2mm vinyl plank flooring hold up good?

Question

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?

Will F. · Answer

@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?

DJ Johnson · Answer

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.

DJ Johnson · Answer

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.

Will F. · Answer

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

Joel A. · Answer

Lumber liquidators. They have the best prices that I've seen.

DJ Johnson · Answer

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.

Chris Martin · Answer

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.

Joel A. · Answer

@Chris Martin

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?

Chris Lieder · Answer

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.

Chris Martin · Answer

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.

2mm vinyl plank flooring hold up good?

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