineered floors with cross laminated base layer (3 layered in the link below) which can be 1.5x - 2x hard wood floors.
I have seen even 1.5mm wear layer, which are horrible. 3mm seems to be ok.
'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Take a look at cork flooring. It's natural and got the "green" cache. We put it in our kitchen and I love it. There are a number of different manufacturers and different densities. Some of them are very durable. It's nice underfoot, too. And it comes in lots of colors and, of course, natural cork color. It goes on like tile. I bought mine at Raskin Carpet uptown.
Get wood/engineered wood unless it is kitchen. Vinyl/wood imitation screams cheap. You should not be able to scratch or dent pre-finished floor that easily. Look at Lauzon. Several other manufacturers with very tough coatings.
Engineered has been widely used lately so it has become acceptable. Personally, I am not too fond of it. But as far as vinyl plank is concerned, I do think it will affect the marketability of your property negatively.
My apt (built 1964) had it's original parquet floor, which was in ok shape. Contractor was able to patch in a number of replacement pieces, refinished the whole thing, and now it looks great - a good floor guy may be all you need.
When I was looking, engineered wood was a second choice to 'real' wood -- most of it looked bad, and wasn't wearing well. 'Vinyl wood' was an absolute last place -- I considered it something to be replaced. Nothing 'luxury' about it.
Aaron2 - I just bought an apartment in a building built in 1964. It has the original parquet floor that needs to be patched and refinished.. Can you share your floor guy's information? Thank you.
That was 10+ yrs ago, I'll have to dig out his name -- he wasn't a floor specialist per se -- just the general contractor (perhaps showing just how straightforward it is to do these sorts of repairs on something that was of reasonable quality to start with).
I think that both engineered and vinyl are cheap cheap cheap. How can a place sell for $1k+/sqft if they can't even afford hardwood?
Depends on the wear layer in Engineered. 4mm or thicker wear layer is about the same price as hard wood and has desirable properties when it come to gluing down on concrete slab as it is much more stable dimensionally than hardwood. Then of course, there are engineered floors with cross laminated base layer (3 layered in the link below) which can be 1.5x - 2x hard wood floors.
I have seen even 1.5mm wear layer, which are horrible. 3mm seems to be ok.
https://www.czarfloors.com/Engineered-wood-floors.asp