Question about flooring - Vinyl Plank in particular

[Baz]

Looks like I may be replacing the laminate wood planks at Mom's house.

I've never done flooring before - and am not sure I am going to start now.

I already spoke to a local flooring business owner who has a showroom and wants me to pick out a product first before coming out for an estimate. Makes sense to me.

In the meantime, I'm trying to educate myself on the various product options, and what's involved in an installation.

I know this product comes in tiles (LVT) and also planks (LVP). And an underlayment is recommended.

Her entire house was not flooded and it wasn't "that much" water, but I guess whatever water there was will remain trapped until I remove what's there.

The power was off for 2 days. After it was restored I lowered the thermostat to 75, turned on all the fans in the house, and opened up all doors and closets.

The kitchen is vinyl and all the other rooms are carpet and they are OK, thankfully.

Mold is a big consideration right now for me. So even if we live on concrete for a bit, I feel I have to do what I have to do.

Here are photos of what we are dealing with. It's mostly just her living room and the hallways. I will take a measurement today when I go over there.

Since the existing laminate was installed not too long ago, I'm assuming the concrete floor underneath should be in acceptable condition for a new install, once the old planks are removed and the concrete cleaned up.

Thankfully, Mom is not at home right now but at some point will be released to go home from the SNF she's currently at.

Thanks for any info and tips you might have!

[McLovin]

I prefer the planks over tiles.
I’m sure it varies by manufacturer, but everything I’ve seen and used in the past few years specifically does not require any underlayment.
The new stuff is great, 100% waterproof, nice and thick (I usually use 8-9mm), with the sound padding etc all built in.
Easy to install, it just clicks together.
Of course, just be sure to leave the required gap around the edges.

[masraum]

THere are several folks here on the board with LOTS of experience in LVT/P.

I'm sorry that your mom's place had some water intrusion and it has caused a problem. LVx is pretty easy to install, but I'm not saying that you shouldn't have pros do it. I'm sure they'll do a great job, probably in a fraction of the time that it would take you just do to their experience. Fortunately, there's some really great quality stuff out there, but from a durability and aesthetic standpoint.

I suspect Greg will be along shortly, probably also Look171, and maybe a couple/few others.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by McLovin

I prefer the planks over tiles.
I’m sure it varies by manufacturer, but everything I’ve seen and used in the past few years specifically does not require any underlayment.
The new stuff is great, 100% waterproof, nice and thick (I usually use 8-9mm), with the sound padding etc all built in.
Easy to install, it just clicks together.
Of course, just be sure to leave the required gap around the edges.

There seems to be 2 main types, thin stuff that gets glued down to the floor, and thicker stuff that's got a built in backing that floats. The recommendation is that no underlayment is required for the stuff that's got the integrated backing, assuming the subfloor is smooth/flat enough.

[id10t]

We just had LVP put down 2 weeks ago... Nothing but some plastic sheeting between it and slab, and the plastic is only in a few places.

And since it is for yer Mom, I'd recommend seeing what kind of traction issues present when walking on it wearing just socks, etc. - you don't want/need an extra fall risk added to her environment! Our dog had some traction issues first time she ran in it, and with a double layer of socks I can get a pretty good slide going if it is parallel to the run of the planks and I get a running start of a few steps....


As to install time, two and a half days for our laundry room, dining room, kitchen, living room and a hallway to be covered, and then having to wait for wall crew to do their bit and put down base molding (well, whatever crown molding on the bottom is called... baseboards?)

[Baz]

Originally Posted by id10t

I'd recommend seeing what kind of traction issues

Excellent comment, and appreciate the others too!

Regarding traction - I remember bringing the pups over the first (and last) time after she went from carpet to wood.

They couldn't stay on their feet AT ALL! I was so afraid of some kind of orthopedic injury I couldn't get them out of there fast enough. I never brought them back over again.

Thanks everyone!

