[dhughes]

We recently purchased a Patio Villa to use as a vacation home and investment property. We are coming to TV next month and plan to replace the flooring. We are considering wood laminate throughout the house, with tile in the bathrooms OR Luxury Vinyl Plank that looks like wood floors
through the entire house. I would appreciated any input from those that have either of these products with regards to appearance, cleaning, durability etc.

David Hughes

[Fredster]

We have a Patio Villa with ceramic tile in the kitchen and baths,
and the rest of the house has wood laminate flooring.
This combination, is both attractive, and quite durable.
The tile and laminate are very easy to care for!

[dhughes]

Is your home occupied year round? I have heard that there can be some issues with humidity if the temps are not kept at 78 degrees max. Our home will be not occupied much of the summer.

[theorem painter]

We are having vinyl plank put in our patio villa next week. Can not believe how real it looks and the simple upkeep.

[WhoDat]

I put wood laminate in my previous home and it was wonderful. After 10 years there wasn't a scratch. We decided on engineered hard wood in our house when we built here and we are sorry we did. It scratches if you look at it wrong and splinters come up if you run a dry mop over it.

[msendo]

We put Pergo XP, which is a 10mm thick laminate, in our house. We chose this because we have two large dogs that love to rough house and play, at times. Their nails haven't scratched the floors. I usually sweep with a soft broom or vacuum, and may use a swifter to catch their hair (one guy sheds quite a bit). I also damp mop with a water/vinegar solution, as recommended. We have yet to refinish the kitchen floor but would not recommend laminate where things may spill and go unnoticed.

[NYGUY]

We have LVP throughout the house. Easy to care for, it looks like wood and is recommended for wet areas.

[dotti105]

The Luxury Vinyl Tile or planks are very good on the joints. That would be my first choice for that reason. It is also super durable, easy care and beautiful.

We know some people who put in laminate and find it shows every footprint and speck of dust. I think the darker colors are worse about that.

We had planned to put in LVT after moving in and therefore put in the lowest cost sheet vinyl when we built. We choose a oak plank pattern and we ended up loving it. We get lots of compliments on it. It really looks good. We never expected to be this happy with it.

When we do change it out, it will be for the LVT. Lots of people love ceramic tile. But with knee and joint problems, the hard surface would make us miserable. The LVT is very easy on the legs, feet and hips and the selection in LVT is excellent!

[fred53]

I would go with solid hard wood that comes prefinished. I doesn't just look like wood, but it really is and you can tell the difference. Cost is an issue for some, but for me at least I prefer something that doesn't "look" like something else. Laminate is a photo of real wood and that particular layer is very, very thin. So while it may wear well once the surface is marred you may need to replace it.

[drpepper]

I've used laminate and engineered hardwood and they're both ok . When we decided to do our Jasmine in the Villages we looked at many products and decided to go with LVP so we could use it everywhere including the baths and kitchen. We like tile but it's difficult to change if you decide to remodel. I researched all the LVPs and decided on Karndean . They offer many patterns and styles but the looselay intrigued me. I bought a box of it from a dealer in Apopka to try. We are extremely happy with it. I'm a hands on guy so I did the installation myself and I am still amazed at how simple it is to put down. If you damage a plank you can use your vacumn for suction and it will lift a single plank and another lays right in place and the seams are invisible. The planks are made of rubber, vinyl and fiberglass and don't move with changes in temp and it is waterproof. We will definitely use it in our next home. I may try their glue down version next time. I forgot to mention that the looselay is pretty forgiving as far as the prep and levelness of the concrete below it. The Villages builders leave a very rough surface with lots of lumps of paint and concrete and there are always several cracks to deal with. I probably over did the prep but the looselay hides ALOT of the roughness. I've heard some horror stories about installers trying to use laminates and hardwood over the rough surfaces here.

[alanmcdonald]

I'm a retiree from Shaw Floors and know how both products are made and wear.

Vinyl will be easier on the feet and there is less potential for noise from joints.

Laminate can scratch, especially the clear overcoat.

Go with either vinyl or engineered hardwood like Shaw Epic. That's what we have wherever we don't have tile.

[dhughes]

Thanks for all of the good information. I think we are probably leaning towards the Luxury Vinyl Planks. We will be arriving in TV on Sunday May 1, and would like to see what this product looks like. If someone has the LVP and would not mind Barb and I coming by for a few minutes, please PM me with your phone number. It would probably be Tuesday or Wednesday after we get there as we have a full Monday already set up (Comcast, Solar Guy, getting our IDs etc) Thanks again for all of the information.

David

[dotti105]

If you are talking to flooring companies while here, I suggest that you go to "Floormasters" on 301 between Wildwood and Oxford. When we were there they showed us repairs on the LVT (LVP) and you could not guess that a repair had been done. It's amazing stuff!

We learned a great deal about flooring options from them.

Good luck on your decision making. It can be overwhelming!!

And welcome to The Villages!

[LuckySevens]

Originally Posted by alanmcdonald

I'm a retiree from Shaw Floors and know how both products are made and wear.

Vinyl will be easier on the feet and there is less potential for noise from joints.

Laminate can scratch, especially the clear overcoat.

Go with either vinyl or engineered hardwood like Shaw Epic. That's what we have wherever we don't have tile.

Does your engineered hardwood scratch like someone earlier mention?
Thanks

[alanmcdonald]

Engineered hardwood will scratch like real hardwood but less than laminate.

If you want to avoid seeing scratches completely your only choice is vinyl. There is a clearcoat surface that can scratch, but the color goes throughout the thickness of the tile and is less/not seen.