Newbie Dazed Over Flooring Types - HELP!

[markdeneen1948]

Bought a house which has totally worn out kitchen/bath/laundry flooring. It is old sheet vinyl.

We went shopping and I am dazed a bit by the lack of knowledge from the store personnel.

WHAT I WANT
1/ A very hard and durable surface with NO GROUT (ever). I like the look of hospital floors - is that "linoleum" or "vinyl"?

2/ We detest the faux wood photos printed on 99% of the sheet vinyl we see offered in the stores. It looks grotesquely fake and boring. We would like an off white with color splashes in it.

3/I'm not keen on the thick, cushy, "congoleum" stuff that is being pushed by every store. I prefer a kinf of hard surface - again, like a hospital floor.

So, we discovered Armstrong Excellon 12" tiles and thought we had a winner. BUT, then installers are saying it is wickedly expensive to install. Is it really?

Then we considered what seem to be called "peel and stick" tiles, but c'mon, is that really how it installed? I want something that will last 15 years. Stick on? But I like the surface of some of that tile.

20 years ago, when we last bought flooring, they had really nice colorful sheet vinyl, that was not soft and cushy, and did not have horrible cheap looking lithography. It was generally used in kitchens all over the place. That stuff seems to have disappeared? It usually had mosaic and tile patterns.

What's a great (non-wood) looking floor at a middle of the road price?

 

[DarisMulkin]

Look into commercial grade sheet goods. They are out there, but finding a pattern to your liking may be trying.



Daris

 

[highup]

They are durable for sure (Excellon) But a lot of hard surfaced floors, commercial tile or sheet goods need to be waxed. Linolium will probably need to be waxed too, but acrylic waxes, of which most are aren't easy to strip off of lino because the stripper is stronger than the linoleum. Lino and installation isn't cheap............. any you will need a very good installer.
Armstrong sheet vinyls used to have a finish called tough guard. If they still make that finish, it's a pretty rough one. Be aware that all vinyl flooring will require plywood or some hard surface covering it when moving appliances............ especially wheeled ones like a fridge has.

 

[Ernesto]

I'm wondering about the installers who said armstrong tiles are expensive to install. Traditionally VCT has been the cheapest flooring to install.
Problems with that is the old vinyl needs to be torn out. Or install a new subfloor over it.And depending on age it could have asbestos in it so could be dangerous to remove. Look up asbestos vinyl removal.
You can float a vinyl plank over it. Vinyl planks come in a wood look or tile look and the surface is just as durable as commercial vinyl.

 

[Nick]

 

[Ernesto]

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