Trafficmaster Allure Review
“I have been researching options on new flooring for months. I finally decided on Trafficmaster flooring. I wanted to resurface my kitchen, dining room, hallway + 
bathroom. My biggest challenge was the hallway.
I have plaster walls and oak baseboard. The door jambs go all the way to the floor so I couldn’t cut them off without taking up baseboards and raising them. I was afraid I would either break baseboard or damage the plaster so every option I looked at didn’t seem to work. I went to HD, bought 3 boxes, went home and frustrated myself trying to figure out a starting place, gave up and returned it. I have never laid any flooring but 12″ peel and stick tiles. 3 weeks later I went back, bought 12 boxes and started.
I went back for more Trafficmaster Allure and am getting ready to start the last room. What a dream to work with Trafficmaster! It is a very forgiving product for a do-it-yourself homeowner. I haven’t run into anything that I couldn’t figure out how to do and the floor looks fabulous! Trafficmaster Allure is very easy to cut, even around the curves in the door jambs that I was so stressed out over. I have several dogs and a pool with wet people in and out and I am really looking forward to summer coming, knowing how easy it is going to be to take care of the floors.
Everyone loves it! I really love my Trafficmaster flooring.
Are you looking for Trafficmaster flooring? So many times Home Depot stops selling a flooring and leaves people hanging.
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Mark says
Purchased and installed allure flooring a year ago… This product is terrible … tiles curled up and woulod not stick . The same horror stories everyone else mentions in their comments… I was going to attempt to get mey purcahse price back for this garbage flooring but many of the comments say the manufacturer is not resposive to their complaints.
How do they get away with this !… I’m going to make copies of this letter and leave it on every floor display I find from this manufacturer and sending this to my BBB.
Suzette says
Just installed Allure trafficmaster hickory in 3 bedrooms directly on concrete subfloor. All in all, it is an easy install, but I do have some advice for those considering it.
1) First, make sure your floor is clean of any dust or other debris. After pulling up the carpet, I swept the room several times and then went over it with a vacuum. Even the tiniest particle of dirt, grit will stick to the grip strips and will cause you to have a bump. I don’t think i would recommend mopping the concrete before, even if you allow it to dry i would be afraid of condensation. (i thought about this but did not do it because of the worry about condensation).
2) Secondly, inspect each board carefully and make sure there are no imperfections. Our problem was that due to the way the boxes were handled when we bought them, we had problems in one of the rooms after the floor was laid. What i mean is that home depot strapped some of the boxes on the pallet too tightly and, especially on the end that has the grip strip it kind of bent and caused kind of a crease. The board laid allright, but the “crease” was visible after laying other boards. It’s better to get it right than to have to go back and try to replace (which we had to do in one room)
3)Third, if you see a problem as you lay the boards, go ahead and fix it or replace it then. There is a method to replace boards after installation, but it is not as easy as it looks.
4) As you are laying the floor, periodically walk (or have someone walk) over each section several times to make sure the boards adhere properly. Also, I would let each room “cure” overnight when finished and walk on it as much as possible, before bringing in heavy furniture. I believe this may have been our problem in one room, as we immediately brought in some heavy furniture the same day that we layed the floor, which i believe might have contributed to some boards kicking up on one end. Our only real problem floor was the second one we did (our bedroom) and we ended up having to replace several boards due to the imperfection problem mentioned above in item (2).
5) I have read on some comments on other sites about an odor that was unbearable. There is a slight odor when the floor is first put down. It is not unbearable. The first floor has been down approximately 1 month and the odor is gone. It is kind of a “new” smell, the same as you would have with a linoleum vinyl or even a new carpet smell.
6) This floor will show some shiny scratches if you move hard furniture around on it. I do not believe that this is any worse than a laminate floor though, as i have a family member with a laminate floor that has dents and scratches from a light weight office chair being rolled on the floor.
So, in conclusion my review is overall a good looking, fairly easy and fairly inexpensive floor. The big draw for me, aside from the ease of installation and the cost, was the fact that it can be mopped and since it is waterproof would not have any issues with any buckling if you were to get any water on it.
The floor looks amazingly like real wood and so far we are happy with it.
Dave says
I installed the std grade allure (hickory) in my kitchen about 3 years ago. I put it right over the old vinal sheet flooring (after cutting off the curled edges of that old floor.) Super easy and forgiving to install and it’s held up VERY well to three active dogs,a wheelchair and allot of flooding from a broken dishwasher. It still looks great and feels good under bare feet. Sure,there are a few minor(!) scratches here and there but they are barely visable. MY neihbors keep saying “are you sure that’s not real wood”. LOVE THIS STUFF.
