After living with our new floors for a couple of weeks, I’m sharing the pros and cons of choosing Luxury Vinyl Plank floors!
If you missed the start of the new flooring saga and why we had to replace our engineered hardwood floors, go read my post on picking out new flooring. It wasn’t something I expected to juggle this summer, but it’s done and I have thoughts.
We had old reddish-brown engineered hardwood floors that had seen better days. They were rough (and pretty ugly from wear & sun exposure) when we moved in, so “replace floors” has been on my wish list since we moved in seven years ago.
Even though I’d always wanted new floors, I hadn’t done any research into which flooring to replace them with. So I walked into this decision with no prior research and had to choose within a couple of weeks. It was overwhelming, and I visited several flooring stores to look at options and talk with professionals.
I went in planning to choose another engineered hardwood product. But then I started reading and hearing about luxury vinyl plank floors, and I was intrigued. Waterproof, pet-proof & kid-proof are definitely qualities I want in my home. We don’t have a pet, but we do have a four-year-old who plays with water all the time and likes to run “science experiments” in the kitchen when we’re not looking. Ha!
The floors were finished more than a week ago, but I wanted to live with them for a couple of weeks before sharing my thoughts and opinions.
What is Luxury Vinyl Plank?
Luxury Vinyl Plank, also called LVP flooring for short, is a man-made vinyl luxury plank product. In 2012, US Floors introduced the first engineered vinyl plank product with its COREtec Plus line of flooring. (This is what we chose for its high quality and cork backing, which provides cushioning and is naturally antibacterial. This is not sponsored in any way; we simply chose this product.)
This engineered vinyl plank looks like real wood floors but is water resistant (many are fully waterproof) and easy to install over existing flat flooring.
The Pros of Luxury Vinyl Plank
The Look.
When I walked into my house for the first time with the new floors, it was love at first sight! The color of the vinyl looks just like rustic weathered wood, with warm brown tones and cooler gray tones blended together. We chose COREtec Boardwalk Oak for our floors. It has a beachy farmhouse vibe that I LOVE, and it works so well with the colors and tones already in my home.
The vinyl’s pattern has low variation, so there’s no extra pattern on the floor competing with my decor. There are no spots of dark or light, just a beautiful, uniform rustic gray-brown that suits my home perfectly.
If you want a similar look in a wider plank, I’d suggest Nantucket Oak by COREtec.
This is the number one reason I chose luxury vinyl plank – it had the look I wanted at the price I needed. If I’d gone with a similar look in engineered hardwood, I would have paid at least $2 more per square foot.
You can find the most stylish colors on the market, like grays, weathered woods and farmhouse looks, in engineered planks. That makes this type of flooring an obvious choice for updating the look of your home.
Cleaning.
Cleaning these luxury vinyl plank floors has been a dream. You can sweep, vacuum or wipe them with a damp rag. I personally use the Norwex mop system, which I just use with water and the mop pad to clean up anything we’ve spilled on the floors. (And we spill a LOT – remember our four-year-old who loves kitchen experiments?) Or I use my Thieves Cleaner from Young Living. It’s safe for our family and a great degreaser.
The maker of our floors, US Floors COREtec Plus, recommends Bona Stone, Tile and Laminate Cleaner. So if you don’t have a Norwex mop or Thieves Cleaner, I’d go with that!
Installation.
We didn’t install these floors ourselves, because our insurance covered the installation and we just didn’t have time this summer to tackle such a huge project. But I know plenty of people who have DIY’d their luxury vinyl plank installation. Apparently it’s really easy, and there are some great tutorials online – just do a search and you’ll find them!
The great thing about LVP is that if you have flat floors, you can install it as floating floors over your concrete slab, existing tile or existing hardwood. This is especially ideal if you have asbestos tiles or subflooring.
LVP’s thinner profile makes it easy to install with cabinets and appliances already in place.
Our old floors were ripped out because they were damaged, and our insurance paid to install new ones over our concrete slab. But if we’d been doing it ourselves, we would have definitely installed them over our existing hardwood floors.
It’s Popular.
I’ve been told again and again that many new homes in our area are putting in Luxury Vinyl Plank as the main flooring throughout the house. In fact, our good friends are building a beautiful, large home and chose LVP for their main flooring.
That means when we go to sell our home, it will be a great option for a new homeowner, who will be seeing these floors in the newer homes in the area.
I’ve heard that LVP doesn’t add to a home’s value the way real hardwood or engineered hardwood does. But I think the perks of waterproof, pet-proof and kid-proof floors will appeal to new buyers.
The Cons of Luxury Vinyl Flooring
The Sound.
I’ve heard the sound of luxury vinyl plank has improved greatly in recent years, but this was the issue I was most worried about. You know the hollow sound of walking on a non-wood floor? I was concerned about it because I’m super sensitive to sound.
Well… it hasn’t been my favorite thing about these floors. I’ve found shoes in my closet that don’t make as loud a sound as I walk across them, but they’re still louder than my previous engineered hardwood floors.
I hear our feet on the floor more than before. I could be totally silent walking on our old floors, but it’s almost impossible to be silent on these. (Think of this as a problem if you’re trying to sneak past a child’s room to play tooth fairy, or head to bed after your spouse without waking them.)
I think a more textured floor would cut down on the noise, so I wish I’d chosen Nantucket Oak instead, since it has more texture.
This sound doesn’t bother my husband one bit, and my good friend came over and said she couldn’t tell a difference. It’s probably just me being super sensitive, but I want to be honest about the sound. It won’t sound like the rich tones of walking on real wood.
I’m going to add some runners in the hallways and a large 9 x 12 area rug in our bedroom to help break up the sound. Hopefully that will help me get used to it. And I will say that in the two weeks we’ve had them, I have grown more accustomed to the different sounds. So maybe it just takes time.
The Feel.
This would probably be different with another style of LVP, but our floors are pretty smooth with a matte finish. They’re soft underfoot, which my husband likes, thanks to the cork backing. But I find them too soft for my taste. I wish they had more of a wood feel. Again, this could be improved with a different LVP style that has more texture and a glossier finish.
Spills and Dirt.
I thought this medium/light flooring color would make dirt and spills less obvious. Not that I want a dirty floor, but let’s face it – floors are pretty dirty. And I don’t want to see every single crumb.
Unfortunately, the matte finish on these floors shows every drip, spill and mess. That can be a good thing, since you can see them and clean them up. But I don’t want to notice every little thing and spend my whole day cleaning the floors.
Thankfully they ARE easy to clean, and it’s a quick process. But I do notice the crumbs more than before. I think the extra rugs will help, but we’ll see.
I suppose the worst thing that can happen is that I’ll be forced to clean the floors more often, and they’ll actually be cleaner. LOL
Final Thoughts
I love the look of these floors. They’re my dream come true in that department, and I’m so thankful we had the chance to replace them.
When and if we ever build a home, I’ll most likely pay the extra money for the engineered hardwood flooring of my dreams. The engineered hardwood that fit our budget (that I saw) wasn’t the look I wanted. So I gave up some material to get the look I wanted.
And in the end, I wouldn’t change a thing. Every big change takes time to get used to, so this is no different. We feel like our home is updated, new and fresh, and we’ll love the look for years to come!
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