Revisiting this ever-popular post about Home Depot's Trafficmaster Allure vinyl flooring, we noticed a Home Depot employee left extensive additional comments and details about the product, so we thought we'd repost this with updated information for the many visitors who come to this particular post specifically for TrafficMaster Allure information.

trafficmasterupdate-atla013.jpgHave you ever wanted wood floors in your bathroom but thought otherwise because of concern about moisture? We've been reading up about Home Depot's exclusive TrafficMaster Allure flexible vinyl planks and think they might be worth investigating if you're looking for a waterproof flooring solution.

TrafficMaster Allure vinyl planks are completely waterproof, come with a 25 year warranty, are available in a multitude of colours and wood types (complete with texture) to match the decor of your home, and install with a pre-ready adhesive interlocking system which they call GripStrip. More details after the jump.

*originally posted March 8, 2007

According to comments below, many seem pleased with the results, finish and appearance of these flooring planks (when properly installed), thanks to their flexibility in feel and application. The vinyl planks stick to one other with pre-applied adhesive on the edges, without a need for any additional glue, and the only recommended tool for installation is a razor knife. At $1.99 per sq. foot, the Allure vinyl planks sound like an ideal novice flooring renovation project in the making with their score and snap installation, with a box covering 24 square feet.

A Home Depot employee recently chimed in about sample availability and installation issues:

I work at the Home Depot in Peru, IL. and I was browsing on the Home Depot website doing research about the Trafficmaster Allure product myself, since so many customers were asking about other styles available-and all of a sudden i saw all of these different styles available on the site!

So I called out to Halstead (the actual manufacturer of the Allure line), New England, got a hold of one our reps, Cate French, and asked her if it would be possible to get samples in case customers wanted material samples, and she said "yes", but the sample boards were on backorder (due to the popularity of the product). But she would put our store on the list, and in the meantime, she would cut up pieces of the planks and send them with little labels for customers to at least see a piece of the planks. So I was so happy to get those little squares from her, and we had a lot of customers come in and look at them.

trafficmasterupdate-atla014.jpgHowever, we didn't get our first big sales on the stuff until we recieved our large sample boards, with a lot larger version of the planks on them. So far, we have done about 4 large orders for the s/o in our store. And I'm sure a lot more. Granted, this stuff is what it is, don't expect miracles, but the best thing about it for us, is that its the only TRULY waterproof floor in the entire store. People love it also because anybody can lay it down, as long as you follow a few simple directions(such as leaving an expansion gap around the perimeter; letting the vinyl acclimate to the humidity and temps of the room you will be installing in; rolling the entire floor out with at least a 100lb roller; making sure to get the seams as tight as possible; making sure that you install it in a room that has heat vents so that it doesn't start to buckle-unless of course you like that look). The reason that it is waterproof is because the "grip strip" of adhesive on the sides of each plank interlock, and when the are rolled out, and firmly pressed together, if water or any liquid happens to spills directly over the seam, there is literally no where for the liquid to go. It just beads up on top of that overlap.

I also recieved this really helpful book in the mail from the company on Allure, and it has helpful hints for install, care and maintenence, and all kinds of things you can't find on the web. Halstead also make a more commercial and more expensive line of resilient flooring called Metro Floor. They make planks and tiles and all that, but they all have to be glued down, just like the Armstrong planks, Amtico planks, Roppe planks, etc. This idea has been around for a long time, but Halstead has made a durable floor for most normal residentials floors that is guaranteed to not delaminate or wear through the top layer for 25 years.

I think people misunderstand warranties on flooring a lot. When they say 25 year wear, that doesn't mean it WILL NOT scratch. It will just hold up a lot better as far as denting and gouging, compared to your traditional sheet vinyl and vinyl self adhesive squares. People need to remember to keep an eye on their animal's nails, make sure they are clipped correctly, to the right spot on their nails, and at the right angle, to prevent them from putting scratches in any hard surface material they walk on.

I just had to let everybody know that there are other options for trafficmaster, just go to your local Home Depot and let them know they can call Cate French or they can call Halstead (the manufacturer of this product). They can do that by looking on their computers under the product description, and then click f10, and then click vendors, and it will give them the 800 number to call, and they should be able to give the associate the number to Cate French.

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