Tarkett Floors: Fun, festive patterns in rugged resilient sheets

I admit that I've never been a big fan of resilient (vinyl) sheet flooring. Partly because I've ripped out my share of the stuff prior to installing ceramic tile or hardwood.

Plus, sheet resilient has a reputation as a low-cost, low-quality product, and all too often that rep is well earned. (Builders often install the cheapest floorcoverings, figuring the homeowners will upgrade to tile or hardwood anyway.)

However, my low opinion of resilient floors change recently--and forever--when I discovered FiberFloor, a line of high-quality, durable, and beautifully designed resilient floors from Tarkett.

FiberFloor resilient sheet flooring is unlike any vinyl floor I'd--or likely you've--ever seen. First, it comes in over 100 of the most vibrant, fun, and funky colors and patterns imaginable, including some scary-real patterns of natural stone and richly textured hardwoods. The festive pattern shown here is called Bubble Fun, which is ideal for a laundry room or playroom.

The high-performance flooring is constructed of five layers: 1) a super-flexible backing that's moisture- and sound-resistant; 2) a woven fiberglass inner layer that produces an extremely flat floor that won't expand or contract; 3) a thick foam core that adds superior underfoot warmth and cushioning; 4) a tough wear layer that stubbornly resists rips, gouges and indentations; and finally, 5) a finish layer that protects against surface scratches, scuff marks and stains.

One other thing I love about FiberFloor is that it can be installed as a floating floor. There's no glue or mastic or fastening of any kind. Simply lay the resilient sheet over the subfloor and install shoe molding around the room's perimeter.

Fiberfloor comes in 12-foot-wide sheets to minimize seaming, and typically costs between $1.50 and $2 per square foot. The flooring is divided into five different lines with warranties ranging from 10 years to lifetime.