Why Vinyl Planks Are Out And Laminate is Back
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Did you know that vinyl plank flooring or LVP sales are slowing down, and laminate flooring is making a huge comeback. Many modern laminate floor planks are now waterproof, just like luxury vinyl planks. These floating floor systems are so easy to install. Let me know if you have any questions.
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I installed laminate flooring 20 years ago and it looks as good today as the day of install. Really happy with it.
That’s awesome to hear. Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
18 year old self-installed laminate here, no issues, not even a wear pattern, and this is after 3 kids, 19 foster kids, and 5 dogs.
Awesome to hear this…thanks for sharing 👍🏼
If anyone argues with a guy with 19 foster kids..... You lose
I think it depends on when you installed the product/purchased it. 18 years ago, laminate had a higher quality than say 5 years ago. We've got 3yr old laminate that is experiencing issues from buckling and swelling.
@@TheB-Hallauers good points. And price makes a huge difference. The Menards special at $0.79 a sq foot laminate compared to a name brand at $4.00 a square foot is a much better product.
You forgot about your 100 step kids
I remove click vinyl all the time it’s garbage
I've been a flooring installer for 45 years. The last 10 have been lvp and laminate. My lvp to laminate jobs are 50 to 1. They both have pros and cons, but I'll put my money on lvp every day.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Do you ever hear complaints that LVP is too thin and wavy?
@HomeRapidRepair my brother is the technical guy for a global flooring distributor. They have ceased production on all products below 6mm because of complaints that range from cupping to lock systems breaking. The company I contract with doesn't sell anything below 8mm. Good products aren't cheap and cheap products aren't good. As with everything, buyer beware.
@ thank you for sharing this!! It’s about time we get the quality up ⬆️😊
I bought a product that was sold as EZ install no underlayment needed, and they told me that my cement subfloor in the basement didn’t even need to be leveled. Installed it in 2020 and it already buckling around all the seams. Spend the time and money to do it right.
@ thanks for sharing your experience with us all
We just had lvp installed in our house. We did glue down as my wife is handicapped and has a mobile scooter. They told us cannot use the clip on floating boards because the shifting heavy weight would cause clips to break. Really happy so far being glued down, looks great and easy to clean up liquid or water.
You will be happy with glue down LVP. Much better than the thin cheap snap lock…
Retired flooring contractor here, in the trade since 1969. Right on video. Laminate was just not water resistant enough to begin with. But, the saving grace of laminate was/is the ability to bridge sub floor imperfections. Sub floor prep is the key to a great job, and also can be the most challenging part of your flooring project. Any product that will save you on prep, but still come out as a good looking, acceptable floor is going to be the choice. And now that laminate is water resistant, the choice is easy. The LVP is just too thin, telegraphs all subfloor imperfections.
Thanks for sharing your experience - that's great advice. I appreciate you. Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
@@terrystewart2070 apparently you're not using the right vinyl floor.
Aquatec flooring is one of the best on the market.
I disagree if your floor is not flat or has humps I would go with LVP. You need almost completely flat floors for laminate
We got SPC flooring installed
@@itsjustart24 For viewers: SPC flooring stands for Stone Plastic Composite flooring. It consists of a robust core layer made from a blend of natural limestone powder, polyvinyl chloride, and stabilisers. This unique composition gives SPC flooring its impressive durability and water resistance.
Installed regular laminate flooring in my basement 20 years ago. Still like new. There is one area near the cellar door that flooded one year. The laminate survived. Just a couple of bubbles in the flooring here and there. BTW, I like your presentation and content.
Awesome. Glad to hear it. I agree with you. Thanks for watching 👍🏼😊
My basement vinyl plank floors are over 6 years old still look new without any problems. My brother's premium laminate floors are over ten years old and still looking great.
That’s great news for sure. I love positive stories like that. Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
I just did a kitchen Reno and selected an LVF floor because all I heard was the negativity about the poor water resistance of laminate. I did have my LVF professionally installed and I don't think there are any problems with our sub floor so hopefully I won't have any problems.
@ it sounds like you’ll be fine 👍🏼😊
Is lvp appropriate for basements with the moisture coming up from the ground? Does the lvp let the slab “breathe”?
@
LVP plank flooring is 100% waterproof. So you should be good.
I recently had vinyl installed, so far so good. The installers I used recommended using glue not click in. This allows easy replacement if one plank gets defective without having to redo a whole portion of the floor
Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
Best answer. Non-click true vinyl plank glued
@@nizukan That's assuming you can still get the exact same color and pattern when you need to replace a section.
@@internettoughguy Always plan to have extra material. Pretty much true for any specialty product if you want the option
@@internettoughguybuy some xtra and store them in the crawl space
I installed 79 cent per SF laminate by BHK in my house 15 years ago. Including the kitchen and front entry. They're still in near perfect condition.
That’s amazing! 👍🏼 Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
LVP fan here! No problems, no call backs, no water problem.
I love to hear it. I’m here for success stories 👍🏼😊🏠🛠️
I chose luxury vinyl plank for a large basement application. The material is thick and very heavy, seems bulletproof, and has held up very well. During installation it eats up saw blades, and the packages are hard to handle d/t weight. I think the middle section is ground stone mixed with vinyl for stability. When I think of laminate, I still think of the old MDF core crap, but perhaps it has improved?
Thanks for sharing!Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
I've been using glue down luxury vinyl... love it, no clicky lock in hassles, slap some glue down, slap the vinyl down, off you go.
That’s sounds smart. A few other viewers mentioned similar that glue down vinyl is a great option that people are returning to.
