LVT - things to look for and look out for, good/bad brands, etc...

[masraum]

I'm sure that you've all seen my threads on our floors, etc....

The wife is now thinking about LVT (I told her Greg's story about the lawyer not believing that it was vinyl).

So, are there any known good brands or any known bad brands that we should watch for?

How about other things, to watch out for that may not be brand specific? And especially as it would apply (no pun intended) to going down over an old hardwood floor.

There have been a thread or two here. I was surprised to hear that there were some that required grout, and possibly mortar.

How thick is this stuff? 1/4", 1/2", etc....

Is any of it floating or is it all fixed to the floor somehow?

We've done a bunch of ceramic and stone tile over the years. We did some really cheap snap together laminate years ago (was what we could afford, and got the carpet out of the house as an interim step until we could get something better).

Thanks

[porsche4life]

We have vinyl plank that’s been in parts of our house for about 4 years now. I put it down myself and it’s holding up well. The place we bought it sent samples and I abused them with some tools for a few days to test the durability. Install is a breeze, it’s floating over the floor so no glue, just roll down a thin underpayment foam.

Look at the brands and find one with the thickest protective layer you can. We looked as some that I don’t think would hold up as well. And when you are installing, keep some rubber mallets around and really make sure the joints are tapped together tight. That’s my only complaint with the first section I did. I didn’t get two joints tight enough and now they open up a little bit with expansion and contraction.

Going down over old hardwood would be fine. I put it down over old tile in our kitchen and you really can’t tell.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

We have vinyl plank that’s been in parts of our house for about 4 years now. I put it down myself and it’s holding up well. The place we bought it sent samples and I abused them with some tools for a few days to test the durability. Install is a breeze, it’s floating over the floor so no glue, just roll down a thin underpayment foam.

Look at the brands and find one with the thickest protective layer you can. We looked as some that I don’t think would hold up as well. And when you are installing, keep some rubber mallets around and really make sure the joints are tapped together tight. That’s my only complaint with the first section I did. I didn’t get two joints tight enough and now they open up a little bit with expansion and contraction.

Going down over old hardwood would be fine. I put it down over old tile in our kitchen and you really can’t tell.

Lots of great news in your post, thanks.

[McLovin]

The stuff is great.
Here’s a yuuuge range of quality/price out there.
The ones I use have a complete backing on them, it goes directly over the subfloor (wood, concrete, whatever).
IMO the thicker the better. What I currently use is I think 8mm.
For your own house (as opposed to rental properties etc) I’d highly recommend you get planks that have a “wood grain” texture to them, AND, importantly, are beveled between the planks (“beveled edges”).
The texture and beveling go a long way towards a realistic look and feel. The light hits it differently, and it just looks and feels much better.
Also 8mm thickness at least.
There are also different scratch resistances, what I have is “titanium coated,” idk if that’s just a gimmick or not, but I can tell you that after many years now my home floor looks 100% perfect. Literally not a scratch.
Finally, the good stuff is 100% waterproof. Like, you could literally use it at the bottom of a pool.
These floors are NOTHING like the Pergos of 10 years ago.

[McLovin]

I replaced my 20 year old wood floor with it. I like it much better than the wood.

[masraum]

Good to know, thanks.

Waterproof, check (bathroom use).
Durable, check.
8mm thick, check.
Scratch resistant, check (sounds like a must have)
I think the missus wants a tile look. I guess we'll see what she finds.

[McLovin]

The other thing is pricing is all over the place, even for the exact same product.
It pays to shop a lot of places, and the Internet.

[masraum]

thx

[gregpark]

Click together. Just loose lay it. No prep other than undercutting your door jambs. Base board installs after. It needs a little space around the perimeter to expand and contract, being a loose lay floor. It can be glued down too but in your case, no. You're covering cupped boards so free float.. Get the rigid version (about ¼" thick) and not the floppy ⅛" thick stuff. Get the type with the pad already adhered to the back.It's all tough and water proof stuff. The more expensive ones look better and have a superior locking system. Check out IVC products on line. I've sold and installed their stuff on literally hundreds of jobs from apartments to multi million dollar homes and people are always happy. If you plan on doing it yourself I'd be happy to give you some time saving pointers. It's a product designed for the DIYer

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gregpark

Click together. Just loose lay it. No prep other than undercutting your door jambs. Base board installs after. It needs a little space around the perimeter to expand and contract, being a loose lay floor. It can be glued down too but in your case, no. You're covering cupped boards so free float.. Get the rigid version (about ¼" thick) and not the floppy ⅛" thick stuff. Get the type with the pad already adhered to the back.It's all tough and water proof stuff. The more expensive ones look better and have a superior locking system. Check out IVC products on line. I've sold and installed their stuff on literally hundreds of jobs from apartments to multi million dollar homes and people are always happy. If you plan on doing it yourself I'd be happy to give you some time saving pointers. It's a product designed for the DIYer

Perfect, thanks!

The room is gutted, so no baseboards, door casing, etc.... There will be door thresholds. Maybe I can get those up, trim the bottom of the edge facing that room and then put them back down so the LVT goes under them.