Jon says
Caution!!! Installed this for a customer on bare concrete in a basement that could potentially flood. According to the instructions that came with the floor, this is ok. But subsequently, my local Home Depot store told my customers that this is NOT ok, and the Allure website also says this is not ok. Halstead (mfgr) says they won’t be responsible for this discrepancy and that we should wait for the floor to fail!!! We are stuck.
pat says
We’ve had this floor (bamboo) for over a year. I had read good reviews before we bought it, and I am so sorry we put it in. We live in a mobile home and it shows every little imperfection under it, some seams are coming apart, and it scratches, and got so dull. I tried their product (allure cleaner from HD) …awful..left it worse….I will just save for the real bamboo….save your money
Jeff says
I discovered,despite the fact the product is advertised as “needs no underlayment or moisture barrier”, the vinyl tends to create and trap condenstation and allows mold to grow between it and the concrete foundation. I have read of a couple of other similar camplaints but no suggestions as to how to prevent. I installed mine over wood parque and within four months, the parque was buckling from the moisture, I checked for water leaks and foundation leaks and found nothing. The moisute evaporated almost immediately after pulling up the floor but it has been a mess and a hassle to deal with. I also discoverd, after thinking iI had trapped small particles between the vinyl and the floor, there were about five planks that had defects. Something was actually trapped in the plank itself. As far as I’m concerned, it was a huge waste of money.
James says
I am researching what floor to put in my basement, and after reading about scratching, I took a key and scratched a sample of the 2strip cherry. Pieces of plastic scratched right off. I tried the same key on samples of pergo as well as another trafficmaster product and no scratches at all. In a basement with kids this will look terrible quickly.
Glad I came across this site, I am NOT going with the allure, even though it was my first choice by looking at samples.
Cindy says
My 15 year old daughter and I laid this in one day in my country kitchen. We used the country pine to compliment the “country” theme I have going on with chair rail paneling and distressed maple cabinets.
We have two dogs and a cat and have had no issue with scratching or denting. I have one plank that is giving me a little trouble at the seam it wants to pop up, if I can not get this solved I am thinking I will pull that plank up and replace.
Overall the floor has been in for 6 months and I have nothing but praise for it. It withstood a very long hard CT winter and looks like we just put it down.
I would recommend to anyone easy install and beautiful flooring on the cheap!
Randy says
We laid the flooring in a big basement, It soon started to come up at the seams. We had someone representing the company come by to look at but no response now for a good solid month. Even if they gave a full refund, who pays for the labor.. my guess is no one. Good luck with your flooring from Allure.
Katy says
I had this floor put in my bathroom by a contractor and liked the product (but not the contractor’s install job) so much that I put in in my master bedroom (previously carpet), kitchen (previously sheet vinyl) and laundry room (same as kitchen). The rest of the house is hardwood. I have WAY less scratching and scuffing on the Trafficmaster than on my hardwoods! I have dogs, a hubby that tracks in mud with gravel in it on his work boots and I have dropped untold heavy things, slid furniture and other everyday activities without problems. I am not careful with it, I do not baby it. I have a ghost of a scratch in my kitchen from a ladder with a sharp point on one foot that I slid across the floor. I just bought the SingleStep cleaner because I happened to pass that aisle at HD today. I got the Rich Gloss finish. Oh, and I never noticed the smell of the planks. I find it odd that I never hear from anyone that thinks the product is “just okay” or “so-so”. It seems as though people either lovelovelove it, or have the urge to rip their eyes out every time they look at it. I wonder if it is product inconsistency, different expectations, or install error (such as high or low humidity while installing, or not letting it adjust for 48 hours). I have three different patterns in my house, two different sized planks (1 wood-look, 2 tile-look) and so far (two years now) all of them have been a fantastic improvement to my home.
Pattie says
we installed this floor in our beach house. It has been down about a month. Now it has a big bubble in the middle of the living room. When you step on it, it goes down then pops right back up. Looks bad and feels bad when you walk on it. I put weight on it for a while but it pops right back up. I also checked to make sure I left 1/8 inch space from wall and I did. We installed 3/8 in plywood on the floor before we installed it too. Please help
mike bush says
Just finshed doing 6 rooms of a remodel at my house with Allure Ultra in Cinnamon Oak and Clear Cherry. Although it was not the “Easiest Floor Ever” as advertised on the box, it can be done by a do-it-yourselfer. I consider myself a very advanced DIY’er w/alot of tools. The Allure Ultra was very very hard to cut. I ended up making my lengthwise cuts w/a table saw and a hardy back nibbler. If you do not own a table saw I think these cuts could be made with a circular saw. The perpendicular cuts can be made w/a razor knife score and a bend. You have to make sure the click takes place between each plank or you will be left w/a noticeable 1/32″ gray line, it takes a litlle bit of hammering with a small block. I think this product is for the intermediate to advanced DIY’er, not the novice. As far as the floor goes It is beatiful and durable, not to mention waterproof, which was a huge factor in our decision to install it in our kitchen, baths, and foyer (we were scared to go w/ laminate because of a lot of water horror stories. We completed our remodel on the new floor- without any harm to it. This stuff is tough & good looking, everyone that sees it is amazed that very durable, waterproof vinyl can look so good.
