Floor Installation
Luxury Vinyl Plank Installation in Philadelphia, PA
Luxury vinyl plank is waterproof through the entire board, not just at the surface. That single property is why it belongs in basements, laundry rooms and anywhere a leak is a question of when rather than if. It is not wood, it does not behave like wood, and the useful version of this page says where it is the better choice and where it is not.
In short
Deco Hardwood Floor installs luxury vinyl plank for homeowners in Philadelphia and within 50 miles of it, over a substrate checked with a straightedge and flattened first. Luxury vinyl plank is a rigid or flexible vinyl board that is waterproof through its whole thickness. It is the right call for basements, laundry rooms, mudrooms and houses with heavy pet traffic. The result is a floor that survives a leak and dries, though it cannot be sanded or refinished when the surface wears out.
At a glance
- What it is
- A rigid or flexible vinyl plank, waterproof through its whole thickness
- Right when
- Basements, laundry, mudrooms, below grade, or heavy pet traffic
- Wrong when
- You want a floor that can be sanded and kept for decades
- Two constructions
- SPC has a stone core, harder and firmer underfoot. WPC has a wood-composite core, softer
- Substrate
- Flatness matters more than with wood: rigid cores bridge high spots instead of following them
- Material
- Supplied by us, direct from the distributor
Where vinyl is genuinely the better answer
Anywhere water is a recurring possibility rather than an accident.
A finished basement in this region is a room that will meet water eventually. Sump failures, foundation seepage and burst supply lines are not hypothetical in housing this old, and a wood floor meets any of them by cupping and then by being replaced.
Vinyl plank in that room takes the water and dries. That is the whole argument, and it is a good one. The same reasoning applies to laundry rooms and mudrooms.
What the wear layer means here, and it is not what it means in wood
On vinyl the wear layer is a clear film measured in mils, and it decides how long the printed surface survives traffic.
Residential vinyl commonly runs six to twenty mils of clear wear layer. Thicker survives dogs, grit and chair casters longer. Nothing about it can be refinished: when the wear layer is gone, the print underneath goes with it and the plank is replaced.
That is a legitimate trade for the right room. It becomes a problem only when someone is sold vinyl as an equivalent to wood rather than as a different product with different strengths.
Flatness matters more than people expect
Rigid core planks do not conform to a wavy substrate, they bridge it, and the joints work loose over the hollow.
A wood floor nailed down follows the subfloor. A floating rigid plank does not: it spans dips and rocks over humps, and the click joints take the stress until they separate.
So the substrate gets checked with a straightedge and corrected before anything goes down. It is the least glamorous part of a vinyl installation and it is the part that decides whether the joints hold.
When is luxury vinyl plank installation the right call?
Luxury vinyl plank is the right call where water is likely and wood would not survive it. It is also a fair choice where a floor has to take pets and grit and nobody plans to refinish it.
The basement has taken water before
A stain line on the wall, a sump pit or a past flood means it will happen again. Wood there gets replaced after each event. Vinyl plank takes the water and dries.
A laundry room or a mudroom
A washer hose, wet boots and a utility sink put water on the floor as routine. That is the room where a plank that is waterproof through its thickness earns its place.
Carpet below grade smells damp
Carpet over a basement slab holds moisture, and it shows as a musty smell. A waterproof plank does not hold it, though the moisture in the slab still needs looking at.
Large dogs in the house
Claws and tracked grit wear through a wood finish along the paths a dog runs. A thick clear wear layer on vinyl takes that traffic longer, with nothing to refinish.
Old sheet vinyl or tile is failing
Seams are curling, tiles are cracked or the pattern is worn through. Depending on what is there and how flat it is, new plank goes over it or it comes up first.
A rental or a hard use room
You need a floor that takes tenants, pets and spills without upkeep, and you accept replacing it when it wears out. That is an honest use of vinyl plank.
How the work runs
We look at the room and the moisture
Below grade, slab, and any history of water all change the specification.Material chosen with the wear layer in mils
Samples brought to the house, specification written down.Substrate flattened
Straightedge check, then correction where needed.Underlayment where the product calls for it
Some rigid core planks come with pad attached and must not be doubled.Planks installed with expansion left
Perimeter gap respected, because these floors move with temperature.Trim and transitions
Thresholds set so height changes are deliberate.
What a luxury vinyl plank installation includes
The quote covers a look at the room and its moisture history, the planks, the flattening of the substrate, the installation and the trim. Flattening is written into the quote because it is the part that decides whether the joints hold.
