Best pet friendly, waterproof laminate flooring for rentals????

Question

I have been putting “Cascade H2O” laminate flooring in my rentals with intention of keeping the rentals for long term and not having to replace the flooring too often. I’m wondering what other laminate flooring you prefer for rentals? I’m looking for quality that will hold up to the abuse of rentals. I try to be selective on the dogs living in the houses to try to keep the ware and tear down but “Cascade H2O” laminate just doesn’t seem to hold up with dogs. I know I could just do away with dogs in my rentals but I like catering to the type of renters with dogs. I’m looking at replacing carpet in another house and am hoping for some guidance on the next choice of laminate, any and all feedback is welcome.

Thanks 😄

JD Martin · Answer

This is what I use exclusively if I'm not refinishing an existing floor (old hardwood). I use Smartcore from Lowe's. It has a decent wear layer (12 mils) is thick enough to not flex like crazy and already has the underlayment attached. It is 100% waterproof, you can pick it up and relay it if you had to, and holds up nicely against scratches and things like that especially if you get something with a random pattern (I like a heavy wood grain look). I now have it in almost every rental; some I've had it in for 5 years now and it still looks like the day it went down.

Sharlene Mulchandani · Answer

@Reuben Rodriguez I too would recommend LVP flooring. It's easy to maintain and clean, making it very pet friendly.

Greg Weik · Answer

We use a product called "CoreTec", sold by Carpet Exchange.  We have it in our office (very high traffic, Denver, snow/slush/rain coming in frequently) and it holds up well.  I use it in my SFR rentals as well.  It's impact resistant, waterproof, but the downside is it is pretty easy to damage via scraping (like moving heavy furniture if people aren't careful.)

Tile can be a good option too, especially the newer woodgrain looking finishes, but only if it's installed perfectly.  Tile breaks easily over time if it's not installed on perfectly prepped surfaces.

Smart move, IMO, to go with solid flooring.  It looks better, shows better and lasts much longer.  I always try to convince my clients not to go with cheap carpet at turnover.

Amos Mainville · Answer

@Reuben Rodriguez

Laminate is a terrible choice. It's sawdust, glue, and a thin layer of plastic essentially.

Consider a waterproof vinyl plank product. I would also accompany it with pvc moulding and seal between the moulding and flooring. This creates a moppable urine resistant flooring system.

Jim K. · Answer

@Mak K.

Sewage backups will not affect vinyl flooring in the same way they would carpet, and certainly not in the same way they would MDF laminate flooring. You're not asking the right questions. You should go look up these types of flooring on the Web, and then specifically look at the differences between interlocking and glue-down luxury vinyl plank flooring and try to answer your questions yourself. If you can't, come back here and be more specific and informed in your questions. Some commentators here have immense expertise in what they tend to write about, many do not and are contributing for other reasons -- this cannot help but be true in any online forum.

Without doing the work you need to research what these people are recommending and get over "the last mile" yourself, you'll never come to know who is who, whose comments to watch for, and at least 3/4 of the value of these forums will be lost on you. The people with the most valuable expertise to share, especially in something like residential flooring choices, are not always the best and clearest writers. It's often impossible to judge just by what they write.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) is probably more resilient. I have it in quite a few rentals and in my home. It's not hard to install and has held up nicely.

Mak K. · Answer

For vinyl is clickable or glue option preferred? I had a property where we had sewage backup and carpet had to be removed.

the property is a high risk for another sewage backup. What would be good option if another sewage event occurs? Clickable vinyl or glue?

Ronald Starusnak · Answer

You want a vinyl product and a good underlayment that is okay to be used in wet areas. Some lifeproof flooring does not require any underlayment.

Best pet friendly, waterproof laminate flooring for rentals????

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