Nicole says
I took some samples of the floor from HD and tested it: used a knife on it, a letter opener, etc. While it does scratch, the lighter colors (Oak and Blonde Maple, for example) do not show the scratches much. You can see them up close, but not if it’s on the floor. The only issue that worries me is the reports of the odor. Anyone have that bad experience? I am looking forward to this floor. If odor is not an issue, I think it’s a great and easy alternative to laminate and wood. I also tested it by pouring water on the samples, and the water just sits there, waiting to me wiped up. Awesome. 🙂
Beverly Smith says
In the last 3 years, I’ve floored my bedroom, living room and dining room in the trafficmaster allure in hickory. What a dream floor. Each room went down in a day or less, it’s stayed down and has withstood all four of my big dogs and their toenails with little to no scratching. I do try NOT to drag my heavy kitchen appliances over it everyday and I won’t be flooring my kitchen with it…it’s water proof but only solid sheet vinyl is grease proof…any glue strip will eventually fail if you put grease on it. The care and feeding manual (there’s one in every box) suggests felt pads for your furniture legs and door mats to wipe dirty feet though any thinking person would care for any unprotected floor in this way. I love, love, love this flooring. I have my workout room and my master bath left to floor. I can’t WAIT!
ron holmquest says
this flooring is trash.cant even move on it without scratching.booklet says use scotchbrite ad and allure cleaner. this made it worse. what a joke, less than 1 month old.
John Noakes says
Hi: Allure flooring scratches very easily. We installed some in our kitchen and with the slightest movement there are scratches. We put pads on all the furniture, tables etc and clean floor constantly, and , still scratches. Wouldn’t recomment this type of flooring. Home Depot should discontinue.
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my doodle says
I installed the allure flooring (oak I think) in a small kitchen (10′ x 15′) … didn’t follow directions in keeping a 1/4″ gap in all places … and all is fine(now being a year later).
I feel for those who’ve had such a bad outcome. I was worried myself, but hopefully now that it’s gone through a cold winter and a hot summer I’m beginning to relax.
Christine B. says
Contractor installed trafficmaster orignal laminate flooring in home spring of 2008 two weeks later noticed alot of scratching and watermarks from cleaning and everyday use. Floor also dents easy when an item is dropped. Now feburary 2009 floor is starting to lift at the joint connections, curl and buckle. Have called home depot about the problem and have yet to hear back. Floor has a 15 year warranty, some how, I feel like I am going to get the run around according to other bloggs. I don’t recommend this floor to anyone. I am very uphappy with the quality of this flooring and the manner in which home depot is handling these situations.
Johnie says
this is a few tips on the trafficmaster allure products. the teak is an instock item at all home depots and if its not immediately available it can be special ordered. as far as warranty it does have a 25 year residential home warranty. this covers average everyday use. for cleaning the floor any vinyl cleaner will work fine. allure also makes 2 different cleaning products. they are single-step cleaners one with a rich gloss finish (sku 344-404) and a soft satin finish (sku 344-371)
Kathy Basgall says
I had installed Trafficmaster allure bamboo dark Dec 2008 in our kitchen. We ended up having to put down under flooring since it did not “float” over absolute everything as we were told by Home Depot employees. So, it cost us a LOT more. We received no guarantee papers, or how to care for the floor papers and no help from Home Depot. Finally after a month we were able to acquire a faxed copy of a warranty. BUT, most of all we HATE the floor. It is dull and scuffs horribly!! And we’ve only had it a month. I am sick to my stomach and extremely disappointed in Home Depot. Don’t know what to do. Does anyone know if there is a wax or something to put on it? Help!
vivian hill says
I purchased a large amount of Trafficmaster allure oak planking last Feb 2008 for my place of business.
It looks absolutely horrible.
There are multiple white streaks and white permanant spots throughout the entire floor that will not come out.
What a waste of time and alot of money.
I’m trying to find the manufacturers address or website.
John Monaco says
I’m looking for aroung 60 sq ft of mtrafficmaster natural teak laminant flooring. I purchased it at home depot, and now they don’t carry trafficmaster anymore.