What luxury vinyl plank installation means in Des Moines
It is a printed and embossed vinyl plank with a wear layer measured in mils. It is genuinely waterproof, which no wood floor is, and that is the whole reason it exists in a house with a basement that has flooded once.
Wear layer decides how long it looks new. Twelve mil is fine for a spare bedroom, twenty mil is what a family kitchen with a dog needs, and six mil is builder-grade material that will show traffic lanes inside two years.
- How it is done
- click-lock plank, 5 to 8mm with an attached pad
- What goes on the floor
- rigid core (SPC) for basements, WPC where comfort matters more
- Ready to use
- immediate full use
- Typical cost
- $4 – $7 per sq ft installed
- Service life
- 15–25 years, not refinishable
How luxury vinyl plank installation goes down
Most LVP is a click-lock float, so the substrate has to be flat rather than dry. Flat means within 3/16 of an inch over ten feet, and a slab that is out of tolerance telegraphs every dip into the plank as a soft spot underfoot.
The plank floats, so it needs an expansion gap at the walls and it must not be trapped under a door casing or a heavy island. In a room with big south-facing glass it also needs to acclimate, because vinyl expands with heat and not with humidity, which is the opposite of wood.
What luxury vinyl plank installation costs in Des Moines, IA
LVP is the cheapest of these floors to install and the material spread is wide. The number that matters more than the price per square foot is the wear layer in mils, because that is what decides whether you are doing this again in five years.
Where luxury vinyl plank installation goes wrong in Iowa
Two failures we see in Polk County basements: a floating floor pinned by a door frame that buckles in the middle of the room, and a plank laid over a slab that had never been checked for flatness, which reads as a floor that flexes when you walk on it.
Where we do luxury vinyl plank installation
We cover Des Moines, the western suburbs, the Ankeny corridor and the older neighbourhoods inside the city, including and 18 more areas.
Questions we get asked about luxury vinyl plank installation
Is LVP good for a basement?
It is the best of these options there. It survives a water event, which neither solid nor engineered wood does.
Can LVP be refinished?
No. When the wear layer is gone the plank is replaced. That is the trade you make for the waterproofing.
Does it need underlay?
Many planks come with it attached. Where it does not, an underlay over a slab also acts as a vapour retarder and is not optional.
Get a free estimate
Tell us what you need. We answer the same day, the free estimate is on site, and nobody chases you afterwards.
Get a price for your luxury vinyl plank installation
Call and we will come out, measure, and leave you a written quote. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation afterwards.