Which vinyl plank brands are good and which are bad?
- Thread starter zannej
- Start date
Help Support Flooring Forum:
Nick
In Remembrance
More like scam artists . Wait a minute , that is a Lawyer . 
Nick
In Remembrance
It is not the same bamboo they eat .
I know, but its like word association.
Btw, any idea which of the vinyl plank things are known to have mdf or stuff that is vulnerable to moisture in them?
Are there any brands that make all or most of their floors without it?
Is Prosource an online store?
![MORE Luxury Vinyl Floor Cleaner for Vinyl Plank Flooring - Ready to Use, Daily Cleaning Formula for Tile, Vinyl Surfaces [Gallon / 128oz]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/413LZHZiqCL._SL500_.jpg)
zannej, in those photos I see major moisture issues. Those need to be addressed first.
I suspect the (Bruce) parquet is glued onto concrete?
I also suspect there is no vapor barrier under the concrete.
I will go way out on a limb and take a chance
............the home was built in 1963. Only the date stamped inside your toilet tank will verify what I just said.
I suspect the (Bruce) parquet is glued onto concrete?
I also suspect there is no vapor barrier under the concrete.
I will go way out on a limb and take a chance
............the home was built in 1963. Only the date stamped inside your toilet tank will verify what I just said.
Last edited:
highup, the house is older than that. My late plumber told me that its the second house put on this spot and that the original house burned down and this one was built some time in the 30s or 40s. It was originally one bedroom, one tiny bathroom, and a small kitchen. The area that used to be the porch is now the living room and they added two more bedrooms and bathrooms later on. So some of the stuff probably was added in the 50s or 60s though.
No concrete under the floor and its not glued down. If it ever was glued down, the glue died a loooong time ago. It's some kind of wood underneath-- I'll try to get a picture of the spot where some of the floor came up after major moisture damage (lost power from a hurricane and all of the frozen stuff in the freezer and refrigerator melted and soaked the floor). We also had a problem with the water supply to the refrigerator leaking. And very horrible tenants. The floor was in bad shape when we came back from overseas. The tenants totally destroyed the flooring in the hallway and laundry room.
Near the refrigerator, the flooring buckled up and pieces started popping out. We know its not glued because the other adjacent pieces can slide.
To add insult to the poor floor, my elderly cat decided that the floor in front of the sink was her litterbox so, I'm pretty sure some of the moisture damage is from her urinating there.
Another factor is that my brother never cleans up spills so when he spilled liquid on the floor he just left it to soak in to the wood. I once mopped it with Pledge about 12 years ago, but it didn't seem to help.
The toilets from the bathrooms that were later additions have been thrown out-- but one of them was avocado green.
You are correct that there is no moisture barrier though.
Other than the porch and the supports, the house has no concrete. Its wood frame up on supports with the underside of the house open.
No concrete under the floor and its not glued down. If it ever was glued down, the glue died a loooong time ago. It's some kind of wood underneath-- I'll try to get a picture of the spot where some of the floor came up after major moisture damage (lost power from a hurricane and all of the frozen stuff in the freezer and refrigerator melted and soaked the floor). We also had a problem with the water supply to the refrigerator leaking. And very horrible tenants. The floor was in bad shape when we came back from overseas. The tenants totally destroyed the flooring in the hallway and laundry room.
Near the refrigerator, the flooring buckled up and pieces started popping out. We know its not glued because the other adjacent pieces can slide.
To add insult to the poor floor, my elderly cat decided that the floor in front of the sink was her litterbox so, I'm pretty sure some of the moisture damage is from her urinating there.
Another factor is that my brother never cleans up spills so when he spilled liquid on the floor he just left it to soak in to the wood. I once mopped it with Pledge about 12 years ago, but it didn't seem to help.
The toilets from the bathrooms that were later additions have been thrown out-- but one of them was avocado green.
You are correct that there is no moisture barrier though.
Other than the porch and the supports, the house has no concrete. Its wood frame up on supports with the underside of the house open.
I couldn't have been further off in my guestimation.
LOL. It's ok. Its hard to tell just from photos. I live in a very humid climate and the air conditioner in the house was built by a company that went out of business in 1972 or 73. It was half dead by the time we got back and we finally replaced it a few years back.
I think I was wrong. Maybe there was previously glue underneath, but it is looong dead.
That's a spot near the fridge where the stuff just popped up and fell apart.
On the bright side, my elderly cat hasn't been going on that floor now that I got her to find a different spot to sleep. She's on my lap right now.
Any advice on getting a dried on thick latex paint spill off of the floor? I got a paint scraper and it barely put a dent in it. I don't want to try any harsh chemicals because my cats like to come investigate and get in the way. I wonder if rubbing alcohol would do anything.. I know that would repel the cats.
I think I was wrong. Maybe there was previously glue underneath, but it is looong dead.
That's a spot near the fridge where the stuff just popped up and fell apart.