[URY914]

We have miles of plank in our hospital's corridors and patient rooms. Make sure your installer does a moisture test on the slab before installing to make sure your in the range that is acceptable.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Baz

Excellent comment, and appreciate the others too!

Regarding traction - I remember bringing the pups over the first (and last) time after she went from carpet to wood.

They couldn't stay on their feet AT ALL! I was so afraid of some kind of orthopedic injury I couldn't get them out of there fast enough. I never brought them back over again.

Thanks everyone!

Most of the LVx that I've seen has a texture to it to aid in traction. I just put on socks and tested the LVP in the bathroom. It's far less slippery than the wood in the rest of the house. But, of course, anything smooth and hard is going to be more slick than carpet. I would think that LVP should be less slick than wood, many/most laminates, old vinyl sheet, or linoleum.

[McLovin]

Yes, re traction, the better planks have a texture on them, which aids in traction quite a bit, and also looks a lot better.
Some also have beveling on the seams, which also looks better to me.
This is the last one I used, it is nice. Waterproof, fairly thick, texture and bevel.

https://www.provenzafloors.com/waterprooflvp

[McLovin]

I remember when this stuff was for apartments and lower priced housing.
I’m now seeing it in $3 million houses (although I guess $3 million isn’t what it used to be).

[look 171]

Baz, vinyl plank is the way to go. I have a 7mm German floor in my family room. My thinking was it will get beat up and replaced when kids are grown. This damn thing is so good that there's no sign of wear. I told my wife the new floor is scratch resistance. She now drags the the table across the room knowing the floor will be replaced with hardwood again someday. There's not a scratch on it so it will take abuse well. It has texture and it does look like wood from 3' away. I use a high density backing to eliminate noise for the downstairs bedrooms. This was done about 10 years ago and I spec out this German flooring only because I felt the Chinese import was not good enough. Now, I install these flooring (All Chinese made and most are damn good too) in all my rentals. They are easy to install, press fit and it clicks together. One thing we discovered is that once clicked together, it doesn't like to come apart. If you get it apart, it will no longer hold itself tight because the clicking parts are broken.

Do get the install tool. It allows the installer to get the pieces from the walls tight.

[Bugsinrugs]

You are going to be one sore and tired guy. If you are doing it alone you will be up and down a thousand times. Good knee pads are a MuST!! Not to difficult to install. Read the instructions and go in the recommended direction.

[gregpark]

LVT/LVP is not slippery like laminate. I haven't sold laminate in decades, it's a lawsuit waiting to happen for a flooring contractor. Especially if it's installed on stairs. The MDF core isn't water proof and the seams pooch up with any ponding water. LVP is what you want if you're looking for a wood plank look that's not slippery. Most of the tiles (LVT) mimic stone, are 1'x2' and I install them Roman style with the butt joint of the following course splitting the tile of the previous course. Cheap visqueen is all you need to stop water vapor from possibly bringing unsightly mineral deposits up through the seams. LVP/LVP is water proof so that's the only reason for visqueen which just lays down with no glue or tape and doesn't even have to be cut in super accurately. It's just too stop mass vapor. Almost all products have the pad attached to each board these days. The reason for the thin rubber or cork pad is to eliminate clacking noise under foot. All door jambs must be under cut to the thickness of the floor covering. Leave at least ¼" expansion space around the entire perimeter (especially carefully on the width). The boards lock together all around, make sure each and every board is positively locked. They tilt in at a 30° angle and drop flat with persuasion. I use all kinds of specialty tools but primarily a 1 foot chunk of 4x4 to gently tap together and then bang down to lock. Sometimes the best tool in the bag is a block of wood. What cuts off at the end of a course is a starter for the next course. That's the only part of the room that piece can be used. I usually install 2 or 3 courses at the same pass across the room to save steps. My first move is to cut one board in half and a board in thirds. Then you have 3 starters (including a full). No need to snap a chalk line, once you have 4 or 5 courses together you can move it into position as a unit then place temporary spacers at the wall to hold the flooring in place when you're banging the rest of the floor together. If you want to Change directions, such as down a hall, it can be done using 3" Gorilla tape. The locking edge is trimmed off (cut starters down the hall) and the 3" Gorilla tape is carefully placed upside down under the seam catching each side by 1½" and walked down right away. Regular cheap duct tape will not work. The transition ends up being super tight and clean compared to installing a T mold divider. Order matching end stop for sliding doors, hearths, etc. You don't want to fit the flooring tight anywhere and it can expand and contact under the end stop, reducer, T mold, etc. Different manufacturers have different terminology for these transition pieces and it's easy to figure out what you need. Click together floating flooring is designed for the average handy home owner to install and it's not brain surgery. It takes years for me to train a guy how to template for various sheet vinyls and I can teach a guy how to install at least the field of a room in LVT in minutes. The better quality LVT/LVP is warranteed for life for residential and looks much nicer than the cheap stuff, although even the cheap stuff is bullet proof too

