What Flooring Are You Using in 2015 For Rentals?
Over the years my preference in flooring has changed a lot. I started out with carpet, then moved to refinished hardwoods in older homes, then I started exclusively using Allure Vinyl Planks (glue ones). Now I'm not so sure.
I've done many Allure installs with generally pretty good luck. Unfortunately, I have one house where the seams kept lifting and I was playing "whack a mole" with the crazy glue. After this experience, and due to the fact that I bought 5 pallets at $.99/sft way back when and nowadays it doesn't seem to budge from $2.09 or $1.79 (depending on style), I'm wondering if there's something better out there. I don't want a tenant moving in and immediately complaining about flooring... especially a flooring that's become so expensive.
I used to prefer vinyl planks, because I could put all the boxes in the house, pull up tack strips, prep subfloor... then wait a day or so and lay all the flooring in about 2 days after it had time to adjust to the house's temp. It was quick and easy.
Now I'm seeing products like this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Lakeshore...
At $.79 I can use a 10% off Lowe's coupon and be paying close to 70 cents for a laminate that gets great reviews. A great review like that is likely to be very well-reviewed by potential tenants as well. This is over a full dollar a square foot cheaper than Allure (more after you account for tax ) and I can make the process pretty quick by using a laminate cutter.
I could try porcelain tiles, but I just don't think houses are as appealing with tile throughout. Maybe this is personal bias. I'm thinking the way forward is a laminate like the one above and nice premium vinyl tiles for kitchens and wet areas.
What are you guys using? What's your preference in 2015? Have you changed your thoughts over the years?