TrafficMaster Allure Vinyl Flooring

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.

However, 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.