So they are stiff enough go over the cupped boards without having to sand them? I bought a sander. Most of the floor is finished. I assume it might not be a bad idea to put a little something on some of the spots with no finish to protect the wood at the very least.

Great to get a second confirmation that the floating install is good as that's my preference.

If we go that route, I'll definitely hit you up! Thanks!

[gregpark]

The rigid version will ride over your cupped boards. Flatter is better of course but I've seen your pics and your boards are not severely cupped enough to be a problem. I wouldn't worry about a lack of finish on the hardwood beneath your LVT. Finish only protects the surface and you're covering that up. Every manufacturer of LVT will have a matching threshold available to use in the doorway. It will accommodate expansion and contraction, is cheap, is easy to install, will be low profile and will look better than your existing thresholds or anything you mill on the table saw. The only thing pinning the LVT down will be your toilet but with room to expand around the perimeter it will not cause a problem.

[porsche4life]

How bad is the cupping? I put ours over tile and at first you couldn’t see it at al, still can’t, but if you walk barefoot in a few areas you can tel the planks have settled down over time into areas that the tiles were lower. If you can sand it flat in a day, I think it’d be time we’ll spent.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gregpark

The rigid version will ride over your cupped boards. Flatter is better of course but I've seen your pics and your boards are not severely cupped enough to be a problem. I wouldn't worry about a lack of finish on the hardwood beneath your LVT. Finish only protects the surface and you're covering that up. Every manufacturer of LVT will have a matching threshold available to use in the doorway. It will accommodate expansion and contraction, is cheap, is easy to install, will be low profile and will look better than your existing thresholds or anything you mill on the table saw. The only thing pinning the LVT down will be your toilet but with room to expand around the perimeter it will not cause a problem.

Our thresholds are 9.5" wide by 3/4" tall, and I think, original. I don't think we'll be getting rid of them, and I suspect the thresholds available from the LVT folks won't play well with our existing thresholds.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

How bad is the cupping? I put ours over tile and at first you couldn’t see it at al, still can’t, but if you walk barefoot in a few areas you can tel the planks have settled down over time into areas that the tiles were lower. If you can sand it flat in a day, I think it’d be time we’ll spent.

Not that bad, and the full width of the boards is ~3.25" so fairly narrow. I would assume flat would be better. I suppose it depends on how thick and stiff the tiles are (assuming the missus decides to go this route).

[gregpark]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

How bad is the cupping? I put ours over tile and at first you couldn’t see it at al, still can’t, but if you walk barefoot in a few areas you can tel the planks have settled down over time into areas that the tiles were lower. If you can sand it flat in a day, I think it’d be time we’ll spent.

The rigid version doesn't mold to the existing floor. The thinner ⅛" stuff will

[gregpark]

Originally Posted by masraum

Our thresholds are 9.5" wide by 3/4" tall, and I think, original. I don't think we'll be getting rid of them, and I suspect the thresholds available from the LVT folks won't play well with our existing thresholds.

I see. I would cut that existing threshold back and undercut to slip the LVT under, with room to expand of course, but I have special saws to do this in place. Your jambs appear to be sitting on top of the threshold (not the norm) so without specialized saws I suggest cutting the bevel off the existing threshold and butt the LVT threshold (they're narrow) to the existing. (Ideally when a door is closed you don't see two different floors from either side.) All of this is assuming you're just covering the bath floor.
If this is the plan then I would suggest looking at LVT that resembles stone or tile and not wood plank. You'll not find an LVT that looks like the floor in the rest of the house

.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gregpark

I see. I would cut that existing threshold back and undercut to slip the LVT under, with room to expand of course, but I have special saws to do this in place. Your jambs appear to be sitting on top of the threshold (not the norm) so without specialized saws I suggest cutting the bevel off the existing threshold and butt the LVT threshold (they're narrow) to the existing. (Ideally when a door is closed you don't see two different floors from either side.) All of this is assuming you're just covering the bath floor.
If this is the plan then I would suggest looking at LVT that resembles stone or tile and not wood plank. You'll not find an LVT that looks like the floor in the rest of the house

.

Thanks

[McLovin]

The floors don’t need to be perfectly flat, but the flatter the better.
I did have a problem in an apartment once where the plywood floor had some previous repairs and was uneven in some spots.
The LVT planks themselves are quite strong, but the where they inter lock is of course thinner and a weak spot. If that joint flexes too much from people walking on it, it can crack, and then the planks separate.

[sammyg2]

We had LVT installed in our house a year ago. October 2020.
It looks great but is like walking on bubble-wrap.
I am already seriously looking at alternatives and most likely will replace it with ceramic tile or hardwood.
IMO it sux and based on my experience, I strongly recommend against it.


DISCLAIMER:
I am told that these issues may be related to poor craftsmanship by the installers.
Don't care, it still sux.

[McLovin]

There’s a huge range of quality of materials and installation.
The main thing about installation is you must leave the proper gap around all edges.
The edges of the floor can’t be touching anything.
It’s floating, it expands and if there’s no gap it has nowhere to go but buckle up.