Vinyl Plank Flooring for Rental Properties

[Kyle Mccaw]

Vinyl Plank Flooring for Your Rental Property

When it comes to deciding on the flooring options for your rental property there are a few things to take into consideration. Carpeting may be your initial answer, but it isn’t the most durable option on the market today. You want something that is going to be cost effective, something that is durable enough to last, and you need something that is going to look great to bring in that dream tenant!

Vinyl plank flooring is a great choice to place in your common areas, such as your living room and hallways, as well as wet areas like your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. There are three different options to choose from when selecting vinyl plank for your rental property.

Peel and Stick Vinyl Plank Flooring

Peel and stick vinyl is the cheapest option when it comes to vinyl plank flooring. Although we do not recommend using this, it is used often because of the cost effectiveness. There are a few problems when using this option on your flooring:

• Unless your floor is absolutely perfect and level, you will be able to see every bump, groove, and lump through the thin vinyl plank.
• The backing, which is supposed to stick to the floor, doesn’t always stick. This will cause parts of the flooring to curl or stick up.

You may think to put this type of flooring in to save some money, but in the long run, you’ll end up spending more replacing planks that have not been secured properly or just show too much of an irregular floor.

Glue Down Vinyl Plank Flooring

The glue down version of vinyl plank is slightly thicker than the peel and stick version. You can purchase a wide variety of styles in the glue down version — even a textured wood plank which is very popular today in home design. Laying this type of flooring is a bit more labor intensive, but the outcome is worth the extra time it takes to lay it. Benefits of glue down vinyl plank:

• Thicker plank
• Lasts longer than peel and stick
• Variety of looks and textures
• Easy clean
• Simple to replace one plank if needed

Out of the three options, this is the one we use the most. It is cost efficient and durable. The variety of styles it comes in allows you to choose the best one to go with the overall look and feel of the house.

Click Lock Vinyl Plank Flooring

Click lock is the thickest vinyl planks available, and also one of the more expensive. However, it is still more cost efficient than throwing a carpet down that will need to be stretched, steam cleaned or replaced in a short amount of time. The backing on some of the click lock planks is cork which gives it the ability to hide the imperfections of the floor as well as muffle sound in the room a bit. All in all, this is an excellent choice if you don’t mind spending a bit more on the flooring. Here are a few reasons we like to use this style in our higher end rental properties:

• Hides imperfections of the floor
• Sound muffled slightly by backing
• Realistic, stunning look
• Waterproof

Out of the three, click lock vinyl plank flooring is the best quality, however, depending on your circumstances you may prefer to use the other options. We mainly use the glue down version in a lot of our rental properties, but there are times when the click lock is what needs to be put down.