Vinyl Flooring: Am I Stupid For Thinking About It?

[Prototype]

So, I'll be starting a basement reno here right away, and a flyer caught my eye. While I'm somewhat familiar with hardwood, carpet and lino/leno, I never really heard anything about vinyl. I'm sure I've experienced it, but didn't realize it.

I'm looking at using it in a laundry room, kids play room, and a family room that's going to be kid friendly. We also have a smaller sized dog, which the floor is going to have to take on.

It seems to be quite an affordable option, but are there benefits over others that make it attractive? Or am I better off with carpet/lino/leno?

Anybody with experience (have/sell/etc) let me know.

[Nufy]

I would think that Vinyl on a basement floor would be super cold.....

Laundry room OK, but not where the kiddies / family would be playing.

[Otto-matic]

Carpet would probably be the best option for the kids room and family room, Invest in a steam vac though if you go with the carpet route. It makes clean ups so much easier and you can clean the floor when ever you want instead of renting a RugDocter.

Originally Posted by Nufy

I would think that Vinyl on a basement floor would be super cold.....

Laundry room OK, but not where the kiddies / family would be playing.

Good point. We went with carpet, so it had the underlay.

[Knalus]

Super hard floor, too. Go with a tight weave berber, except in the laundry room.

just my $0.02

[Shazam]

Berber sucks and is overrated for wear.

[Prototype]

I kinda assumed there'd be something to go under it to make it more kid friendly. I like the look of it... or the stuff I've seen, but it makes sense in specific areas only.

[photon]

Laminate with this stuff underneath:

http://www.basementsolutionsne.com/delta_flooring.html

We did that and it's great, doesn't feel clod and doesn't feel as hard as putting the laminate or carpet directly on the concrete.

Though I will say make sure and spend some time leveling out your floor.

EDIT: And for the storage and utility room we just painted the floor with a really good paint.

[Nage Waza]

If you go carpet, always get the best underlay possible.

[Caged Great]

Underlay is well over 50% of the comfort of the feel of the carpet. Even crappy feeling carpet can feel decent if you get a good underlay.

Personally, I would go for tile in the laundry room, and carpet for the other areas. Tile isn't much more expensive than Vinyl, but is considered an upgrade when/if you go to sell your house. Vinyl is usually the first thing that gets ripped up on a remodel.

[Russic]

I will never go pets + carpet again. I'd do what Photon suggests and go laminate.

[Wookie]

Also looking to do floors in basement, landing, laundry room, and living room / kitchen... Oh, no idea what to do.

[redforever]

Cork is a great alternative. Soft, warm, just as easy as laminate or vinyl to clean.

A lot of the patterns look just like wood, throw an area rug down in the family room and you will be real comfy.

[photon]

One cool thing I've used in a kitchen is lino tiles.. not the ones you stick down, but this is almost like laminate; the lino tiles have flaps on them with adhesives that stick to each other, so they overlap.. the whole thing makes a floating floor. Easy to install and looks great, they were very thick and seemed very sturdy.

Got it at Home Depot, cool stuff.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Personally, I would go for tile in the laundry room, and carpet for the other areas.

This is my advice as well. I've had experience with just about every type of flooring imaginable between my homes and my business and I don't think you can beat carpet with good underlay in a basement. You get the warmth and the comfort that none of the other choices can give you.

As for the laundry room, tile is great but you won't lose much as far as resale value if you use a sheet vinyl product in there.

[VladtheImpaler]

Went with laminate + good underlay in the basement = awesome. Never again will there be carpet in any house I live in. If you want the name of a superb floor guy who will do it cheap for cash (got my top 2 floors done with hardwood + the laminate in basement), PM me.

[ken0042]

In my basement bathroom I went with Tarkett for the flooring; on top of the subfloor. Looks and feels better than vinyl; as easy to maintain as vinyl; goes down easier (floating so no adhesive), and if you want to change it later on it will come up just as easy.

[Thor]

I'm with Vlad, I loathe carpet and he's exactly right about good underlay doing the trick with laminate.

Can't wait to live in Iceland again, where its rare to see carpet anywhere. Yay clean air in the home!

[algernon]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Went with laminate + good underlay in the basement = awesome. Never again will there be carpet in any house I live in. If you want the name of a superb floor guy who will do it cheap for cash (got my top 2 floors done with hardwood + the laminate in basement), PM me.

How thick was your underlay? I've seen 1/4" black underlay (supposed to cut down on sound transmission) for laminate, but I don't think I've seen thicker.

[Torrie the Whaler]

Vinyl Flooring health concerns:

Scientists find 'baffling' link between autism and vinyl flooring

Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit phthalates, are twice as likely to have autism, according to a new study by Swedish and U.S. researchers. Scientists call the discovery "intriguing and baffling." Experts suspect that genetic and environmental factors combine to cause autism, which has increased dramatically in children over the past 20 years.
[Mod edit- removed the rest; waiting for Torrie to post the link]