@@HomeRapidRepair Not sure if it is smart... but this is what I have been doing. Our house is on a raised t-foundation with crawlspace. I laid down a 1/4"x4'x6' sheets of concrete hardiboard first. Left those floating and then glued the luxury vinyl down to that. This way removal should be easy regarding the glue mess. Subfloar is unharmed in any way. Cost was more of course for the extra concrete board and install took longer... so far a good 10 years has gone by and looking good.
@@minovskyecm3596 Good job, that's a lot of extra work, but it sounds like it's holding up very well.
@@minovskyecm3596 You just gave a very good idea. Question if you don't mind, won't the backer shift underfoot? Did you have to glue or screw the corners to the subfloor so it's fixed before laying the LVP? Tx.
@@drakeforte5 No, as you glue down the vinyl pieces it basically creates one large floating floor. we haven't seen any issues of separation... none of the backboard is secured to the subfloor and we did the whole house in one giant floating piece, no separation joints anywhere with trim pieces. and that one large floating floor becomes so big and heavy, it hasn't shifted. the backerboards are quite heavy. but, not sure if we have exceeded weight limits on the house... like you can a roof though?
I had Lifeproof LVP from home depot installed like 8 years ago throughout my whole house and haven't had one issue with it. I even had my big pit bull dog who had the zoomies and would run crazy all through my house and he would even start digging in one spot like scratching repeatedly over and over and not one mark or scratch on my floors. I also have it installed in both bathroom and zero issues. I am going to be moving soon and the house Im buying has wood flooring and im thinking of putting LVP over all the wood flooring because I have a dog and OCD and It would bother me to see scratches all over my floors from my dogs nails .
Thank you for sharing the success story with me. I love to hear it. LVP performs really good with dogs. You do point out something you spent good money and got quality. Don’t buy the cheap $.99 per square foot cheap LVP stuff it will not hold up. I’m glad it’s working good for you and yeah, if you stick to the name brand stuff, you will be very happy.
Also got Lifeproof, and we love it. Never had an issue with breaking the tabs off (we did around 1000 sq ft) and it is stiff enough to look completely smooth on our floors (70 year old wood planks with a layer of 1/2" particle board). And it wears like iron (dog nails are no problem). And it just looks great, my wife is very happy with it. Cut ours on a sliding miter, I didn't even realize score-and-break was that easy.
My wife had me put in laminate flooring in the bedroom. It worked out good and I already have the nailer so if I had to do more I would go that route. I wouldn't make my flooring decision based on avoidance of cutting boards, that is one of the easier parts of the job.
Glad it’s working out for you. 👍🏼😊
I use them both regularly, a lot in basements the past 4 years.
In my opinion, just like most things they both have their plusses and negatives.
As far as the vinyl goes, as long as you stay above 6 mils think or more, I have never had a failure.
Then again I would never install over carpet under any circumstance.
With both I bring it to a sub-floor, put down a good vapor barrier and have never had an issue.
You make good points. The plank install over carpet video is thin commercial glue over concrete and above grade. No moisture issues. Thanks for watching
Good video, we redid our floors at home and bought vinyl, soon to return it as the planks were floppy and would not connect well, edge to edge. Seemed too thin as well. So happy we did that.
Thank you for sharing your experience, it's important to choose quality flooring for sure. 👍🏼
Built our new house over 3 years ago. Have LVP in most of the first floor. Love it. No issues whatsoever.
I’m glad to hear that. I like the look of LVP…just sometimes they are too cheap and thin for older houses.
I just had an LVP warranty claim denied, as the inspector found my subfloor was not perfectly flat in my 50+ year old house. The long edges on several planks cracked in three years. Mind you, the inspector needed a laser to determine that the floor was not perfectly flat. I'm going back to laminate. This is the second LVP floor to fail in my kitchen in ten years. The original laminate flooring I had worked great (until the water line to the fridge sprung a leak and destroyed it).
Dang I’m sorry yo read this. However, every day more and more viewers tell me this problem. LVP looks beautiful however we find out it’s too thin and too wavy, and the locking system is too cheap…
I would say the average home subfloor is not smooth enough for LVP flooring to stand up for many years
We just had a house built and put laminate throughout. Love it. Super durable and cost effective
Glad to hear you are happy with your laminate floors! It will last a lifetime! 👍🏼😊
In bathrooms too? Which brand?
@@denisemartin3603 honestly just start reading the packaging labels at the big box stores. You’ll be shocked that most of the laminate manufactured flooring now is rated as waterproof!
Great video and right on the money. I did a complete basement with laminate flooring and it looked great until I had a a flood. The water damaged much of the floor which I had to remove and I replaced with vinyl plank flooring. The vinyl plank flooring looks great but because it moved on a softer surface underneath it started to break up after a couple of years from the movement. Thicker laminate floor will look better over time unless you're putting the vinyl planks over smooth concrete or something that is solid. Two thumbs up on your video with great information.
Awesome. Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate you sharing your experience with flooring. I agree with all your points. Thank you. 👍🏼😊
I was in a large medical facility last week that was previously an enclosed shopping mall. I was surprised at how badly the vinyl flooring looked. It was not the quality but the “professional” installation that stood out. I could see every unevenness, bump, depression and flaw in the concrete slab over which the LVT had been laid. It looked bad!
Thanks for sharing this with me. I am surprised that more people don’t talk about LVP floor quality and installation problems…
LVP requires a very flat substrate
@@mikestevens2053 I 100% agree with you. However, I worry the thousands of people that are purchasing every year don’t realize this fact 👍🏼
We did laminate in a house 20 yrs ago that was water resistant and polyurethane top coat, almost indestructable.
Awesome to hear. Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
Installed laminate in three of my bathrooms and satisfied with the result. Though harder to work with and requires power tools or a floor laminate cutter, it feels more durable and more forgiving with subfloor irregularities. My only qualm is that my back and knees ache after doing the job.
Ha…I 100% feel ya pain on the back stuff
Went with LVP renovated old house in 2017 and sold it in August 2023. In our brand new build home we went with the same LVP. Had professional installers do it both times that we know and trust.
Glad it’s working out for you! 👍🏼 Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
I have both in the home right now. CORtec LVPT is the best quality. I've had it down for nearly 6 years and it looks like the day we put it in. Easy to install, strong and thick color layer. The laminate is also a high quality brand the name escapes me at the moment (will update when I find it). It's been down throughout the larger portion of the house for nearly 15 years. Not that we haven't loved the laminate, but If I had it to do all over again, it would be LVP floor without question. We have been a pet household with between 5-6 pets, 5 dogs and a large breed cat the entire 20 years we've been in the home.
You also want to get what they refer to as rigid LVP. It's a lot less floppy than the product you referenced in the video and comes with a cork underlayment pre-manufactured to the back of the planks.
The CORtec isn't cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for the the world of floating flooring.
I absolutely love the look and feel of the CORtec with its quality imagery, colors, finish and embossing. Another key benefit to using a quality LVP over laminate is its expansion and contraction rate when compared to laminate. It's minimal if at all which means you are a lot, (significantly less likely) to have gaps appear between the planks and/or at the baseboards.
I am getting ready to install LVP throughout my daughter's home early this month. Pulling out the laminate that was installed nearly 10 years ago.
Thank you for sharing all of this and all your experience. You make a lot of good points. I’m glad you’re happy with that product. And yes, I have heard many viewers say they like CORtec 👍🏼😊
So due to less expansion is why you are going with lvp? Which was more dent and scratch resistant?
I've had vinyl planks in my last two residents. You should buy and look at vinyl floors that are stamped and colored all the way through not a veneer. Like anything else you get what you pay for.
Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
I have installed both without issue but waterproof is usually my main concern. I do like the rigidity of laminate - if they can actually get to “waterproof”. And the “luxury” in LVP is only a marketing term - reflected in the price. If installed properly, with proper substrate, no one would tell the difference.
All great points. Thank you. Many of the laminate flooring manufacturers are now using the term waterproof…is it just marketing? Time will tell.
What about Rev wood laminate. Claims to be waterproof with a wax barrier?
@ I like it 👍🏼👍🏼
I'm picking old fashioned sheet vinyl for the kitchen floor and will have it installed by a pro. I have water resistant (up to 24 hours) Pergo laminate in about half the house.
Sounds great! Hey good old-fashioned sheet vinyl will never steer you wrong. I have a video coming out next week about installing peel and stick 12” x 24“ vinyl tiles that are back in trend 👍🏼😊
Went with laminate, it just looks so much better!
Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
I've installed a wood laminate flooring on several houses over the years. I recently redid most of my current house with a thick wood laminate, largely because I was comfortable with it and was concerned with the flex of the vinyl plank over an uneven subfloor. It went together great and I'm happy with it. Just the other week, I decided to try vinyl plank in a walk-in closet, and was surprised by how easy it is to damage the joints and surface of the flooring at the joints, especially in tight areas. Definitely need to be more careful with the vinyl plank flooring during installation, and take your time. Having said that, cutting the vinyl planking with a knife makes it MUCH easier and cleaner to install.
You bring up all the points of what people are dealing with. Vinyl plank flooring can be a great product, however they make it way too thin and the locking system too weak 😳
I have ancient Pergo installed in my condo, probably 35 years old - 98% still in great condition. Occasionally, something has dropped that damaged it a bit, not enough to worry about fixing, and a bit of water damage where kitchen sink plumbing flooded, but very little. For me, probably the newer waterproof laminate. I love the feel of the old Pergo, since I have a couple of different styles, I miss the one white pergo with delicate blue and pink flowers, looks "old" - most of my condo is more of a traditional wood look -
The longevity of the older quality laminate flooring is incredible. It's good to know that even with some water damage, it's still in good shape! 👍🏼😊 You’ll love the new flooring options, keep researching. You’ll find great flooring.
@@HomeRapidRepair Agreed 100%. Quality of laminate has dropped since it first came over from Europe 20ish years ago. Hard to find the original brands of laminate now. Just cheapened North American brands.
I had a 200 gallon salt water aquarium burst and flooded my living area. I replaced the carpeting with a thick Mohawk Laminate plank from a local flooring discount store. It was a DIY. There are some chips and a couple planks that have shifted (DIY issue) and it looks dated. Not worn and used, just style. It's been 20 years now on those floors. I installed it in the kitchen (high water risk area), living room and dining room. First time ever installing flooring. It has held up extremely well. Of those 20 years of use, the first 5 had a pair of Rottweilers and two kids. The last 15 years were renters with pets.
I am starting a remodel/flip and will decide between LVT and Vinyl Planks. Cost and ease of installation will be the factor. I also installed LVT in a house in Hawaii as part of a remodel. It was the stiff version not the thin wavy strips. Looked nice.
Thank you for sharing your experience and these flooring stories 👍🏼😊 We all learn together
25 years ago, I had Wilsonart laminate installed in our front entryway, living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway. It looks the same as the day it was installed, despite kids and an 80 lb dog. The planks were glued together, and absolutely no water damage has occurred with snow being tracked into the house or mopping. Shame Wilsonart no longer makes this.
That’s an amazing testament to their quality. Thanks for sharing this with me and the viewers 👍🏼😊🛠️
Had LVP installed 4 years ago in bathroom. After a while, began to notice musty smell. Pulled some up and found mold. Anyplace the lvp was, there was mold. Its waterproof but doesn’t breathe. If there are any small imperfections in the subfloor where there may be an air pocket, it will condensate. Never again will I use it. Replaced with tile. Have had carpet, wood and old school linoleum without issues, just the lvp a d I know others who have had similar issues.
You bring up some very interesting points. Thank you for sharing this. Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
Our vinyl joints started failing after a couple of years. Some planks have cracked right through. The flooring came with a 10 year guarantee. Replacing it with laminate.
Thank you for watching. . Increasingly I’m getting more viewers saying the same thing. I understand you can buy thicker higher -quality LVP vinyl planks, but most people are buying the cheaper thin ones for sure… They look pretty, but they are not strong at all.
Had a company few years back that just used glue on vinyl planks no locking on sides just glue on the concrete & hold well, only thing is surface has to not have any small chips in concrete or will show bubble but for most part looks good.
Thanks for sharing your experience with vinyl flooring 👍🏼😊
Thank you Thank you Thank you for this video. I'm starting to shop for new kitchen floors, and this was so very helpful. I'm going with laminate due to its thickness and softer feel underfoot. And... it's now water resistant!
Awesome. Also check reviews of the brand you are choosing to confirm you are getting quality. With floor planks don’t go too cheap…Thanks for watching and commenting, I appreciate you taking the time.
Thank you for producing this video. My current house has 2,500 square feet of mismatched, chipped ceramic tile that I’ve considered removing and replacing with LVF. But knowing that the 50-year-old slab below is likely uneven and lightly cracked in places, I was wondering if LVF would allow these imperfections to “telegraph” through the material.
I’ll probably end up going with the current generation of waterproof laminate, especially after having them in my last house for 10+ years, with no problems.
You would have to use a good quality underlayment before the laminate and then I think it’ll be fine.
If you go with LVP, there are thicker and higher quality ones with a good underlayment pad already attached to each plank.
If you’re convinced the concrete slab is structurally sound you can also pour self leveling compound first to take care of the low spots and make everything more even before you install your new floor. Good luck.
Hmmm. I just had a house built, and put LVP in every square inch of the interior floor. We have not moved in yet, but the only complaint I have is that it shows the imperfections in the cement underneath. When you open the front door, there is a sliding glass door right across the house, and the reflection of the light magnifies the wavy imperfections in the subfloor, which makes it look cheap --- kinda like linolium. That waviness was a surprise to me, and I don't like it. But at this point it is what it is. It's only visible and an issue in the center of the family room visible from the entrance, because of the light coming in from the sliding glass doors. Should be less noticeable once we furnish the home. If they truly have made laminate waterproof, that might be the preferred choice, because of the extra rigidity.
LVP is so stinking thin, of course it shows all the imperfections. Remember this is the product the Realtors told us would add tons of value to our houses. You won’t notice it as much after furniture and area rugs…
The other thing I don't like about the LVP is that because it's a floating floor, it clicks and pops as you walk on it. It's not glued down, because supposedly it needs room to move, as things expand and contract, with heat, cold, and foundation settling. Or did they just wanna save a step by not using any adhesive.
I wqs going to buy LVP for a job this week. I truly am going to rethink that. My floors are pretty wavy.
Laminate will hide those waves better than LVP 👍🏼😊
My 2002-built home had Pergo flooring in kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room when I purchased it in 2004; of course over the years water leaks damaged parts of those (seemed to have carboard inner layer). I tore out that and carpeting and used luxury lifetime vinyl flooring from Home Depot, especially liked that this had attached underlayment already on the planks. I had installed engineered wood flooring before in another home, and putting down underlayment separately was a hassle, especially when I had keep dogs off any sections that I didn't get the planks down. Had there been engineered wood floors available with attached underlayment backing, I would've gone that route.
Thank you for sharing your flooring experience with us all. We spend so much money on flooring and often do no research before purchasing 😊
Installed Lexington Oak vinyl flooring 6 years ago in all my rooms. Still looks like new and I have not encountered any of the problems mentioned in the video.
Thank you for sharing your experience 👍🏼😊
The quality and durability of a laminate floor really depends on the thickness of the laminate boards being used .. a minimum of 8mm is a must for any household. Personally, I broke the bank and layed down 12mm thick laminate boards, cushioned from beneath with a 2mm thick layer of PE foam. Very happy with the results.
Nice work. I can imagine how nice that new laminate floor is 👍🏼😊
I considered plastic planks but installed 1'x2' porcelain tiles in my kitchen. Many are made with a wood appearance. Expensive and time-consuming to install professionally, especially with a plastic uncoupling membrane (ex. Schluter Ditra). I tiled all the way to the walls and put the cabinets and appliances on top. Was afraid plastic flooring might warp under the weight (pro range ~500 lb). Also read that laminates are damaged by water.
You make a lot of great points here. I LOVE the wood appearance porcelain floor tiles
I dont use either now unless the product can be taken up and put down again without damage. If you get a small flood (leaking pipe) you have to take the floor up to get rid of the water which always gets underneath and stinks. Now I use sheet vinyl flooring which looks like laminate but is softer, warmer and can easily be lifted and put back.
Carpenter for over 43 years and installed countless tile, solid wood, laminates and LVP floors. Installing quality LVP flooring in our retirement/forever home on a golf course in SC. A good friend installed expensive Pergo laminate in his home about 6 years ago and is quite disappointed at his decision after his aging dog ruined it. Never buy LVP planks with less than a 20 mil wear layer and enjoy your floor for longer than most people live in their home.
