Developers, home flippers - please stop with the luxury vinyl planks on main levels

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd have continued the hardwoods down from the upstairs, really wouldn't have cost much for that one floor.

That said, the fact that it is LVP is less annoying than the fact that it is ugly LVP, and the wrong color.

Yes! There is a huge variety of LVP, some ugly, some (imo) beautiful.

When I was renovating my modest house, I ended up with LVP because I couldn't find an engineered hardwood (because I'm on a cement slab) with the look I wanted -- wide plank, light white oak, no sheen. That was popular on design blogs, but no local stores or contractors I spoke to had any idea where to source it. But then I found exactly what I wanted in LVP for -- bonus! -- $1.97 per sf. Here's a pic (with my dog blurred out).

It just looks like vinyl flooring in some kind of cheap Instagram set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want actual hardwood floors there's nothing stopping you from paying for them?

LVP costs $4 per square foot. Hardwood is $10 per square foot.

But the real issues is you can't find wood right now and flippers gotta flip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd have continued the hardwoods down from the upstairs, really wouldn't have cost much for that one floor.

That said, the fact that it is LVP is less annoying than the fact that it is ugly LVP, and the wrong color.

Yes! There is a huge variety of LVP, some ugly, some (imo) beautiful.

When I was renovating my modest house, I ended up with LVP because I couldn't find an engineered hardwood (because I'm on a cement slab) with the look I wanted -- wide plank, light white oak, no sheen. That was popular on design blogs, but no local stores or contractors I spoke to had any idea where to source it. But then I found exactly what I wanted in LVP for -- bonus! -- $1.97 per sf. Here's a pic (with my dog blurred out).

It just looks like vinyl flooring in some kind of cheap Instagram set.

Your home looks very pretty, PP, I hope you’re loving it!

[Anonymous]

Link to your light LVP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It looks nice in pictures, but I find it unsettling in person. An uncanny valley thing, I guess.

Why unsettling? Is it the look or the feel?

NV Homes is no longer offering hardwood in many of their developments, solely Rigid Core LVP (or carpet). As a PP said, I think it’s due to lack of availability rather than cost.

There's no hardwood shortage as far as I know.

Depends on the type. Some types of hardwoods are taken from old growth forests that are destroyed by the harvesting of the wood. In some cases (like South American forests) they are destroying ecosystems, burning land after harvesting the wood and destroying the ozone. In other cases, they are harvesting old growth forests and ecosystems and replacing with new growth, but at the cost of the wildlife and habitats. Additionally many of the new growth trees take many years to replace the natural CO to O2 conversion that the old growth trees which adds to climate change and ozone issues. As some old growth forests are destroyed for lumber, there are many breeds of animals and insects that are destroyed to extinction changing the Earth's ecosystem.

So, if you are purchasing renewable replenishable hardwoods, thats fine, but there are many high end hardwoods that commercial harvesting is doing irreparable hard to the planet. When purchasing hardwoods, you should make sure that you are purchasing sustainable hardwoods.

Here's one list of the most and least sustainable hardwoods (e.g. which ones to buy and which ones to avoid buying)
https://www.woodworkingtrade.com/most-sustainable-wood/

[Anonymous]

Bamboo and cork are both renewable and healthier, especially cork. Marmoleum isn't that expensive either, relative to good hardwood.

Cork and marmoleum are also period appropriate for a mid century home.

[Anonymous]

(I am a new poster, just realized someone else brought them up already.)

[Anonymous]

Not one damn thing wrong with LVP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was looking at some new builds with LVP all through. Why would anyone do that? Immediate no from me.

My builder just sold a house to people who insisted on installing the muddy gray LFV throughout their $2.2 M house. The builder and I tried everything to talk them out of it and use wood floors. It looks awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd have continued the hardwoods down from the upstairs, really wouldn't have cost much for that one floor.

That said, the fact that it is LVP is less annoying than the fact that it is ugly LVP, and the wrong color.

Yes! There is a huge variety of LVP, some ugly, some (imo) beautiful.

When I was renovating my modest house, I ended up with LVP because I couldn't find an engineered hardwood (because I'm on a cement slab) with the look I wanted -- wide plank, light white oak, no sheen. That was popular on design blogs, but no local stores or contractors I spoke to had any idea where to source it. But then I found exactly what I wanted in LVP for -- bonus! -- $1.97 per sf. Here's a pic (with my dog blurred out).

It just looks like vinyl flooring in some kind of cheap Instagram set.

An appropriate use of $1.97 per foot flooring. It compliments the Target and Homegoods decor as well as can be expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Luxury and vinyl are a contradiction in terms, especially for the environment.

So no.
[/quote

Yeah, I feel like people are enabling the encroachment of vinyl floors by calling them "luxury" anything. What's next, luxury Spam?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just looks like vinyl flooring in some kind of cheap Instagram set.

An appropriate use of $1.97 per foot flooring. It compliments the Target and Homegoods decor as well as can be expected.

I hope you two realize the only person you've embarrassed is yourself.

[Anonymous]

It wouldn't cost you a ton to rip it out and put in what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just looks like vinyl flooring in some kind of cheap Instagram set.

An appropriate use of $1.97 per foot flooring. It compliments the Target and Homegoods decor as well as can be expected.

I hope you two realize the only person you've embarrassed is yourself.

+1 What a jerk.

PP's house looks amazing.
I know people in very nice neighborhoods that have LVP on their main levels because their main levels are on concrete slabs. It makes practical sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want actual hardwood floors there's nothing stopping you from paying for them?

LVP costs $4 per square foot. Hardwood is $10 per square foot.

And LVP is awful for the environment. If people rip it out, it’s even more wasteful. It’s so gross.

Oh please. That's such an annoying classist thing to say. Are you saying the same to the wealthy folks who are tearing out perfectly serviceable kitchens in order to put in fancier stuff?

Or even worse, tearing down perfectly good 50 year old homes to build their monstrosities.

Yes, I also have concerns about people ripping out functional kitchens solely for cosmetic purposes or tearing down liveable homes just to put up something bigger.

Disliking vinyl is not classist. There are other greener, affordable options like cork, linoleum, and some types of carpet. I think a lot of people aren’t aware that it’s not good for the environment, so ultimately I blame flippers and the large rental buildings who seem to churn this stuff out more than the average consumer who is probably not as knowledgeable about flooring materials. This thread is about a flip, which is why I made this comment..

Also, I live in a smaller, older home and am repairing/replacing things as they break. No need to tear down and build a behemoth house. I find a lot of housing choices in our country to be wasteful and bad for the environment.

I am the one who said that this was classist - and I agree that lots of housing choices are bad for the environment. It just seems strange to single out LVP as the thing to harp on, in this tear out and throw out society. There are obvious reasons why people use it, and they may not be able to use cork or carpet, and I just cannot imagine who is putting lino into a flip when they have to appeal to as many people as possible.

Think of it this way - this was a good choice for the environment in the sense that no one tore down the house altogether, but just made some changes to an existing structure.

Isn’t this thread specifically about LVP and its common usage in flipped homes? Seems like an appropriate place to make a comment about it.