Waterproof Vinyl Plank Flooring

Writer with Flair · ‎08-21-2013

We are thinking of replacing some carpet (that was damaged in a flood) with Luxury Waterproof Vinyl Plank Flooring and installing it ourselves. The base floor is a cement slab. We will be replacing flooring in a master bedroom, master bath, hallway, powder room, and a laundry room.

It would be helpful if anyone who has installed this type of floor (floating floor--no adhesive) yourself could let us know the following about the brands you have used:

The easiest/most difficult to install?
Which wears well/poorly?
Where you bought your flooring.
If you have had any problems with the floor after you installed it? (buckling, separation, mold, moisture problems, scratching, denting, or any other types of problems)
Did the company honor the warranty if you had problems with the flooring?
What do you use to clean your floor?

Did you use a moisture barrier or some other underlayment underneath this product?

If you don't like this type of flooring, what other type of flooring do you like better?

Do you think this type of flooring can successfully done by home do-it-yourselfers?

We have begun to research the following brands online:

Smartcore (Lowe's)

Lifeproof (Home Depot)

Shaw (Lowes)

Mohawk (Lowes)

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Carolm · ‎09-05-2013

I had luxury vinyl installed last year in both my lower level family room, and my first floor living room, dining room and powder room. Love it. Its Mannington's AduraMax. No issues at all, but I must tell you that it will dent. I understand rigid vinyl is available for people who use wheelchairs, and it will not dent. It looks expensive, get lots of compliments and is very easy to maintain. Wash with warm water with 1/2 c. vinegar.

I purchased it from WeShipFloors.com. It arrived by truck, price was excellent and didn't have any issues with the company or the shipper, and I hired a gentleman to install through Thumbtack. I'm planning on putting it in my kitchen, hopefully this summer.

I much prefer it to carpeting and laminate.

Best of luck and if you go the vinyl route, I don't think you will be sorry.

itsmagic · ‎08-08-2011

We had Cortec HD luxury vinyl planks installed in our kitchen/dining room 2 years ago. I’m very happy with it. Easy care (I just use a damp mop to clean it) and it looks like real wood planks. I watched the installer put it in and I think it would be a fairly easy do it yourself project if you had the right tools to cut it with (he had to cut planks to fit around kitchen cabinets. Otherwise it is a floating floor tongue and groove system with no glue. We have had no problems with buckling or separating. Like the other poster said it can dent though. We have extra left over flooring for future use in case a plank is damaged but we have not had to use it yet. I would recommend having it on hand though in case your particular flooring is discontinued and you need a small fix. Our base floor was a wood underlayment. We bought our flooring through a local flooring company.

hick · ‎03-28-2010

Two years ago, I had Home Depot install Lifeproof luxury planks in my kitchen, dining room, living room, hallways, and 2 bathrooms.

I live in a condo that's on a slab.

I'm very satisfied with it.

I wipe it up with a damp mop with stuff that's made for vinyl plank.

Skyegirl21 · ‎03-20-2010

We installed an Armstrong vinyl plank floor in the basement. Called Luxe Plank with Fastak. It's a peel and stick, but does require a chop-saw to cut. It looks like stone, a marble look. It was pretty easy to install ourselves, looks fabulous. It's not advertised as waterproof but survived a flood here of several inches of water overnight and no damage whatsoever. I recommend it.

Caffeina · ‎03-09-2010

@Carolm wrote:
I had luxury vinyl installed last year in both my lower level family room, and my first floor living room, dining room and powder room. Love it. Its Mannington's AduraMax. No issues at all, but I must tell you that it will dent. I understand rigid vinyl is available for people who use wheelchairs, and it will not dent. It looks expensive, get lots of compliments and is very easy to maintain. Wash with warm water with 1/2 c. vinegar.

I purchased it from WeShipFloors.com. It arrived by truck, price was excellent and didn't have any issues with the company or the shipper, and I hired a gentleman to install through Thumbtack. I'm planning on putting it in my kitchen, hopefully this summer.

I much prefer it to carpeting and laminate.

Best of luck and if you go the vinyl route, I don't think you will be sorry.

We had a Mannington Adura Max floor installed when we remodeled our kitchen about 2½ years ago, and haven't had any problems with denting. DH has pulled out our refrigerator and range twice so I could clean under and behind them, and there are no dents or scratches at all.

I wonder if your subfloor didn't meet Mannington's guidelines.

wagirl · ‎03-09-2010

WE just had Lifeproof, from home depot, lux vinyl flooring put in our upstairs bathroom last summer----I love it and when we do the rest of the hard surface floors, I think I will go with the same. We didn't install it but my hubs has before being a carpenter. Now we have no kids or dogs to worry about so none of that type of heavy duty living. It looks really good and feels good under foot. Cost was about $3.50 a foot maybe--we spent $600 all total for pretty small full bath-----I think being in a bath , water proofing is a good idea, not sure if it was or not.

depglass · ‎03-10-2010

I chose Mannington laminate for bathroom 13 years ago. Garbage. Thank goodness we went with something else from Costco for the rest of the house. Therefore Mannington is on my blacklist for life.

henderson · ‎03-18-2010

We had our handyman install LifeProof for our kitchen. I purchased the planks from Best Laminate (you can google them). Free shipping and no tax. They delivered them inside my garage. No moisture barrier needed. I don't think it was easy to install.

Reever · ‎03-14-2010

@henderson wrote:
We had our handyman install LifeProof for our kitchen. I purchased the planks from Best Laminate (you can google them). Free shipping and no tax. They delivered them inside my garage. No moisture barrier needed. I don't think it was easy to install.

Unless you are very handy I would recommend a professional or a handy man to do it. It involves use of a saw and especially if there are anglular cuts it may not be easy to fit the pieces together. I used Lifeproof also from Home Depot on recommendation of a contractor. He did not recommend it in the bathroom if there are men in the house, specifically around the toilet. He recommended porcelain in there. Hope that helps some.