This is Great advice, thanks for sharing. The thin LVP is sort of trash. Please people do some basic research before dropping thousands of dollars on your new floor 👍🏼😊
Why not LVP with glue down? I have them in my basement floor, the uneven basement floor is not ideal for both laminate and click-lock LVP, but perfect for the glue down LVP.
I agree with you. And many viewers are certainly saying the same thing. A glued down vinyl product is superior.
I'm a flooring installer. 20 yrs experience. I prefer installing lvp but don't mind laminate. I do believe lvp is Superior. Especially the higher grade stuff. The lips are sturdier
The winner for me is vinyl , laminate in normal summer time conditions . it expanses and contracts ,making cracking sounds when walked on, also [for the most part] is cuts with a knife. No big mess.
Yes all your points are very good here 👍🏼
I have installed multiple types of flooring. I am one of the few that likes the vinyl sheet flooring. The most recent floor I have now was professionally installed VLP at $3.19 a sq. Foot and the install cost of course. I am in the house 4 months, flooring has several spots where the floor is “cupping”. We also had a plumbing issue where we had water all over about 5 times. All over like in multiple rooms to the point where the plumbing had to be re-done. Several areas the seam look to be separating.
Thinking this may be a bad install?
Your thoughts?
I am going with Republic SPC flooring, it has a stone/pvc core which is more rigid and has tongue v groove on all four sides.
Great idea. You sound very smart. Thanks for watching and sharing with me your awesome flooring choice
The best is glue down vinyl. LVP can warp and buckle. I don't trust a water proof claim from laminate. We just did a glue down vinyl in our basement direct to the concrete. Its water proof. Even if it sits under water, the water will not leak under the planking, because it is glued down. Look and feel is very good.
100% agree with all your points here. Good stuff 👍🏼😊
Waterproof laminate is the way to go...they smartly solved the original problem. That's what I'll use from now on, for sure.
You’ve got it figured out! 👍🏼😊
I just finished another room that has a major hump in the middle of the room (approx 3/4" drop over 2'). I was concerned about using vinyl, given that everyone seems to say the floor has to be very flat for vinyl. But after thinking about it and laying a vinyl plank and laminate plank over the hump, I found the vinyl's flex is much better able to handle the hump on the floor than laminate. So I went with the vinyl, and it worked fine. It just flexed to the hump, sitting nice and flush on the humped floor. In fact, a vinyl plank will flex about 1.5" over 2', so about double the hump in my floor. I also found a few areas of up to 1/4" depression, which I had to fill in because the vinyl would not flex downward to the depressions nearly as well as draping over humps.
Thanks for sharing all this information. I like that you’re thinking problems through & solving the problems. That’s more than what a lot of homeowners do. Yeah, I find the low spots are more important to fix than the high humps. I have a hump in one of my houses right now. It’s more important to fill the low spots such as self leveling compound before installing LVP. Thanks for watching 👍🏼😊
Lvp all the way. The newer, well made flooring is bombproof. I installed in my rental, awsome. I do a lot of multifamily consutling and everyone is using it as a standard. I have discussed with architects, comtractors, propery managers and maintenance personnel. The only place I could see using is sheet vinyl in a rental in a bathroom as I think you get better protection.
I agree with your sentiments here. As long as you’re buying the quality stuff. Don’t buy the cheap vinyl and expected it to perform… 👍🏼😊
YIKE!...now I need to pull all my LVP! 😲
LAMINATE is the answer! 😃
Ha ha. Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
Using quality LVP like CoreTec and you will have ZERO issues. Ours is 6 years old in a home with 4 Boxer dogs and it still looks brand new.
That’s awesome. Glad to hear you can still find quality materials. Thanks for watching 😊👍🏼
We also have CoreTec some of it is 8 years old. no problems.
Over 9 yr old Coretec on unlevel concrete slab. Replaced old laminate. Laminate seams were separating at low spots. LVP no separation. Looks new.
@ LVP is thin…can you see the wavy areas?
@@HomeRapidRepair Nope i bought an expensive LVP
Have installed many laminate floors in the past. Recently installed LVP in my own house as I wanted the waterproof ability of the LVP. The one thing I will tell you is the LVP scratches so easily. Laminate was almost indestructible but I had to remove all the plastic glides on all my furniture and change them out to felt as the slightest grain of sand gets between them and the next thing you know you have a 4 ft. scratch across your new floor. Both look great but the perfect floor would be a water proof laminate and the options are limited.
You make great points here. Thanks 👍🏼😊
Sorry that happened to you. Looks like you got either ripped off or bought a cheap product. All cheap floors will do that.
There are many different qualities of LVP floors. I was deciding on a floor for a remodel and wanted LVP so I could have the same flooring throughout (including kitchen and bathrooms). I got about 10 samples of different brands of LVP and did a "fork test" where I ran the tines of a fork against the material. With some of them, the finish scratched off very easily. Others took a little more force, and for a couple I couldn't get it to scratch no matter how hard I tried. I ended up getting GemCore, which has proved bulletproof so far. It sounds like unfortunately your LVP was the kind that scratched easily.
@ sounds very smart to me. Thanks for sharing your experience with us all. I appreciate it 👍🏼
Thanks for sharing. Nice take on your explanation of the differences between the two. You make a lot of good points.
Glad you think so! Thanks for watching.
I use the vinyl in my base cabinets for the water resistance, but laminate flooring throughout the house.