On the bright side, my elderly cat hasn't been going on that floor now that I got her to find a different spot to sleep. She's on my lap right now.
Any advice on getting a dried on thick latex paint spill off of the floor? I got a paint scraper and it barely put a dent in it. I don't want to try any harsh chemicals because my cats like to come investigate and get in the way. I wonder if rubbing alcohol would do anything.. I know that would repel the cats.
LOL. It's ok. Its hard to tell just from photos. I live in a very humid climate and the air conditioner in the house was built by a company that went out of business in 1972 or 73. It was half dead by the time we got back and we finally replaced it a few years back.
I think I was wrong. Maybe there was previously glue underneath, but it is looong dead.
That's a spot near the fridge where the stuff just popped up and fell apart.
On the bright side, my elderly cat hasn't been going on that floor now that I got her to find a different spot to sleep. She's on my lap right now.
Any advice on getting a dried on thick latex paint spill off of the floor? I got a paint scraper and it barely put a dent in it. I don't want to try any harsh chemicals because my cats like to come investigate and get in the way. I wonder if rubbing alcohol would do anything.. I know that would repel the cats.
Use paint remover! It only takes a few minutes to soften the paint and then scrape it up. Then give the area a good wash. Lock the cat in a bedroom for that time.
Daris
Hmm.. Maybe I can put the rabbit run down around the area and try the paint remover... I have 14 cats so corralling them all in to one place is something I've never accomplished. There are no animal shelters in my area that take cats so we rescued a few and ended up with more than we bargained for.
Do you think the old glue (or what I think might be old glue) needs to be removed? I basically plan on doing a moisture barrier and underlayment before some vinyl plank..
And I just got an e-mail from surplus warehouse about a special on flooring. gonna have to check that out. LOL.
Thank you for the advice. I'll have to look for paint remover next time I'm at the store.
Weird. I don't think I ever saw old linoleum like that.
I took a pic of a friend's floor when he was taking up the top layer that got ruined:
That was some interesting flooring.. I said to him "That looks like floor you'd find in a little old lady's house" and he said "This house belonged to my Gramma".
I took a pic of a friend's floor when he was taking up the top layer that got ruined:
That was some interesting flooring.. I said to him "That looks like floor you'd find in a little old lady's house" and he said "This house belonged to my Gramma".
I hope its ok to necro this post of mine. I think I've heard that Allure flooring from the big box stores was crappy.
I'm trying to tell the difference between vinyl plank and "luxury" vinyl plank. I want to get click-lock stuff that is vinyl or plastic all the way through so it won't have any mdf or hdf or stuff that can swell up if any water manages to get in. I saw something called Coretech and then there was smartcore and then another kind called INNocore that basically had the same stuff as Coretch but was less expensive.
I've heard some brands tend to delaminate, and I need something sturdy. Need to put it in the kitchen, dining room (part of the kitchen) two hallways, and laundry room. The floor in one of the hallways is a bit warped so I might have to use some self-leveling stuff on it. there was one type that had cork on the bottom and I was told by someone who was selling it that it was waterproof but I don't think I believe them.
Is it better to get the kind with built-in underlayment?
I'm trying to tell the difference between vinyl plank and "luxury" vinyl plank. I want to get click-lock stuff that is vinyl or plastic all the way through so it won't have any mdf or hdf or stuff that can swell up if any water manages to get in. I saw something called Coretech and then there was smartcore and then another kind called INNocore that basically had the same stuff as Coretch but was less expensive.
I've heard some brands tend to delaminate, and I need something sturdy. Need to put it in the kitchen, dining room (part of the kitchen) two hallways, and laundry room. The floor in one of the hallways is a bit warped so I might have to use some self-leveling stuff on it. there was one type that had cork on the bottom and I was told by someone who was selling it that it was waterproof but I don't think I believe them.
Is it better to get the kind with built-in underlayment?
All coretec. All hard. All night. Often imitated never duplicated.
Thanks, Ken. I was reading somewhere that there actually was some Coretec that had problems with delamination and that the company had recalled a bunch of stuff, but that they figured out how to make it better.
I'll have to find out if any stores in my general area sell it, as I've never seen it, so I can look at the color options. Do you know of any good websites that sell coretec so I can look at what is available to get a general idea?
Edit: I've seen some on USfloors. Is it exclusive to that site?
I also forgot to mention that we need to keep it under $4 / sqft (and that is if it comes with underlayment attached). Sans underlayment we'd like it under $3 if possible.
I'll have to find out if any stores in my general area sell it, as I've never seen it, so I can look at the color options. Do you know of any good websites that sell coretec so I can look at what is available to get a general idea?
Edit: I've seen some on USfloors. Is it exclusive to that site?
I also forgot to mention that we need to keep it under $4 / sqft (and that is if it comes with underlayment attached). Sans underlayment we'd like it under $3 if possible.
Last edited:
