As I’ve been gearing up to renovate the Kid’s/Guest bathroom I’ve been considering several different options for new flooring. As I’ve searched I’ve been very impressed by what I have seen in the vinyl flooring arena.
Over the years it seems vinyl has gotten a bad reputation in the design world for being outdated and weak on the scale of durability. You may be surprised when you learn these following myth busters regarding vinyl flooring.
1). Vinyl flooring is outdated and unattractive.
Vinyl flooring has come a long way in both looks and durability. I think for many people the term vinyl flooring conjures up images of one giant seamless sheet of vinyl rolled out onto the floor. However, this is only one type of vinyl flooring.
Two more contemporary vinyl options are vinyl tiles and vinyl planks. Vinyl tiles are pre cut square pieces of vinyl that usually come in 12x 12 inch or 18 x18 inch sizes. They are often designed to mimic the visual appearance of ceramic or other stone tiles.
Over the past 5-8 years vinyl tiles have increased in popularity and it’s realistic appearance. There are even vinyl tiles available that can be grouted in the same manner that ceramic tile would be grouted.
(TrafficMASTER Allure Ultra Aspen White Oak)
A great “wood” vinyl option can be found, Here! (affiliate link used for your convenience).
2). All vinyl flooring is created equal.
This is not so! Vinyl flooring varies in quality and durability. The durability of vinyl hangs on two factors, the thickness of the vinyl and the finish. Thinner vinyl will wear more quickly. Hence, in most cases the thicker the vinyl the better the quality.
Vinyl also has levels of durability based on the surface finish. For example, some vinyl has no finish, others a urethane finish, and the most protective finish is called enhanced urethane. 
via Pinterest
It is important to pay close attention to these characteristics of vinyl as well manafacturer warranties and customer reviews when searching for durable vinyl.
3). Installing vinyl flooring should be left to the pros.
No way, especially with all of the stick and peel options out there this is totally a do it yourself project you can tackle even if you are a beginner. In fact other than painting walls this was my very first DIY project ever! It came about 9 years ago when i was using the bathroom at a friend’s house. 🙂 I liked her flooring and asked her about it. She told me she had used peel and stick vinyl tiles and had done it herself.
What? I had no idea this even existed! So when we bought our first home a couple of years later and the master bathroom had 13 year old vinyl sheet flooring that had become worn and dingy so I asked her more about it. She told me all she did was clean the previous floors really well and then use good scissors and an exacto knife to cut the vinyl tiles when going around the toilet, sink, and walls.
In tricky spots like the toilet you can use a 12×12 piece of paper as a template to draw the line around it and then trace it onto the vinyl tile (or you could lift the toilet if you know how). Anyways, here’s some links to how to lay a variety of vinyl tiles. Just know it’s definitely doable!
Video tutorial on laying Peel N’ Stick Tile
Video Tutorial on laying dry back Tile
Video Tutorial on laying a floating Vinyl Plank floor
4). Vinyl flooring is a less expensive option to tile and laminate floorings.
Surprisingly not always! Perhaps for a very basic sheet of vinyl or a solid color vinyl tile but not necessarily for some of the better quality look-a-likes.
I did score some vinyl peel and stick tiles at Home Depot clearanced at 33 cents a square feet to do my current master bathroom floors. One of the best $20 I’ve ever spent!
Before
After
It is a great quality laminate and even a friend with very expensive taste thought it was tile! But that was lucky, most of the nicer quality vinyl will be closer to the $2 and up range.
5) If vinyl isn’t a lot cheaper than other options then there is no reason to purchase it.
Vinyl actually has some great intrinsic qualities. Personally I prefer it over tile for several reasons. One, is it is easier on the foot. You can call me a pansy but I don’t like the hard feel of tile as well as how cold it gets in the winter (go ahead say it, I can take it) 🙂 I feel vinyl is more comfortable to walk on barefoot for these reasons.
Also with children I worry with falls that they could become injured if they hit their head on tile. Vinyl seems like a softer, less dangerous material to me. In addition tile requires more upkeep and maintenance. Right now we have tile throughout our foyer, kitchen, and half bath. In a few areas the grout has become cracked and chipped away (as shown below) and needs repair.
In addition, compared to laminates and woods it does better holding up to moisture and to nicks from dog nails and other wear.
