# Anyone Installed Luxury Vinyl Plank? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534 "2017-07-31T20:45:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534/1 "2017-07-31T20:45:50Z")
I’m thinking about pulling old carpet out of a room and installing Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring. I have done Pergo laminate before, but the vinyl stuff looks like it’s even easier to install, especially when it needs to be cut. Looks like it’s easy to do with a sharp utility knife, as opposed to having to saw laminate. Any tips, tricks or advice? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![jdc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@jdc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdc)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534/2 "2017-07-31T21:55:39Z")
We have installation in Church basement hall that looks great but failing in spots. Probably moisture related, due to unsealed slab. Might also be that asbestos abatement contractor used solvent to remove old asbestos mastic along with asbestos tiles. This latter fact allowed GC and Flooring contractor to avoid any responsibility for failure \< 1 year in spots of the installation. So - read manufacture specs carefully on installation requirements. If a slab, I’d epoxy seal minimum before gluing down the luxury plank. ---
**Author:** ![txobbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@txobbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txobbin)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534/3 "2017-07-31T22:22:03Z")
I have not yet, but will be doing a kitchen remodel soon. Is [this](http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring-Luxury-Vinyl-Planks/TrafficMASTER/N-5yc1vZbzjzZdfo/Ntk-BrandSearch/Ntt-allure?Ntx=mode+matchall&NCNI-5&browsestoreoption=2)what you are thinking of? That was one of the first flooring options I considered. Many styles and colors, and it did look easy to put down. How much use will the room get? Read the reviews and Q&A to help determine if it is right for you. Be aware that it should not be wet mopped; dust mop or damp mop recommended. That is why I decided to go with [Aquaguard](https://www.flooranddecor.com/aquaguard-laminate)during my remodel. A little pricier, yes, but I believe the thickness and durability will be worth it for my purposes. The thickest LVP I could find was 5mm, this stuff is 8mm-12mm! And it can be wet mopped, important for the room I will be putting it in. This may not apply to you, you obviously did not mop your carpet 😉 When the floor rep took his car keys and scratched across the Aquaguard display model leaving no marks, I was sold. I took my keys and scratched on some LVP samples, some left a mark and some did not. Best of luck to you whichever way you go. Isn’t remodeling both exciting \*and \*exhausting?! ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534/4 "2017-07-31T23:07:00Z")
> [@txobbin](#): > > I have not yet, but will be doing a kitchen remodel soon. > > Is [this](http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring-Luxury-Vinyl-Planks/TrafficMASTER/N-5yc1vZbzjzZdfo/Ntk-BrandSearch/Ntt-allure?Ntx=mode+matchall&NCNI-5&browsestoreoption=2)what you are thinking of? That was one of the first flooring options I considered. Many styles and colors, and it did look easy to put down. How much use will the room get? Read the reviews and Q&A to help determine if it is right for you. Be aware that it should not be wet mopped; dust mop or damp mop recommended. > > That is why I decided to go with [Aquaguard](https://www.flooranddecor.com/aquaguard-laminate)during my remodel. A little pricier, yes, but I believe the thickness and durability will be worth it for my purposes. The thickest LVP I could find was 5mm, this stuff is 8mm-12mm! And it can be wet mopped, important for the room I will be putting it in. This may not apply to you, you obviously did not mop your carpet 😉 > > When the floor rep took his car keys and scratched across the Aquaguard display model leaving no marks, I was sold. I took my keys and scratched on some LVP samples, some left a mark and some did not. > > Best of luck to you whichever way you go. Isn’t remodeling both exciting \*and \*exhausting?! Yes, the Home Depot stuff was exactly what I was looking at. I’ll probably look real close at what Lumber Liquidators has to offer, too. The Aquaguard stuff is interesting, but more heavy (and pricey) than I really need. The room I’m doing is simply a bedroom - above grade (2nd floor) and with standard subfloor. It’s not going to see a lot of use. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534/5 "2017-08-01T18:54:41Z")
I put LV planks in the master bathroom during our remodel 3 years ago. It has held up really well and has fooled more than one person who thought it was real wood. One trick I used was to stack all of the planks by pattern and then make sure that no 2 identical planks were butted end-to-end or right next to each other. I know it sounds a bit OCD, but the brain is really good at picking out patterns from noise and having them repeat that closely makes the floor look more “fake” in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534/6 "2017-08-01T20:21:07Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > I put LV planks in the master bathroom during our remodel 3 years ago. It has held up really well and has fooled more than one person who thought it was real wood. > > One trick I used was to stack all of the planks by pattern and then make sure that no 2 identical planks were butted end-to-end or right next to each other. I know it sounds a bit OCD, but the brain is really good at picking out patterns from noise and having them repeat that closely makes the floor look more “fake” in my mind. That’s good advice. I’ve read that before, but I’ve got to keep that in mind. ---
**Author:** ![txobbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@txobbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txobbin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-installed-luxury-vinyl-plank/792534/7 "2017-08-01T21:28:07Z")
From what I’ve read and been told, you should also mix up planks from different boxes. Each plank is actually a printed picture of the wood, and patterns can repeat there too.