Investor · San Antonio · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Where are you buying your luxury vinyl tile? I am used to calling Vinyl planks, But I’m trying to sound more professional for all the experts. :-)
I have been buying mine from Lowe’s, but seeing where other people are buying theirs. If I can find a better place to buy them at a better price I am definitely interested. Lowe’s just recently discontinued some of the less expensive LVT. I am referring to the floating floor locking together vinyl tile. I’ve pretty much learned my lesson on any glue down vinyl tile.
Real Estate Agent · Keller, TX · Member since 2017 · 850 posts · 825 votes
4y
@Joe S. Also check Floor and Decor. The have a few locations in the SAT area. https://www.flooranddecor.com/ But make sure you buy enough to cover replacing damaged pieces over time if your executing a buy-and-hold exit strategy.
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
4y
I have never priced them at Lowes. In my market we have three major home improvement chains, Lowe's, Home Depot and Menards. Lowe's is the most expensive on everything. They are 20% more for identical things than what I can get at Menards. Have you checked Costco prices?
I have never priced them at Lowes. In my market we have three major home improvement chains, Lowe's, Home Depot and Menards. Lowe's is the most expensive on everything. They are 20% more for identical things than what I can get at Menards. Have you checked Costco prices?
I have not checked Costco. I didn’t even know they sold LVT.
Real Estate Agent · Keller, TX · Member since 2017 · 850 posts · 825 votes
4y
@Joe S. Also check Floor and Decor. The have a few locations in the SAT area. https://www.flooranddecor.com/ But make sure you buy enough to cover replacing damaged pieces over time if your executing a buy-and-hold exit strategy.
Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
I've been buying the TrafficMaster LVP at Home Depot. Have only used the one with "grip strips", not click lock. Unfortunately it appears Home Depot has decided not to carry the grip strip any longer (or perhaps it is no longer being made). Typically $1.69 a square foot although we once purchased 5000 square feet of the stuff for 99 cents a square foot during a Black Friday sale
Where are you buying your luxury vinyl tile? I am used to calling Vinyl planks, But I’m trying to sound more professional for all the experts. :-)
I have been buying mine from Lowe’s, but seeing where other people are buying theirs. If I can find a better place to buy them at a better price I am definitely interested. Lowe’s just recently discontinued some of the less expensive LVT. I am referring to the floating floor locking together vinyl tile. I’ve pretty much learned my lesson on any glue down vinyl tile.
Hey Joe! Try Lumber Liquidators or local flooring places. Get in touch with a manager and see what product will be discontinued. You will get huge discounts that way!
Contractor · Placerville, CA · Member since 2019 · 85 posts · 66 votes
4y
I use distributors, their sales guys are pros and understand my needs. The distributors provide free delivery, net billing, and a multitude of other perks. They share product info, estimates, future trends and pricing as well as days to meet the OEM reps. Plus I get to have coffee with my friends while my truck is not being broken into.
Where are you buying your luxury vinyl tile? I am used to calling Vinyl planks, But I’m trying to sound more professional for all the experts. :-)
I have been buying mine from Lowe’s, but seeing where other people are buying theirs. If I can find a better place to buy them at a better price I am definitely interested. Lowe’s just recently discontinued some of the less expensive LVT. I am referring to the floating floor locking together vinyl tile. I’ve pretty much learned my lesson on any glue down vinyl tile.
Joe, what lesson was learned with the glue down?
Also, do you all generally install yourself? I have a LVP project now, but sub floors aren't as level and perfect as one would like so was thinking glue down with luan underneath would be more sturdy and hold up better in this case than floating locking style.
Where are you buying your luxury vinyl tile? I am used to calling Vinyl planks, But I’m trying to sound more professional for all the experts. :-)
I have been buying mine from Lowe’s, but seeing where other people are buying theirs. If I can find a better place to buy them at a better price I am definitely interested. Lowe’s just recently discontinued some of the less expensive LVT. I am referring to the floating floor locking together vinyl tile. I’ve pretty much learned my lesson on any glue down vinyl tile.
Joe, what lesson was learned with the glue down?
Also, do you all generally install yourself? I have a LVP project now, but sub floors aren't as level and perfect as one would like so was thinking glue down with luan underneath would be more sturdy and hold up better in this case than snap together.
I did some glue down in a couple houses that was on a concrete slab and used glue. That worked out all right. I did a larger section of a building And for whatever reason the glue didn’t stick that well. We had to pull them all back up again and put stronger glue. It was such a pain I decided to simply use floating LVT going forward.
Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
4y
We have a local place called building 9 that has deals on higher quality flooring click lock vinyl or laminate. They are a little bit more expensive than Home Depot, Menards, and Lowes but their bottom of the line is a 12mm wear layer which is better than the bottom of the line at the big boxes and their selection is huge. I have also shopped floors2yourhome.com which can be cost effective especially if you are ordering over 1000 sq feet I got some pretty nice vinyl plank from their clearance section a couple years ago for $1.22/ft including shipping. I shop them all. I haven't seen great deals at lumber liquidators around here for a long time.
Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
4y
I haven't bought anything except for wood, tile, and stone for going on six years now. Doubtless that will change once I stop doing my own floors. But who knows? Ten years ago, going through infection control classes with my wife, I became certain that carpet would be as GONE in this country as it is in Europe after a pandemic of any size. Joke's on me.
I haven't bought anything except for wood, tile, and stone for going on six years now. Doubtless that will change once I stop doing my own floors. But who knows? Ten years ago, going through infection control classes with my wife, I became certain that carpet would be as GONE in this country as it is in Europe after a pandemic of any size. Joke's on me.
We do not use any carpet In any of our rentals anymore If we are doing a make ready. From time to time we will put carpet in some of our flips, because it’s faster and cheaper. We have zero carpet in our personal residence.
I haven't bought anything except for wood, tile, and stone for going on six years now. Doubtless that will change once I stop doing my own floors. But who knows? Ten years ago, going through infection control classes with my wife, I became certain that carpet would be as GONE in this country as it is in Europe after a pandemic of any size. Joke's on me.
We do not use any carpet In any of our rentals anymore If we are doing a make ready. From time to time we will put carpet in some of our flips, because it’s faster and cheaper. We have zero carpet in our personal residence.
What kind of flooring do you use the most of?
I wouldn't recommend my strategy to anyone not in my shoes, that of a handyman landlord building a small, tight portfolio in single-family and small multifamily in a Rust Belt city. I rent pet-friendly apartment and houses in not-so-nice neighborhoods mostly to medical workers: almost always nursing staff and housekeeping.
Pittsburgh has a lot of old houses in its urban residential neighborhoods. Most of it's junk. Some of it's very well-built stock from the 1920s and 1930s. My target area is especially rich in the well-built stock. These are old, almost always brick-veneer properties that have a lot of life left in them but have lacked the kind of maintenance they need, especially in recent years.
The subflooring in these houses is typically diagonal 1-inch pine plank and they were originally finished with 3/4-inch tongue-in-groove oak strip from end to end, bedrooms and bathrooms and kitchens alike. Most of the flooring I lay either replaces damaged oak strip in patches or in whole, or, generally in the case of kitchens, I rip up the flooring, put in 5/8 in exterior plywood sheathing, and lay tile over 1/4 in. cement board.
Let's talk about the tile: the reason I would not recommend this strategy to everyone is that it is labor intensive and takes time, and it's usually practically impossible to tell the difference from a tile floor installed over cement board that will last five years and one that will last fifty. Invariably, when you pay someone to lay floor tile in this town, they skimp on prep and mortar either because they don't know what they're doing or because they don't know any better. The cement-board method of laying tile is far easier than any former tile-laying method to compromise with a shoddy installation.
So my wife and I do our installations ourselves, and we end up with a vastly superior and tough product that we're quite happy about. We can also repair it rather easily and cheaply if the tenant does somehow manage to damage it. This is not at all the case if you have to pay for other people to install tile for you.
About the wood: there is no other flooring in common usage that will outlast 3x oil-poly coated 3/4-inch oak strip flooring. Oak strip with a thick layer of oil-based polyurethane stands up to heavy children's traffic, 100-pound dogs, hefty old crossdressers who love their stiletto heels and autoerotic asphyxiation off the closet rod, you name it. I refinish and repair it wherever I find it.
Rental Property Investor · Red Bank, NJ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
I have really taken to the lifeproof sterling oak in our renovations. Right now $2.99 a square foot. We have it in a few of our units and even shipped it overseas for personal units.
(+ Lowe's and HD give a 10% discount to veterans - that adds up)
Investor · Platte City, MO · Member since 2021 · 24 posts · 12 votes
4y
A month ago, I hunted and compared Lowe's, HD, and Menard's for LVP. Lowe's was actually the best bet for the cheaper (still great!) LVP, and had four options w plenty in-stock, then several more to order. Menard's didn't carry the product I think you're referring to. This is the click-plank foam-backed LVP--not peel-stick (I do HD, for that, just bc I'm there a lot more)
I think HD is always trying to funnel you into the higher-end stuff when it comes to vinyl flooring.
W/a few exceptions, I agree w @Joe Splitrock : Lowe's is over-priced and under-stocked. LVP is apparently an exception.
Lumber Liquidators may be an option--haven't ordered from them in years, but if you've got a smaller footprint, or just a few rooms, you can probably get everything you need same-day at Lowe's.
Rental Property Investor · East Aurora, NY · Member since 2017 · 19 posts · 17 votes
4y
@Joe S. I have had a lot of luck from Home Outlet which we have a few up here in Western New York. Looks like the closest one to you is near Victoria, TX. They got a great vinyl tile product that looks like real tile but goes down easy and fast. They got some nice neutral colors as well. I use the LVT that looks like tile in the bathrooms and kitchens
For the commons spaces and bedrooms we have been using linoleum product by Traffic Master called Natural Pecan. It’s is only $1.20/sf for the planks and lays down easy. I’ve got one rental of my own where this stuff has been down for over 5 years and is showing no signs quality issues.
I also buy some vinyl flooring planks from a local lumberyard/hardware store here in WNY with about 5 locations. They seems to have some quality flooring materials around the $2/sf. mark which should be sufficient for any average apartment.