Have a B+ condo with carpet in living area that needs to be replaced-what's your favorite flooring? Do you stick with traditional colors (browns) or do tenants like the modern grey trend?

Hey Karen, I hope all is well.  Can't sleep; so, I'm up posting on BP.  Lot's of landlords on BP like laminated vinyl plank.  The big box stores and flooring companies all have it.  It looks excellent, has a long warranty, can stand up to water and just has a durable look and feel to it.  I am using a similar wood-look but sheet vinyl in C class units and the tenants love it.  Sheet vinyl would not be appropriate for B+ but you get the picture.  The LVP is everywhere now...apartment complexes, hospitals, doctor offices, schools, etc...are using the (commercial) glue down version.  Most people likely don't realize that it's a vinyl product...the technology has come a long way.

Regarding color, you can find the modern grey mixed with a little brown and have something both modern and timeless.  Below is the color that I am using.  It looks less rustic in real life.

Allure (Home Depot) vinyl planking.  Bought the cherry color when it was on sale at the Black Friday sale a few years ago (a couple of thousand feet of the stuff; still using it up).  We've also used the oak and I like that a little better as it seems to hide dirt better than the cherry which is darker.

Gail

Favorite flooring:
Unfinished/semi-finished basements: painted concrete. 

Kitchens/bath: Tile, vinyl plank if tile floor prep is cost prohibitive. Glue-down Sheet vinyl on class C kitchens. 

Hallways/living area: existing hardwood. Paint extremely bad condition hardwood a woodtone brown in class B-/C (looks better than in sounds) 

I'm ok with carpet for bedrooms. 

First thing I check is for hardwood under carpet. I've had great luck with sandless refinishing, and painting hardwood if it's the cheap thin kind in rough shape. 

Never use glueless sheet vinyl flooring: it will only last one tenant move-out. 

@Mike Dymski - that is absolutely gorgeous - what is the color?

@Michael Herr - thanks for the detailed advice; especially about not using glue-less sheet vinyl!

10 year Shaw Kitteredge (color = Fog).  It's sheet vinyl; so, likely not appropriate for B+ (although there is a big developer in our area that is putting it in new construction A-/B+ apartments).

Wide planks

I like the click together vinyl planks but they can get expensive so I usually go with laminate in areas other than kitchen and bath

@Mike Dymski Nice flooring. Where do you buy it and how much per linear foot?

@Shanequa J. RealFloors in Greenville, SC and pay $10.75/yard installed + $1.25/foot for shoe molding.  They are in and out of the unit in a few hours.  RealFloors is RediFloors in some other markets.  It's a standard Shaw 10 year product that most flooring companies likely sell or they will have some equivalent.  Can likely get it for less in larger markets or if you select an overseas product.  I'd prefer to use LVP but it's too expensive in my market for C+ or B- units.

Porcelain tile

Hi Karen,

Just want to make clear some confusion with my fellow posters. First LVT is NOT laminate so there is no such thing as a "laminate vinyl plank". There IS LVT that installs with a click lock style and those floors are great in most areas, though I would avoid them over any uninsulated and not properly vented crawlspace. Glue down using an adhesive is always a good floors though again I prefer an adhesive with a hard set and not a pressure sensitive that can be affected by temperature and other factors. The newer WPC/EVP core laminates are an upgrade to wood laminates, thicker but still has the same factors to consider if installing LVT click lock. Greys are just becoming popular in the Midwest to buy. East/West coast are always ahead of the trends. If you wish to install a click lock on upper stories look into a recommended acoustical pad to deaden the sound; thin , dense so as not to cause the product to unlock if walked on. Also get something with at least a 12 mil wearlayer AND a scratch resistant AO or ceramic finish over the wear layer.

Hope this helps

Has anyone tried the grout-able peel stick? 

I have a friend that has just put that in, and it looks really good, just got tenants in there so time will tell.

I do rehabs for an investor in Northwest Ga. 

He has used a lot of the groutable peel and stick.

It has held up really well and it looks awesome.

Originally posted by @Michael Herr :

Favorite flooring:
Unfinished/semi-finished basements: painted concrete. 

Kitchens/bath: Tile, vinyl plank if tile floor prep is cost prohibitive. Glue-down Sheet vinyl on class C kitchens. 

Hallways/living area: existing hardwood. Paint extremely bad condition hardwood a woodtone brown in class B-/C (looks better than in sounds) 

I'm ok with carpet for bedrooms. 

First thing I check is for hardwood under carpet. I've had great luck with sandless refinishing, and painting hardwood if it's the cheap thin kind in rough shape. 

Never use glueless sheet vinyl flooring: it will only last one tenant move-out. 

 Michael, do you have any pics of the Painted hardwood floors you have done?

Originally posted by @Michael Puwal :

Originally posted by @Michael Herr:

Favorite flooring:
Unfinished/semi-finished basements: painted concrete. 

Kitchens/bath: Tile, vinyl plank if tile floor prep is cost prohibitive. Glue-down Sheet vinyl on class C kitchens. 

Hallways/living area: existing hardwood. Paint extremely bad condition hardwood a woodtone brown in class B-/C (looks better than in sounds) 

I'm ok with carpet for bedrooms. 

First thing I check is for hardwood under carpet. I've had great luck with sandless refinishing, and painting hardwood if it's the cheap thin kind in rough shape. 

Never use glueless sheet vinyl flooring: it will only last one tenant move-out. 

 Michael, do you have any pics of the Painted hardwood floors you have done?

 I do not, but the pics probably wouldn't help anyway. It looks like a dark wood floor in a pic. Need to see it in person to tell it's paint. 

Originally posted by @Deren Huang :

Has anyone tried the grout-able peel stick? 

I have a friend that has just put that in, and it looks really good, just got tenants in there so time will tell.

 I sell that product. It works very well. The glue on the back is normally a contractor grade but be warned you must use a latex based FLOOR primer to control the dust and dirt on the floor prior to installation. I also recommend you rent a 100# roller to roll the floor with so you get the proper compression of the glue to make contact with the subfloor

@Charles Atkins

@Keith Lewis

On my next rehab I am going to try it out. Hopefully, It will be a good investment.

Thanks for the tips for the latex floor primer and roller.

It is a good product and looks beautiful.

We put some in a bath in one of the houses we did.

Had a R.E. agent that was picky as heck with finish materials.

We intentionally didn't mention it when he walked through the house.

He walked through and said everything looked great. We told him then.

He said, " Really, I didn't even notice it wasn't tile.

@Mike Dymski I was working on a commercial office remodel project, and we put in LVT in the kitchen breakroom. The carpenter's union rep stopped by and just about cited us for having the floor guys (not the union carpenters) installing wood flooring. But it wasn't wood at all, just looked like wood, it was that good! (but I don't remember the brand or anything now....)

Painted hardwood floors. I used Shaw vinyl plank click and snap flooring where I didn't have hardwood. 

This was before. I'm getting away from carpeting. 

@Julie Thevenow , I like the look. I was looking at some similar colored Vinyl Plank Flooring from BuildDirect.com. What thickness did you use?