You are a smart one. Great work and much respect to you 👍🏼😊
I’ve had both types of floors. The laminate swelled because of moisture by the doorways. The vinyl planks the ends and sides cracked off, especially the ends in high traffic areas as he said. The floor has been down for three years now, and it will need to be replaced cracking in many places. Next floor will not be planks. I’ve been in several model homes and they are using vinyl sheet flooring and it looks great.
You are making really great points of the problems with this snap together “easy” flooring.
Cheap vinyl planks, your concerns are 100% correct. High quality planks though are way stronger then laminate, easy to install, and guaranteed water proof
Thank you 👍🏼😊 Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
Perfect timing. I have 5 different types of flooring on my main floor and I am getting ready to redo it all. 4 of those floors are laminate, one is carpet. The laminate in the kitchen was ruined due to a dishwasher leak that swelled the boards and then they shrunk. I said no more laminate, I need something waterproof. My daughter did LVP at her house. I was sold on LVP next, but now I may have to go with Laminate.
If you buy thicker LVP you’ll like the quality. It costs more but is so with it.
And today’s laminate floor planks are so much better than years ago. Good luck picking out your new floors 👍🏼😊
I self installed vinyl planks in my home. It wasn’t too bad of a job. But I have a funky subfloor and you can tell in places. I have a couple spots giving out but it has been good 4 years now.
Thanks for watching. That’s interesting! I’ve seen that too.
@ you definitely have me considering laminate for the next floor job :) I found it most interesting that you say it stays more straight overtop the subfloor
@ yes absolutely 👍🏼
Hardwood floor is my next floor.
You will never go wrong with real wood 👍🏼😊
Most laminate has a moisture resistant sheet on the bottom that helps as well. Roberts 1406 glue in between the seams and you are good to go for life.
Sounds great…Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
I don't like plank either. I've seen alot of brands lifting at butt joints a little. Like hardly noticeable but I've seen it.
Got rid of our disgusting laminate and was so happy to see it all in the dumpster. We love our glue down luxury vinyl. The best place for laminate is in the recycle centre or the dump
I’m glad you love your floors. Glue down LVP will always hold up better than a snap lock system. 👍🏼😊
As a carpenter for over 50 years I would use vinyl hands down over laminate! One thing is it doesn’t sound like you’re wearing tap shoes when you walk across it! Pets are more comfortable walking across it! And it’s just easier to install! And above all you don’t have to worry about it getting wet!
You make very good points here. Thanks for sharing your experience with us 👍🏼😊
I considered RevWood laminate for an update to our master bedroom and hallway. LVP was never a consideration. After much thought, I'm going to install engineered hardwood. I installed engineered hardwood 13 years ago in our kitchen, breakfast area, and main entry, and it still looks great. I agree, there's nothing luxury about LVP.
Thanks for your comments. I’ve installed every floor that you mentioned. You will be super pleased with the engineered wood floor. I have that in my house on the main level. Literally every time you walk on it it feels like real luxury, not fake luxury…
I had a top-of-the-line Pergo laminate floor put in a condo in 2013. The thing was popping and snapping when you walked on it within six months of installation. I now live in a home that was built in 2017 and used as a model for one year. They used luxury vinyl plank on the floors. I’ve never had such a good floor. It’s absolutely 100% perfect. Nothing is popping loose, there’s no noises. It’s just been Perfect. For me the luxury vinyl plank is a no-brainer over laminate.
Thanks for sharing your experience 👍🏼😊 I agree with everything you shared. All the snap lock floors in the early 2000’s were bad.
If you have subfloor problems, you will feel them through either product. I had laminate installed in my kitchen, and replaced it with lvp after a flood. I should have used self levelling cement before the laminate and then either product would have been good.
Yeah, I think you’re right. I just think the waviness of thin LVP shows through more... But yeah, nobody can expect a good quality long lasting finish floor if the underneath substrate is uneven or sloping. Thank you for commenting.
We have installed both laminate and vinyl…vinyl can be more difficult to install, but I have bought different price point laminate, including water resistant, and I have always had issues somewhere in the floor with swelling. The vinyl no. I am drawing a blank on the brand name, but I got it at Great Floors, they don’t carry it in stock, a vinyl, it’s click edge is very thick, a bit difficult to click in, but it tolerates a ton of wear, doesn’t scratch as easily as the stuff from Home Depot, and is still beautiful after ten years of kid and pet shenanigans. Vinyl is also much more quiet. If I remember the brand I’ll come back and update.
Holy cow you make some great points here thanks for sharing with us 👍🏼😊
@ you are welcome! Still trying to get my brain to pop up the brand name!
Our 1st generation Pergo, the kind with glued edges, has held up great for over 20 years in living and dining areas. The only reason we're replacing it is because we're remodeling. Not sure what we'll replace it with. I'm not comfortable putting any wood, lvp or laminate in kitchen or bath so those areas will likely get tile or sheet vinyl. The only downside I can think of with laminate in dry areas is it's harder to install and more noisy. Any low areas in your subfloor can be fixed with flash patch so I don't think that should rule out LVP.
Thanks for watching…I agree with everything you say. You know what’s going on 👏🏼😊🏠
Good old sheet vinyl! It’s getting harder to find but I’ll take a high quality sheet vinyl over LVP or Laminate
Suggest not putting any floating floor on top of carpet
@@GetToThePointplz123 it was thin commercial carpet glued down over concrete.
Having only installed 3 homes using vinyl. I found that yes there are cheap snap on types. But doing your homework. There are very good and stronger lock type vinyls. However I do like the feel and look of Laminate.
