armstrong alterna vinyl tiles

[rayski]

It seems like I have had quite a few clients ask about and want this product.I know this is tile and stone forum,but was wondering if any of you guys have installed this product?To be honest it seems pretty decent nice and thick as far as vinyl goes and looks good with the optional grout application.I have a install coming up and wanted to pick some brains.R.C.

[Andyd11]

Re: armstrong alterna vinyl tiles

I've installed them a few times. Pretty easy to install,cuts easy with a utility knife.
Folow the directions and don't get ahead of yourself when grouting. Customers liked it because it was softer under foot than stone. At first glance it looks like stone.

[Jeremy]

Re: armstrong alterna vinyl tiles

I just had this installed in a house I am rebuilding because of a fire. The kitchen floor is 12'x16' and the installer had it in (including luaun installation) and grouted in 6 hours. Not bad at all. It is a real nice looking floor and seems like it went in easily enough. I'll use it again. I'd get some pics but we have it covered right now for the kitchen cabinet installation.

[ThingOfBeauty]

Re: armstrong alterna vinyl tiles

Some customers had us put that in a few years back. I think it's still holding up reasonably well.
We did have a problem right at job finish where they called us back for a knife cut in one of the tiles right below the toaster countertop area, and they were 100% sure neither of their teenagers dropped a knife into it, the mark must have happened while we were there working before the walkthrough. Uhhh huuhhhh. Well, we replaced one tile and had a problem finding and matching the grout so it turned into a many-hour job, but we got through it.
People I know in the healthy homes arena think that vinyl floors are a pretty bad idea. Besides that polyvinyl chloride isn't that great for you by itself, there's lots of other crapola in soft floors like plasticizers and pigments made of all kinds of junk including heavy metals. All of which slowly turns into tiny particles as you rub it off by walking on it over the years. Some of the particles end up in you and your kids etc.
Then eventually it's landfilled because it wore out, sooner than tile if I had to guess...but we seem to tear out a lot of intact tile floors because they're the wrong color or a non-trendy shape or something, so maybe the durability isn't really that much of an issue!