[juanbenae]

prolly gunna be hard to find a flooring contractor with all the warped, flooded places in FLA.

[Baz]

Hey guys......appreciate all the input - especially yours Jeff and Greg, because you do this for a living, thus the nice detailed commentary and technical aspects.

I only got home about an hour ago and am a bit bushed to say the least from a long day which included removal of all the damaged laminate from Mom's home. There's just a few pieces left underneath this huge china cabinet that I didn't have enough energy left to deal with.

Below are a few pics.

It wasn't very hard to remove - just time consuming because of transporting it all out to the curb as well. I didn't use a wheelbarrow - just hand carried it. I acquired the neighbor's trashed wicker table to use to stack the boards on so it wouldn't look like everyone else's debris pile. Not sure if it's the German in me or what but I like keeping things as tidy as possible - even with trash piles.

Very glad to hear I'm headed in the right direction with the vinyl planks or tiles. I feel like it will be the planks because Mom will probably want to stick with the wood "theme". I also think that would looks best but we'll see.

I plan to visit a local flooring business either tomorrow or Thursday and see what they say. I also want to price it out just for the materials so I will have some info to help make the decision whether to take it on myself or not. I'm not afraid of trying new things but I'm also willing to pay someone else if it frees up my time for other things and also any aggravations that arise when you do something you've never done before and run into the unknowns, if you know what I mean.

I will post again when I know more. I was so tired today after removing the existing flooring I didn't even do any measuring!

Thank you all again!

[Baz]

Today I visited the flooring store. The owner is a great guy! His measurement guy is meeting me tomorrow at Mom's to get the measurements, and then I'll get the estimate.

For now, I selected COREtec Plus, in Marsh Oak, which is a little darker than what we had before. The owner said this is the best stuff he has. We'll see what the insurance adjuster says when I meet with him. Waiting to hear from him - hopefully we'll get together before the weekend.

Looks like the carpet is also going to need replacing.

I'm just hoping we can get everything scheduled soon, because the place where Mom is at left a message that they want to release her on Saturday. I guess she will go to assisted living until her home is ready.

I'll know more tomorrow.















And an Internet pic of the Marsh Oak flooring:

[masraum]

On a related note, I'm on vaca in FL. I was driving through a neighborhood in the rental car today and saw this super neat stack of awesome wood flooring. I threw it in the trunk. I'm sure I'll be able to come up with a use for it once I get it home!

[herr_oberst]

The picture of the neighborhood is heartbreaking, Baz. Good luck with this project. Keep your spirits up and hopefully your Mom will be home soon.

Cheers!

[Bugsinrugs]

I love Coretec. It’s a Installer friendly product. At least it used to be. Good choice

[look 171]

Baz, how much water damage up the wall? If drywall or plaster is wet, pretty industry standard to remove 4 foot from the bottom then install new. Talk about mold, that drywall is like a sponge, takes a long time to dry so replacement is a must.