What kind of flooring for rental?

[Sweetjane]

So we have a rental property and it has hardwoods throughout, except the kitchen and bath. We are only reflooring the kitchen, currently it has 18" ceramic tile that needs to be replaced.
It's a small space if that helps, but I'm not sure of the budget. We don't want to spend too much because we may do a full reno in a few more years.
What's the best material for rentals?

[chickie]

I would stick with tile or luxury vinyl.

[shellbell]

Luxury vinyl tile would be my choice.

[motherofdachshunds]

I’d put in new tile.

I know vinyl is all the rage right now and while it is waterproof, it’s not scratch proof. We stayed at a beach house over the summer and the LVP was scratched terribly in one room.

[Sweetjane]

I had never heard of luxury vinyl until recently on here, I will look into it. We are probably going to allow a dog just to widen our market so I don't want anything that might scratch horribly.

[GhoatMonket]

I didn't realize what we have in our rental is luxury vinyl. It's held up really well through multiple tenants. One had 2 pit bills, one had a chihuahua, current one has an Australian Shepard mix (breeds for size/activity info). The carpet in the living room is getting rough, but the vinyl is just fine.

[rvasc]

I would not put luxury vinyl tile in a rental next to hardwoods.

I’d redo tile.

[Sweetjane]

Sept 30, 2018 14:00:09 GMT -6 rvasc said:

I would not put luxury vinyl tile in a rental next to hardwoods.

I’d redo tile.

For aesthetics or some other reason?

[GhoatMonket]

Sept 30, 2018 14:00:09 GMT -6 rvasc said:

I would not put luxury vinyl tile in a rental next to hardwoods.

I’d redo tile.

I wouldn't do a wood one, but a stone one I would consider. 

[Sweetjane]

Just for reference, the hardwoods are not anything great. It's a 1930s bungalow with narrow plank yellow pine floors.

[grumpycakes]

Unless you have a high end rental, I would do whatever is cheapest and neutral. Look into the cost of installation too, because some products install much easier than others. Flooring is not usually a top priority for tenants and it sounds like you don’t need it to hold up for very long if you’re planning a full reno in a few years.

One thing about tile, we have ceramic tile with a fairly glossy finish in our rental and it’s VERY slippery when wet. I worry about my tenants falling because I have fallen on it myself. I would choose something that feels like it would have good traction.

[soup]

Tile.

[GhoatMonket]

Sept 30, 2018 14:50:12 GMT -6 grumpycakes said:

Unless you have a high end rental, I would do whatever is cheapest and neutral. Look into the cost of installation too, because some products install much easier than others. Flooring is not usually a top priority for tenants and it sounds like you don’t need it to hold up for very long if you’re planning a full reno in a few years.

One thing about tile, we have ceramic tile with a fairly glossy finish in our rental and it’s VERY slippery when wet. I worry about my tenants falling because I have fallen on it myself. I would choose something that feels like it would have good traction.

I loathe the tile in our main bathroom for this reason. Our basement one has a different tile and it isn't a concern.

[grumpycakes]

Sept 30, 2018 14:55:22 GMT -6 GhoatMonket said:

Sept 30, 2018 14:50:12 GMT -6 grumpycakes said:

Unless you have a high end rental, I would do whatever is cheapest and neutral. Look into the cost of installation too, because some products install much easier than others. Flooring is not usually a top priority for tenants and it sounds like you don’t need it to hold up for very long if you’re planning a full reno in a few years.

One thing about tile, we have ceramic tile with a fairly glossy finish in our rental and it’s VERY slippery when wet. I worry about my tenants falling because I have fallen on it myself. I would choose something that feels like it would have good traction.

I loathe the tile in our main bathroom for this reason. Our basement one has a different tile and it isn't a concern.

It’s nuts! I’ve been in lots of houses that have the same kind of finish, too. It’s a hazard.

[flamingo]

For aesthetics, I wouldn't do anything with a 'wood look' up against the existing wood.

Knowing that you have an older home, I'd do tile. Waterproof, easy application, and adds value in case you decided to sell unexpectedly. Luxury vinyl products can be tricky in older homes because of sloping/shifting/waves in subfloors--it's not impossible but it does mean more prep and/or picking a glue-down product to eliminate 'bounce' (popping noises.)

[jinkies]

We had tile-looking pergo in the kitchen of our last house, and I loved it. It looked nice, held up so well, and there was no grout.

[almostfamous]

Have you looked into having the hardwood sanded and refinished? Unless they are DESTROYED, hardwoods look amazing sanded, stained, and polyurethaned. We had some very bad looking hardwoods at our old house that looked perfect after a sand and poly. Like the black stains and scratches disappeared. It was about $1000 for about 1800sf. Not sure your budget. Especially if you are looking to upgrade in a few...

[almostfamous]

Oooh i misread. Tile.

[cnf]

Plus a million to LVT. Our entire first floor is luxury vinyl and it's been indestructible with two kids and a 100lbs dog. Looks new as the day it was installed 2.5 years later.