You're right, there are some great quality vinyl planks out there too. Thanks for commenting 👍🏼😊
I've installed both over the years.
What I have noticed recently on some of the vinyl and laminate flooring are the butt ends separating...and all installed over nice flat subfloors.
Cheers
Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
I’ve had laminate and I’ve had lvp in my finished basement. The lvp by leaps and bounds was/is better.
Sounds great. 😊 Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
You grt what you pay for! There is LVP that has very good locking joints. Lifeproof is an excellent product.
Thanks I agree. Yes lots of viewers are mentioning Lifeproof brand 👍🏼😊
I'm picking vinyl planks for a couple of reasons. #1 I know how to work with it and if you treat it right you won't damage the locking edges. #2 I haven't gotten a sample of the "new" laminate planks but I don't think they will be any stronger than LVP over the long term and I haven't had a sample to throw in a bucket of water for a week. If it passes the water test I may consider it but only if it passes that test. Do you know what binder they use in it and can you still score and snap like you can vinyl. If it doesn't pass both of those tests I won't use it.
As long as you buy good quality vinyl planks, you’ll be happy with them. Yes the easy cutting and installation of them is great. Although I think I personally install laminate planks quicker… because the locking system seems a little bit stronger. I can go faster.
But if time isn’t your consideration, you’re fine.
No you cannot cut laminate planks anything like vinyl planks. Laminate cutting is a little bit of a pain in the butt. It’s literally like cutting wood… You need power tools and it’s very dusty.
Glue down vinyl always shrinks. Within a year all the side seams will be gapped. After the winter. Atleast in the colder climate areas.
Thanks for sharing your experience
From my understanding, this is usually with more of budget friendly version of each. Having a LVP with more then 5 mm and around 20 mil wear layer is going to beat most of laminate flooring even with their new water proof or resistance. And LVP is better for uneven floors too since laminate is a bit too sturdy and can cause problems.
I agree with you. Thicker is better. If you install LVP over an uneven sub floor it does’t look good. Too wavy…
@@HomeRapidRepair Yes, however, laminate flooring is more prone to having problems when installed on uneven floors. LVP is more flexible. LVP is better then nothing. Besides you are supposed to follow the manufacture instruction to properly install over uneven floors.
It depends on how uneven the floorings are as well, if it minor uneven to the point where it is no big deal and LVP will look just fine, even in this situation, laminate core are too durable and it is prone to problems with this.
delamination was a problem with laminate flooring and the MDF core was junk. I find LVP an improvement.
Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
My LVP failed within 2 years for exactly why you said !! 2000 sq feet failed
It’s so crazy right? Sorry to hear this. Thanks for watching.
@ a floating floor with a poorly designed lock is terrible. Around heavy furniture, in kitchen around heavy appliances around heavy traffic: all areas that LVP failed. $6500 material, 7500 Labor wasted ! Not to mention the major inconvenience and expense to replace. No one warned me , not my general contractor, not my installer, not my flooring supplier. They all just point fingers and I am just planning to rip it all out. I wish I had seen your video as it’s rare to find out how poor LVP is. Hopefully others will learn before buying! Thank you for the honest assessment!
@ wow. I’m sorry to read that story but now I’m seeing more and more of these examples. Thank you for sharing. People will learn from your example 👍🏼😊
I have had both floors. I prefer the vinyl floors. Laminate flooring swelled and planks became compromised. Vinyl is easier to replace, more affordable and just as easy to install. I would use heavier laminate in larger rooms, but vinyl in mud rooms, laundry rooms, bathrooms, and any room that has wet foot traffic.
I’ve heard that about laminate flooring, some brands swell, thanks for the advice! I do see laminate is much better now than years ago 👍🏼
We installed LVP throughout our home 2 years ago and I will never go back. Snap lock has broken on the end of most boards and it shows. Look horrible!!! Laminate is what I will go back to.
I think you are very smart. Some other viewers agree with you for sure. Some of the LVP’s are just too darn thin, wavy and cheap. They do make thicker ones though however for a lot more money…
Everything depends on the sub floor quality and locking mechanism on the planks. I finished installing 1600 square feet of oak and maple solid 3/4 inch planks and like those best. Tried LVP for the kitchen over tiles but have had problems with the locking system the long way. The floor moves too much when you walk on it even though it is within specs for expansion. So, I'm trying some double sided floor tape that claims to retain tackiness for 30 years on the last two rows. We'll see. For the TV room it may be laminate over the Bruce glue down planks I put in 31 years ago. So, it is concrete with Bruce glue down planks with cork with laminate or LVP. Which would you choose for this?
If you do LVP honestly I don’t think you’ll be happy because it’s too thin and shows unevenness. I would definitely do laminate or cork. I don’t have much experience with cork though to be honest. There are so many good quality laminate floors out there on the market now and the locking systems are excellent. Good luck.
@@HomeRapidRepair The cork I am thinking would be an underlayment. The house would be warmer. It get's very cold around here. There are so many new products now that didn't exist 32 years ago when we first moved into the house.
I had laminate in my old home and the main issue was water damage due to not catching liquid on the floor quick enough. We have vinyl now, but it has only been a year. It does show subfloor imperfections.
I've heard that a lot of people are having subfloor issues with vinyl. But I think you’ll be OK. Thank you for watching and commenting on my video. I appreciate it.
I used Pergo back in the day and it held up well. I have used Lifeproof and it has held up well. So, I will have to investigate the new flooring to obtain an opinion. Lifeproof has held up well in rentals, no doubt. Pergo as well. Jury is out on those two. Thanks for the video, Larry.
