We’re replacing about 500 square feet of carpeting and linoleum flooring on one floor of our house. We have 2 young kids and a dog. In my research, it sounds like Vinyl flooring is the way to go over hardwood flooring in this case. The floor below this level is a basement with exposed ceiling showing the subfloor of the level we’re redoing. It all looks to be in good shape form that angle.

We’ve shopped Menards and Home Depot, also a contractor pointed us to the Coretec brand of luxury vinyl flooring. But that might be a bit out of our price range and we found a “wood grain/color” that would look great, in the LifeProof. Anyone have any experience with the Home Depot LifeProof brand? Or Vinyl flooring in general? Any thoughts or input is appreciated. This is also my first flooring experience. I’m very handy and have done everything from plumbing, framing, to electrical.

We are having to replace very old floor due to flooding and we are stuck with what the insurance will pay for. They are supposed to replace with something comparable. What we have was there when we bought the house but I can say that it probably was very close to the cheapest available 16 years ago, BUT somehow it still seems to be far more durable than what we are reading about all of the vinyl sheeting out there today. I don't know if this is accurate, but I can take a piece of this stuff and ROLL IT INTO A TUBE without it breaking! had to cut it off with a knife to get the sample. However, even the contractor says all vinyl sheeting today is crappy and the reviews all include consumers who say theirs ripped from every day use, very very quickly (less than a year). I also have a relative who had this happen to her. I do not know where to go from here.

I need my kitchen put back together but it's going to be super hard to convince the insurance company to pay for a different kind of floor unless I can explain/prove that what's out there today just isn't the same.

Meanwhile, if it were available, I'd prefer vinyl sheeting because it's softer and easier on the joints plus no cracks in the floor means I don't have to worry about food getting in the cracks when this old house settles. (it's from the 50s and the floor is not level anymore, and especially now that they are rebuilding a joist and one corner of the kitchen is jacked up!)