Lastly, although vinyl may not necessarily be less expensive as tile and laminate it is easier to install. So if you are able to install it yourself than you do save money by going the vinyl route vs. the tile or laminate route.
I hope this post on myth busters of vinyl has been helpful! Do you have experience with vinyl? Do share!
UPDATE: I ended up going with Oyster Travertine peel and stick vinyl tiles in our Kids/Master Bathroom and love it! You can see it in action here!:-)
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Great information, Tamara! Thank you!
My pleasure! 😉
I have to admit, I had believed some of the myths to be true. I am amazed at how realistic the vinyl hardwood floors look! Thanks for setting the record straight 🙂
I know right, vinyl has come along way in recent years! As always thanks for stopping by, Jennifer!!
I want to say that I put self stick tile in my basement 40 years ago. It has seen 2 floods and power washed both times and it is still sticking. So what ever they say it works and that was probably a new thing not like they have now.
Thanks for sharing, Shirley! Being flood resistant is a pretty cool feature!
We have armstrong vinyl in our foyer, it looks like slate and is very durable. It was NOT cheaper than stone/slate, but it is durable, beautiful and low maintenance. Thanks for this post!
I love the ones that mimic slate. I bet it looks great! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!
Very helpful information. We will be redoing our bathroom soon and I have been looking at several flooring options to replace our old vinyl sheet floor.
Barb, yep that is what we had in our master bathroom which I ended up being thankful for because it was so easy to lay the new peel and stick vinyls right over it. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I installed Allure vinyl flooring in my kitchen last year, this year continued it into my dining room. After previously having porcelain tile, the vinyl is much nicer feeling and looks amazing too. The best part is that I was able to install it myself.
Thanks for sharing your experience with it, Mel!!
Does using vinyl affect your ability to sell your house later on?!? I was thinking about using it to replace the laminate in my living/dining room area (I have a dog and laminate is a pain with the dog) but I’m afraid I’d have to redo it if I went to sell my house sometime in the future
That’s a great question, Katie! I think a realtor would best be able to answer that question. However, I think one of the most attractive things to a potential buyer is that the home is updated and visually appealing. My personal opinion is that if you are using a good quality vinyl that mimics the appearance of stone, tile, or wood planks that you will be improving the look of your home and hence the likelihood of it’s sell. Great question!
We are planning to use the same Allure flooring in our bathroom as well – but as flooring newbies, I was wondering how you’re planning to install it – any extra precautions for water, or just lay it down and go?
Great post!
Hi, Becca, great question! Vinyl is very water resistant so you won’t need any kind of underlayment. I’ve always just made sure the floor underneath is clean and then I start peeling and sticking. Remember to leave about a 1/4 inch space when you get to the walls because with changing temperatures the vinyl will expand and contract. When you are all done it looks really nice to add a quarter round moulding trim against the baseboard. It hides the 1/4 inch gap and gives a professionally finished look. Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
I miss vinyl floors. They were warmer and softer than the tile and granite I have now. Also, anything that gets dropped on the tile gets broken. I’ve lost lots of glasses, dishes, Christmas ornaments and IPhone screens to my tile floors. Viva La Vinyl!
Good point, Theresa! I’ve lost some glass items on my tile too :-(. Thanks for stopping by!!
This is exactly what I needed to hear. We are currently deciding on flooring. We were iffy on the type but after reading this I think it’s a no-brainer.
Christina, glad you got some clarity on your decision!
Great post! We put Trafficmaster Allure vinyl “wood” planks in our bathroom and love it! The look of wood without the worry and hassle.
I appreciate you sharing your experience with it, Erin!!
Great information; thank you! I’ve seen some vinyl flooring these days that’s really attractive and am thinking about redoing our hall bath, which is currently a shrine to the 1990s.
My dad told me a trick about replacing vinyl (the kind on a roll, not the tiles) for a small room: Tear out the old flooring and use it as a pattern to cut the new vinyl in one piece to the exact dimensions — assuming the new vinyl is wide enough. Then you can lay the new in one fell swoop! He did this once for a laundry room with a connected powder room and closet — all in once piece!
