I am in the process of buying 1000 ft condo in Hawaii. We will be living there part time, three to four months a year. The unit needs a lot of work. At this time, I have some questions about flooring.

First, I know he kitchen and bathrooms floor need some type of vinyl.

Second I want to try and keep my total flooring cost under $10K.

We are looking at the following options:

1. Carpet in the living room and bedrooms, vinyl in the bathroom and kitchen. While I think this is the cheapest, carpet may not work as well as there will be a lot of sand and dirt tracked into the unit.

2. Using a vinyl sheet throughout the apartment. This was last discussed here three years ago. If anything vinyl sheeting has gotten better since then.

3. I could use vinyl plank throughout the house.

I have compared the designs on both vinyl sheets and planks. The wood images on vinyl sheet look very good. In fact some were hard to distinguish between vinyl. plank.

I know if I use a vinyl sheet I will see a seam. But if I use vinyl plank wont't there also be seems.

Finally could I go to Home Depot/Lowes for the flooring or should I go to a dedicated flooring store?

Any help/suggestions appreciated.

L.J. Kutten