Currently my home is tile everywhere except bedrooms which have a 15 year old Berber that has survived 2 kids and about 6 dogs. It has held up better than expected and been well cared for but it is time to do something new.

We know we do not want tile and hardwood is out of budget. We are torn between laminate and LVP. Our requirements are that is much be dog friendly and would prefer something we can steam mop.

Any advice/opinions would e appreciated!

I have over 2K sq.ft. of LVP installed in my new (old) home (including the kitchen) and have zero regrets.

It's durable, waterproof, great warranty, and easy enough to replace a plank in a floating floor if ever necessary.

-Rob

Close friend just installed Kahrs engineered hardwood throughout most of their house nearly a year ago, it looks spectacular. Very modern, easy to clean, haven't had any warping or, buckling issues and most important, his wife is quite happy. They've got a very active Australian running around with along with a toddler, scratches and moisture has been a non-issue.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
I have over 2K sq.ft. of LVP installed in my new (old) home (including the kitchen) and have zero regrets.

It's durable, waterproof, great warranty, and easy enough to replace a plank in a floating floor if ever necessary.

-Rob

Am I correct in that with LVP you do not need an additional underlayment as it is already attached?

The best test I've found for any flooring is to get a sample piece to take home. Next, make a deep scratch in it with a knife or screwdriver and see how it looks. Finally, put the sample piece in a bin with water so it's held underwater for a day.

Many supposedly waterproof flooring fell apart. Most scratched were bright white under the surface.

quote:

Originally posted by bryan11:
The best test I've found for any flooring is to get a sample piece to take home. Next, make a deep scratch in it with a knife or screwdriver and see how it looks. Finally, put the sample piece in a bin with water so it's held underwater for a day.

Many supposedly waterproof flooring fell apart. Most scratched were bright white under the surface.

Funny, I am doing that right now with some laminate samples as well as wiping my feet on them with dirt/mud

I have laminate in my bedrooms and it has held up perfectly. The key is to go with a top of the line underlayment. Makes a huge difference, no movement or creeks and groans. I have a 90lb Doberman and no marks on it.

I installed Manington Adura LVP in my upstairs in 2011, and just did my basement last summer. I don't have kids or dogs, but I do have fully clawed cats and have never noticed scratches from them. The scratches I do get mostly come from furniture pushing debris(rocks mainly) across the surface. I have not noticed any scratches downstairs yet. Upstairs scratches are fixed with hardwood floor color pens or a sharpie and then wiping with a paper towel. I am still amazed at how easy it is to fix them and I've had some pretty good ones. YMMV...

Mannington Adura Max Acacia African Sunset


Mannington Adura Rigid Iron Hill Fireside

Another vote for Luxury Vinyl Plank. Just did 3 bedrooms. Was talking to a flooring guy when I picked it up. I asked him why he chose LVP. He said it only takes one good spill to damage laminate. He had been using LVP for the past 8 years when I spoke with him and won't use anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevmo:
We are torn between laminate and LVP. Our requirements are that is much be dog friendly and would prefer something we can steam mop.

You shouldn't steam mop either one. Save the steam mop for the tile areas.

If you're dead-set on being able to steam mop it, check out the wood-look tile flooring:

I've recently done about 6000 sq foot of LVP. Great product to work with. Only drawback is that of any floating floor in that you have gaps at all edges. Need to make sure you can cover with trim or something. I personally like the feel of it over laminate.

Just completed 1200 feet of LVP. Did it all on my own. Came out great. Mighty fine product. Dog seems to do fine with it.

We have laminate in our upstairs living room and hall. I got it cheap as Home Depot was discontinuing the color. The Pergo Laminate is a snap together system which I thought was great at the time of install. The flooring has held up well considering the abuse it sees from the kids and dog.
Fast forward a few years and I had a contractor install 900 square feet of the Mannington LVP running in the wrong direction on a project we were building. He chose to order new vs reuse. I took the flooring home and it’s now residing in our basement and I absolutely prefer it over the laminate we have upstairs. I skimped and didn’t do any floor prep prior to installing it on our basement floor, however that didn’t change how the floor turned out. Being that it’s glue down it molds to the floor and doesn’t feel hollow like you have with a floating style floor. It’s also not as cold underfoot as the laminate.

IMO stick with an LVP in a glue down format. Keep in mind that the glue you choose will have a big impact as well. Stick with a pressure sensitive as it will make changing of damaged planks much easier in the future. It’s also what we install in 95% of the homes we are building currently.

We got vinyl plank throughout. We have a GSW that is about 75 lbs nd a 12 yo boy....surprisingly the vinyls doesn’t show any scratches....ours is similar to rouge’s but is a grey color.

In our two other homes we had a combo of oak and Berber carpet....the oak shows scratches from the dog and the carpet isn’t good after a few years (we paid a pro to shampoo annually)

If we ever get a different home it will have the vinyl.