That’s a great trick, Nancy! I hadn’t heard of that one! Thanks so much for taking the time to share it!! 🙂
I totally agree with all of your points! We have vinyl in our bathrooms, and we really like it. No one can tell it’s vinyl. They always think it’s tile until I show them and they have to practically put their nose to the floor to tell.
I loved hearing your experience with vinyl! Thanks for sharing!!
2 years ago we remodeled our kitchen. I put in vinyl that looked like ceramic tile. My sister and husband came for the kitchen reveal, and my brother in law said, we need new flooring in our kitchen but not stone tiles. I said , it is not stone tiles , it is vinyl. It was not the stick and peel but floor to floor length vinyl . I just could not pick out what I liked and I got a swatch and my two daughter’s picked my floor. No regrets , love it and the up keep is great! Found your blog looking for designs to add on an overhead at our front door. Thanks
Linda, thanks s much for sharing!! We had wall to wall ceramic tile looking vinyl in our kitchen in our previous home and loved it too! So easy to clean.:-)
DiD you do it right over the old flooring or did you rip that up first?
I’ve always just installed it right over the old flooring (which has always been vinyl sheets). Thanks for your question, Leshia!
I put the Allure hickory in my old house as what started as a bathroom remodel. After 6 months we took all the carpet out and put it down in the whole house. I loved it and it’s extremely pet friendly. When we sold our house it and stainless appliances is what most of the lookers commented on. We are about to use it again in our new house.
Thanks for sharing your experience with it, Tammy!
This is a little off subject but in the bathroom photo above, what type of countertop did you use? That bathroom shown above with the peel and stick oyster travertine is my exact bathroom and vanity. I need to replace the mauve tile countertops in my master bathroom desperately!
Hi there! The countertops were already there. They are cultured marble which is very different from marble. Cultured marble is A LOT more affordable!:-)
Is grouting required for the vinyl tiles?
Great question, Amber! No, grouting is not required for vinyl tiles! There are some vinyl tiles like the ones I installed in my kids bathroom that you can grout if you want in order to make appear more like ceramic tile but I never have grouted vinyl tile and have still loved the results!!:-)
I put vinyl tile and grouted it in my kitchen and it looks so good. I knew I couldn’t afford the marble flooring I wanted and did find anything else I liked. I was really surprised when I saw the sample at Lowe’s of it grouted and knew it would make a nice “for now” floor for me. Once it was in I LOVE it. I’ve lived in my house a little over a year and I still love it.
Your floors sound awesome, Andi! Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
I just finished installing floating vinyl plank flooring in my kitchen. The worst part was waiting more than 8 weeks for it to arrive in the store. My kitchen floor is beautiful and everyone that has seen it thinks it’s real wood.
Next, I have picked out the oyster travertine vinyl peel and stick tiles for the bathrooms and entry hall and laundry room.
Thanks for this post as I enjoyed reading all about the advancements in vinyl.
Thanks for sharing, Lisa! Great job at installing your new kitchen floors!! We have the Oyster travertine in our kids/guest bathroom and love it! Excited for you to install yours!:-)
Well, I am so glad to have stumbled upon this blog. I to am a do it yourself girl. I am not afraid to try to do the job myself. .we have purchased our wonderful generic dominion home 9 years ago and now that the kids are about grown-up and I have more time I decided it was time to update the house. Boy when I found the peel and stick vinyl planks on clearance (3 boxes for $50) I was giddy with excitement.well the guy at Lowe’s tried to get me to pull up the old vinyl and get all the extra stuff “required ). I thought nope, I will try it my way. Really it couldn’t have gotten any worse than the existing 17 year old vinyl lol. So I cleaned up the floor really good, laid the new floor and since I didn’t take the baseboards of, I finished the job with 1/4 rounds. I was until now afraid I did it wrong, however the floor looks great and everyone thinks it is real hardwood lol. So yes this is definitely a great way to update your house without the expense of hiring someone.
Way to go, Katrin!! Sounds like we are two peas in a pod!:-)
Floors look great! I actually have a question about your vanity. How did you paint between the tub and vanity? I have a vanity that isn’t right up against a tub but the space is also too small for me to get into. It’s like the couldn’t decide! Thanks!!
Hi, Puna, hmmm sounds like a tricky scenario! Are they so close together that the side of the vanity cannot be seen?