Awesome to hear. Thanks for sharing your experience with those brands 👍🏼😊
I am serious considering Lifeproof to go over my ceramic tile floors. The tile is hard and cold.
@@bi2stayharris23 yes it will be a much more comfortable floor for you. Good luck 😊
used to work in a big box store, we tested Pergo at the entrance to the breakroom, it failed.
I’ve never installed plank flooring but am an experienced DIY ‘r and believe it’s a job I can do myself and not need to hire a professional if I research the process. I’ve done nail down solid hardwood planks in several houses and it’s a lot of work. My next project is to replace the worn out carpet in my basement family game room where we have a pool table and a lounge area for TV, gaming and playing music. The carpet is laid over a concrete slab floor. My question is, do I need to put some sort of moisture barrier underlay down before I install the plank floor, or is there a type of plank flooring that can be installed directly on the concrete. I would also like it to be comfortable under foot and not too echoing when we are watching tv or playing games and music. The basement is dry and I live in an area where we experience cold winter and hot summers. What advice do you have regarding my situation and what brand or style of planks would work best for my application.
You’ll do great. I think I’ve personally installed every type of floor out there known to mankind. If you purchase LVP vinyl plank flooring, you can go right over it with no fear of moisture issues at all. If you go with laminate flooring, you’re definitely going to want to buy a quality underlayment pad and that also helps with the cheap tin like sound. If you did worry about moisture, you could tape down plastic first as a dampness test. But it sounds like you’re convinced you’re pretty dry.
Double check the label if it’s ready to go right over Concrete. Some of the laminates have a pad already attached to each plank.
When the guys installed LVP in my Pool house, they spent an inordinate amount of time leveling the floor. Now I know why. At the time I just thought they were trying to run up the billable hours.😅
Thanks for sharing this story 👍🏼😊
Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
If you're going with manufactured flooring planks, the PVC ones work okay in bathrooms. But it needs a good base.
I agree with you. Thanks for watching 👍🏼😊
Thank you, informative.
You are most welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful. 👍🏼😊
Vinyl with built in padding. The padding takes care of slightly uneven underlayment if of good quality, also vinyl is repairable if you know what you are doing without pulling planks unless it is really ripped apart.
Thanks for watching and taking time out of your day for responding to my video. I appreciate it.
Repairable? Please tell us how
@@spacemanspiff8837 Yes by a couple of ways, did a seam on a relay by caulking it with caulk that was colored to match with acrylic pain mixed in, for like holes and stuff there are furniture sticks that you can melt and blend, they are made of resin. I didn't say it was an easy amateur job.
I put pergo in my new house wall to wall over 20 years ago, it still looks great. I have family members that put in lvp and it always just looked cheap. And after a few years it looks terrible and needs replaced.
Oh wow! 100% agree with your observations and sentiments. Thanks for sharing this with me 😊
Installed laminate 5 years ago. Failed within one year. They fought the warranty when the top surface was breaking away because they alleged water damage. There was never a drop. Proof was the delamination was only on one side of each joint. Water would have destroyed both sides. The thin "particle board" tongues were fracturing, which cause the layers to separate. The reason for that was that they insist we buy their thin foam underlayment. ILL CONCEIVED! It is supposed to prevent slapping sounds but it compresses with weight on it. If you are standing one one plank, it goes down, maybe a tiny fraction of a millimeter, but that makes the flimsy tongue to the next plank carry your whole weight, shearing off the thin tongue. I think it might have survived if I omitted the underlayment, but that kills the warranty. They finally refunded my whole purchase price, but not the wasted labor. Many youtube videos from pros complaining of the same disasters.
Thank you for sharing your story and your experience. I appreciate your time. Yeah I hear stories like this a lot too. They sell snap plank flooring systems as a do-it-yourself product but so many of them are really cheap and inferior. I cannot believe to this day they still sell $.79 per square foot garbage out there on the market.
I have lvp in my home in Thailand. 2y so far and only issue is some peaking at the butt join in the hallway. Am very happy with it.
I don’t see any imperfections from the concrete floor, just feel when walking.
All fair points. Thanks for sharing your experience.
@@Tony-eb5kh peaking means pressure, and will eventually cause the thinner locking mechanism to crack. Right now removing quarter round could solve the situation. Good luck.
@@TheConstructionchick thanks for the feedback. Am not from America but am assuming quarter round is some sort of moulding around the edges. I layed the floor with a gap of 10mm from the wall and then fixed a baseboard on top allowing for movement. Maybe Thailand’s temperature and humidity varies dramatically compared to America and my country. Regardless, not worried.
Thanks anyway 👍
@@Tony-eb5kh I meant removing the quarter round (trim molding) to find the pressure and trim for the expansion. no problem. I truly love lvp and such a good product.
Installed Armstrong LVP 10 yrs ago, just replaced with ceramic. The joints failed on perfectly level floor.
See all these viewers telling me I’m crazy…I knew it. Too much of the LVP are thin garbage…
Laminate I've seen always looked cheaper to me, my eye always notices it instantly. Vinyl plank always seemed to mimic wood flooring better.
The interlocking 2'x1' tile LVP in my kitchen also mimicks ceramic tile insanely well.
The downside to vinyl is the good stuff is pricey(almost defeating the purpose) and so thick you can no longer simply score and snap. I used compound miter saw for the kitchen tile LVP.
I've done LVP 3 times in my home and refinished the original oak flooring for one project.
Great points all. You have a lot of experience 👍🏼😊
The three vinyl problems you describe are all solved with a level floor.
You are correct. Thanks. Although most average home owners aren’t going to do all that extra work.