Included
- A visit from the owner to see the room, the substrate and any history of water
- Vinyl plank supplied by us at the distributor's store price, with the wear layer stated in mils
- Samples brought to the house, so the plank is chosen in the room it is going into
- A straightedge check of the substrate, and correction of the highs and lows it finds
- Underlayment where the product calls for it, and none where the pad is already attached
- Planks installed with the perimeter gap, then trim and thresholds
Not included, or quoted separately
- Stopping water at its source. Sump pumps, drainage and foundation sealing belong to other trades
- A sealed room. The planks are waterproof, but standing water can reach the subfloor through the seams
- Any future refinishing. A worn vinyl plank is replaced, it cannot be sanded or recoated
- Stair treads and railings, which are a separate service with their own quote
What changes the price of luxury vinyl plank installation
The price is set after the owner has seen the room. What moves it most is how much flattening the substrate needs, which plank you choose, and what has to come up before the new floor goes down.
| What changes it | How it moves the price | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Substrate flattening | This is where the labor goes. The more grinding and filling the floor needs to meet the plank maker's flatness tolerance, the more the job costs. | A basement slab with a ridge along an old crack needs grinding. A flat one needs cleaning and a straightedge check. |
| Wear layer in mils | A thicker clear wear layer costs more as material and survives traffic longer. | A plank at the 20 mil end of the residential range costs more than one at the 6 mil end, and outlasts it under dogs and chair casters. |
| Core and attached pad | SPC and WPC planks are priced differently, and a separate underlayment adds a layer to the material list. | A plank with pad attached needs no underlayment. One without it adds a layer to buy and to install. |
| What is there now | Removing carpet, old vinyl or a floating floor adds labor. Sometimes the existing floor is sound enough to stay as the substrate. | Carpet and tack strip come up quickly. Sheet vinyl glued to a rough slab takes longer to deal with. |
| Layout and transitions | Doorways, posts, landings and neighboring floors of a different height all mean cuts and transition pieces. | A basement with support columns and three doorways has more cutting than an open rectangle of the same area. |
What to ask before hiring a vinyl plank installer
These questions apply to any contractor, including us. Vinyl plank is sold as easy to install, and it is easy to install badly. The questions that matter are about the floor under the plank.
How will you check that the floor is flat?
A good answer names a straightedge and the tolerance in the plank maker's instructions. If flatness is not mentioned at all, expect joints that separate over the hollows.
What is the wear layer, in mils?
The thickness of the whole plank is not the same thing. The clear wear layer decides how long the printed surface lasts, and it should be written on the quote.
Does this plank need underlayment?
Some planks come with pad attached and must not get a second layer. A contractor who adds underlayment to everything has not read the instructions for the product.
What do you do about moisture in the slab?
The plank is waterproof, but a slab below grade and a history of water still change the specification. A good answer looks at moisture before the product is chosen.
What is under the floor I have now?
Old resilient tile and its black adhesive can contain asbestos. A good answer is that it gets tested before anyone scrapes or sands it, not afterwards.
How much gap do you leave at the walls?
A floating vinyl floor moves with temperature. It needs a perimeter gap and must not be pinned down by tight trim. Planks laid tight to the walls can buckle.
Why homeowners hire Deco Hardwood Floor
Deco Hardwood Floor is owner operated: the person who quotes luxury vinyl plank (lvp) installation is the person responsible for it, and the material comes with the labor in one number.
Material and labor in one number
We buy the flooring direct from the distributor and pass the store price through, so you are not sourcing wood on your own between quotes.
Samples come to your house
Samples and larger offcuts come to you, so the color gets chosen in your own light instead of under a showroom lamp.
Stairs and railings built in house
Treads, risers, handrails and newel posts are drawn and built by our own crew. Most flooring crews subcontract stair work or decline it.
The owner quotes the job
The person who measures your floor is the person responsible for the work. There is no salesperson in between.
Measured before it is promised
Remaining thickness is measured at the edge of a board before we say a floor can be sanded, and no price is firm before we have seen the room.
Told straight, including the limits
Vacuum extraction catches most of the sanding dust and not all of it. We tell you that before the job instead of after.
More about who we are and what we will not claim on the About Deco Hardwood Floor page.
Questions about luxury vinyl plank (lvp) installation
Is luxury vinyl plank really waterproof?
The plank itself is, through its full thickness. The assembly is not a swimming pool: water that stands long enough will find the seams and reach the subfloor. What it does is survive events that would destroy a wood floor.
Can vinyl plank be refinished?
No. When the clear wear layer is worn through, the printed surface goes with it and the plank is replaced. That is the trade for the water resistance.
