Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-04-2019 02:30 PM
    Hello! Our church is planning a building extension, and I have the opportunity to pick out flooring for our new classrooms. In our current rooms we have vinyl squares under the lunch tables and by the sink, and carpet squares in the rest of the room. I've been considering vinyl wood planks, which look so pretty in the catalogs, but wonder if anyone has experience with these? Do they hold up to wear and tear? Do you need more area rugs? Is it louder in the rooms?

    Any experience you have to share is helpful.
    Thank you!

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    Nina Burrows
    Preschool Director
    FUMC Preschool
    Fort Worth TX
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  • 2.  RE: vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-05-2019 12:28 AM
    I'm supposed to pick out luxury vinyl tile for my new center.  The planks do look attractive! 
    The acoustics depend upon the layer of insulation/padding that is beneath the tile or carpet. I would check the warranty which differs for each company.
    I would put area rugs in the block area to minimize noise, where you meet with the large group, and the dramatic play area.

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    Patricia Jack
    Boulder City NV
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  • 3.  RE: vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-05-2019 02:56 PM
    Thank you, Patricia! I didn't realize there was insulation/padding underneath the tile. I know we have it underneath carpet.
    Please let me know if there are good companies you've found in your research, as we are very early in the process.
    Thanks again!

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    Nina Burrows
    Preschool Director
    FUMC Preschool
    Fort Worth TX
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  • 4.  RE: vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-05-2019 05:38 AM
    They scratch easily. We had children pushing chairs around on the floors (a normal activity) and they got badly scratched.

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    Sheri Brown
    Director
    Tikvat Israel ECC
    Rockville MD
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  • 5.  RE: vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-06-2019 02:10 AM
    Shoot! @sheribrown Back to the drawing board for me!​

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    Patricia Jack
    Boulder City NV
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  • 6.  RE: vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-05-2019 09:19 AM
    Hello Nina,
    We are on our sixth year of the wood looking vinyl planks and really love them. On certain areas the top get scraped and doesn't look great but the planks can be replaced.
    Good luck!
    Susan Smith

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    Susan Smith
    Director
    Heart and Hands Montessori
    Lafayette CO
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  • 7.  RE: vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-05-2019 10:32 AM
    Good Morning,
    Two years ago, we installed vinyl wood planks in our main room, kitchen, science area, bathrooms, and book area.  We also got new carpet in our circle time room, office, and dramatic play room.  We love the vinyl wood plank flooring and feel like it enhanced the look of our school.  We did need to put felt pads on the bottoms of our chair legs to protect the floor as it does scratch easily but we found that the legs of the tables we use do not scratch the floor so it just depends on what type of furniture you have.  We had all of the flooring installed during a week when school was closed and I would suggest the same for you as then you could test out your furniture on the floor to see if you need felt pads or not.  We do have area rugs in our science area and book area and a cushioned floor mat in the bathroom in front of the children's sink as well as under our water cooler in the kitchen (these were both to avoid slipping on wet spots on the floor).  In our science area, there are some amount of building materials (our main block area is in our circle time room) and we find it is easier for the children to build on the area rug and it also reduces the noise of banging and building with materials.  In our book area, we mainly put the area rug there to make it feel more cozy.  Overall, we love these floors and did not notice any significant change in noise when they were installed (we had linoleum previously). 
    All the Best,
    Sherrie Rose

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    Sherrie Rose Mayle
    Director/Teacher
    Campbell Parents' Participation Preschool
    Campbell, CA
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  • 8.  RE: vinyl wood plank flooring

    Posted 12-05-2019 11:57 AM
    They don't all scratch easily, just depends on the quality you buy.  The higher quality ones hold up well.

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    Pamela Brignac
    Early Learning Center
    Baton Rouge LA
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