2mm vinyl plank flooring hold up good?
hi all. Just curious if you have a preference with what size vinyl plank you use? The 2mm thickness is cheap at .99 per sq ft and I'm tempted to purchase but I imagine it won't hold up too long as a rental. Is anyone out there using 2mm and if so, how long have you had it in for? Does it hold up ok?
I can't provide with an answer but I was very close to putting vinyl planks in one of my rentals. After some research, vinyl planks come out to be the same price as laminate floor. Good thick 12mm laminate floor is $1-$1.20 per sq ft if you're not picky about the color.
That flooring has not held up well for me. I was lured by the cheap pricing (59 cents a foot) and tried it instead of the VCT tile I was using because it looked nicer. 1 year max, and its torn and warped. I went back to VCT.
2mm might/should hold up. That's like standard vinyl tile thickness. Less durable than VCT tile though, which is thicker.
As for what David said, it doesn't really matter how thick the laminate is. Just because it's 12mm doesn't mean it will last. 90% of the thickness is glorified cardboard. The only thing that matters is the wear layer on top.
That said, I wouldn't mess with this thin vinyl peel and stick crap. For 99c per sqft, I just do ceramic or porcelain tile DIY.
I disagree with Mike's comment "2mm might/should hold up" unless your application is a very low traffic area. I'd go with a 3.8mm prodcut instead. We have about 20 installations in 1 house, 2 townhouses, 2 condos, and the rest studios. All were 3.8mm and that was the right choice for us, especially in the studios (lots of wear and tear on flooring). If you have a Surpus Warehouse near you, that's where have found the best supply at about $1.25-$1.40 sq.ft. if I remember correctly. We get laminate (pad-less, add 0.18/sq.ft. for pad material) there as well for about $0.60-$0.70 sq.ft., sometimes lower if we buy whole pallets for installs for multiple properties.
The early on 2mm (<2mm?) install we did was replaced after one tenant. It may have been the vendor, I don't know. But the seams started to fail (and curl) and floor imperfections were broadcast through the product much more than in the 3.8mm version.
I think it depends on what you buy. You get what you pay for I believe holds true for this. The kind of LVT I bought has worked great for me. It was $1.29/sq ft. It is snap together (tongue and groove) floating (no type glue required) tiles which has worked well for me.
I put the LVT in the entire unit, except the bedrooms. I find that most renters have dogs, so having this type of flooring has been great for me.
Originally posted by Chris Martin:
I disagree with Mike's comment "2mm might/should hold up" unless your application is a very low traffic area. I'd go with a 3.8mm prodcut instead. We have about 20 installations in 1 house, 2 townhouses, 2 condos, and the rest studios. All were 3.8mm and that was the right choice for us, especially in the studios (lots of wear and tear on flooring). If you have a Surpus Warehouse near you, that's where have found the best supply at about $1.25-$1.40 sq.ft. if I remember correctly. We get laminate (pad-less, add 0.18/sq.ft. for pad material) there as well for about $0.60-$0.70 sq.ft., sometimes lower if we buy whole pallets for installs for multiple properties.
The early on 2mm (<2mm?) install we did was replaced after one tenant. It may have been the vendor, I don't know. But the seams started to fail (and curl) and floor imperfections were broadcast through the product much more than in the 3.8mm version.
Hi Chris, Thanks for the info, I will go with the 4mm instead, i found some at $1.39 and it seems right. My only question now is whether or not I really need that underlayment. From what ive read, the vinyl products dont actually need it however it is recommended. I can see from your post that you do lay pad (underlayment) underneath the floors. Have you ever put vinyl plank down without it? Im guessing the only real benefit it would provide is that it would make the floor less noisy, i dont think it would provide any benefit as far as helping it last longer. Since this is just a rental,I'd like to just not put the pad in to save costs. What do you think?
Regarding "...I can see from your post that you do lay pad (underlayment) underneath the floors...." Underlayment for laminate... not for the floating vinyl. I've never installed laminate without pad/underlayment, and never installed vinyl with underlayment. The $1.39 for 3.8mm/4mm is a decent price, IMO.
Where are you finding tongue and groove for $1.39 - $1.49? And what brand is it? I am looking to install flooring in first rental soon.
Originally posted by DJ Johmson:
Where are you finding tongue and groove for $1.39 - $1.49? And what brand is it? I am looking to install flooring in first rental soon.
Lumber liquidators. They have the best prices that I've seen.
@Joel A. Are the lumber liquidator "tranquility" brand of Vinyl Plank as good as the Home Depot "Allure-Ultra" ?
The price difference is $2 at Lumber liquidator 50 yr Residential warranty vs $3+ lifetime warranty at Home Depot
Both are 4 mm click vinyl
I saw the $1.50 ones at lumber liquidators are 4 mm but only have a 25 year residential warranty. I wonder if these are different grades?
The $1.50 ones are a different quality and not the tranquility brand. They have the adhesive strips. I sent it back because I wanted the click type. It is also thinner than the tranquility click.
Originally posted by DJ Johmson:
The $1.50 ones are a different quality and not the tranquility brand. They have the adhesive strips. I sent it back because I wanted the click type. It is also thinner than the tranquility click.
I actually looked it up they have a Vinyl Plank (stick down directly to subfloor) for just $.79 that is supposedly tranquility with a "50 year warranty"
crazy
How good would it actually hold up? I doubt very well. But at $.79/sqft that's hard to beat.
Is thickness really that important for durability besides for bumps from subfloor? If you think about it cheap laminate is often very thick, but it's made with pressed fiber board underneath with a low quality wear layer. I would assume the wear layer is most important
I think 4 mm is the wear layer. The click felt like a better quality. One of the planks from the $1.50 flooring was shattered into pieces. It looked very fragile. Also they are not lumber liquidators flooring. They are closeouts that they got when they bought out other companies. I have a shipment of tranquility click that should arrive tomorrow. After I purchased I found out that you can get better prices if you go through the pro desk.