Is SPC or WPC better?
SPC has a stone-based core: harder, more dimensionally stable, and it reads firmer underfoot. WPC is softer and warmer. Neither is better in the abstract, and a sample walked in your own room settles it faster than a specification sheet.
Will it look like a vinyl floor?
The good products do not, at normal viewing distance. The tell is usually repetition: cheaper lines use few plank images and the pattern repeats visibly across a large room.
Luxury vinyl plank or laminate: which should I choose?
It depends on water. Vinyl plank is waterproof through the board, and laminate has a wood based core that swells if water sits on a seam. For a basement, a laundry room or a bathroom, luxury vinyl plank installation is the safer answer. In a dry bedroom or hallway either one works, and laminate is the less expensive of the two.
How long does luxury vinyl plank installation take?
It depends mostly on the substrate, not on the planks. Clicking the floor together is the quick part of a luxury vinyl plank installation. Removing what is there, grinding the high spots and filling the low ones is the part that varies from one room to the next. We give a schedule after seeing the floor, because the flattening cannot be judged from a photo.
Is luxury vinyl plank worth it compared with hardwood?
It is worth it in the rooms where wood fails, and not as a substitute for wood elsewhere. Luxury vinyl plank installation suits basements, laundry rooms and mudrooms because the plank survives water. In a living room over a dry wood subfloor, hardwood can be sanded and kept for decades, while vinyl is replaced when its wear layer goes. Deco Hardwood Floor installs both and says which room is which.
Can luxury vinyl plank go over my existing floor?
Often yes, if the existing floor is flat, firmly attached and dry. Luxury vinyl plank installation over sound tile or sheet vinyl is common, though deep grout lines may need filling first so the planks are supported across them. Carpet always comes up. A floor that moves underfoot or holds moisture comes up too, because the new planks would inherit the problem.
What can go wrong with a vinyl plank floor?
Most failures come from the substrate, not from the plank. In a luxury vinyl plank installation over an uneven floor, the click joints flex until they separate. Planks laid tight to the walls can buckle when they warm up. Doubling the underlayment under a plank with pad attached is another common mistake. Deco Hardwood Floor checks flatness with a straightedge before anything goes down.
Is vinyl plank a good floor with pets and children?
Yes, it is one of the easier floors to live on with both. Luxury vinyl plank installation leaves a surface that takes spilled water and wipes clean, and a thicker wear layer in mils stands up longer to claws and grit. It can still scratch under dragged furniture, and a scratch cannot be sanded out. The damaged plank gets replaced.
LVP Installation by Philadelphia neighborhood
LVP Installation in the towns around Philadelphia
- Radnor, PA
- Wayne, PA
- Malvern, PA
- West Chester, PA
- Ardmore, PA
- Bryn Mawr, PA
- Villanova, PA
- Newtown, PA
- Media, PA
- Broomall, PA
- Upper Darby, PA
- King of Prussia, PA
- Conshohocken, PA
- Willow Grove, PA
- Horsham, PA
- Harleysville, PA
- Montgomeryville, PA
- Warminster, PA
- Doylestown, PA
- Cherry Hill, NJ
- Robbinsville, NJ
- Hamilton, NJ
- West Windsor, NJ
- Pike Creek, DE
- Hockessin, DE
- Greenville, DE
- Wilmington, DE
LVP Installation terms, defined
- SPC
- A rigid vinyl plank with a stone plastic composite core, made mostly of limestone powder and PVC. It is dense, firm underfoot and dimensionally stable.
- WPC
- A rigid vinyl plank with a wood plastic composite core. It is softer underfoot than a stone core plank, and warmer to stand on.
- click-lock
- A joint milled into the edges of a plank that snaps into the next one, holding the floor together without glue or fasteners.
- underlayment
- A thin layer of foam, cork or felt between the substrate and a floating floor. It softens sound and footfall. It does not correct a floor that is not flat.
- flatness tolerance
- The largest dip or hump a manufacturer allows in the substrate over a stated length, checked with a straightedge before installation.
From the blog
Prefinished or site-finished
You will be told the difference is dust and drying time. The difference that lasts is the bevel and whether the floor can ever be matched.Waterproof flooring, and what the word actually covers
The plank is waterproof. The floor is a plank, a joint, a subfloor and a room, and water only has to beat one of them.
Related work
Send a photo and we will tell you what you are looking at
Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) Installation starts with someone reading the house. We quote every job ourselves, with no salesperson in between, and a photo of the floor gets you a straight answer faster than a form does.
