Drop and Done Flooring by Laurentian Sales??

[Tucker3878]

Have a new house, finishing the basement myself, drywalls just about done, looking at flooring. Nearly gagged at the $9500 price tag for carpet, it was nice carpet, but I don't remember the last house being THAT expensive!! Wife brought home these vinyl planks called "Drop and Done" that Sears gets from an outfit called Laurentian Sales. Stuff looks good, seems slick to install, they said to just use 2-sided tape around the perimeter to hold everything "together" and you're laughing. Unfortunately if something seems too good to be true...YA, exacty. So to all you flooring guys out there...is this something I should try out or am I asking for trouble? We have infloor heat in the basement as well if that makes any difference. I read all the threads I could find regarding this and similar products but couldn't find an answer specific to my situation. This stuff doesn't lock together, just butts together, no glue on the planks whatsoever. Kind of a green star/flower pattern of "stuff" on the backside that is supposed to grip the floor? Any help/advice is appreciated.

Curt

 

[Ernesto]

I bet there will be lots of inspections for that.

 

[Tucker3878]

What do you mean by that Ernesto?

 

[Ernesto]

Nothing is holding the edges down or together, therefore your floor better be perfectly flat or edges will stick up and get damaged etc etc. It's like carpet tile installation.

 

[kd89]

I love doing carpet tile but its a pain to prep lol. Something else that is easy is manningtons vinyl plank. Snaps together like laminate

 

[LeePelletier]

People often think that vinyl flooring is the best thing to put in a basement. Except for wood, it can be one of the toughest floors to put down properly. First, do a moisture test. Yes, I know. Most people think vinyl floors must be "great" for moist areas. And then they tell me they don't get water down in the basement.

The moisture test is not to test for standing water. It's to test for vapor emmission, which can come through the concrete and at very high pressure. All vinyl (and rubber, etc) floors have a limit to how much vapor before the floor fails. This EVEN includes loose lay vinyl floors, not just glued down floors.

Find out what the maximum vapor emission is for the floor. And test your concrete. This is very important.

Now, I checked the Drop and Done web-site (Laurentian Sales), and it concerns me when they make statements like "Drop & Done is not affected by any amount of water. Standing water for extended periods of time may penetrate between the seams. Simply remove the planks in the affected area, dry the sub-floor and re-install the planks." Wow. Are these people naive.

If you do a web search, you will find that there are people with cupping issues with Drop and Done flooring. This is caused by moisture (water VAPOR). I'm thinking this manufacturer is incredibly naive. Trust me. Vapor emissions ARE an issue with vinyl flooring.

End Rant.

 

[FloorMaven]

The moisture test is not to test for standing water. It's to test for vapor emmission, which can come through the concrete and at very high pressure.

Like Marilyn skirt lifting pressure?

 

[alangf]

Hey guys,

Oak wood flooring is pretty much the traditional, off-the-shelf stuff you find anywhere. So it must follow that engineered oak flooring would be popular, too. And it is. I have oak flooring in my home. The wife picked it out!