Flooring
LVP and Vinyl Plank Flooring in Charleston, SC
Waterproof, hard-wearing, and the reason it is everywhere here.
Waterproof, hard-wearing, and the reason it is everywhere here.
Quick answer: Luxury vinyl plank is waterproof through its thickness, which suits kitchens, baths and damp slabs here, though a leak still damages what is under it. As a floating floor it shows every dip in the subfloor, so leveling and moisture testing matter more than the product. A Mount Pleasant showroom publishes LVP at $4–$9 per sq ft installed (cost guide; not our quote). Licensed SC general contractor CLG.127339. Call (843) 718-8177.
Related: The Toilet Overflowed and the Plumber Has Been. Is the Floor Ruined?.
It handles the things that ruin wood: standing water from a dishwasher that let go, humidity that never really drops, a slab that reads damp. Water will still damage what is under it and around it, so waterproof flooring is not a reason to leave a leak, but the floor itself survives.
The trade-off is underfoot and underneath. It is harder and louder than wood unless the underlayment is right, and it telegraphs whatever is below it — a subfloor that is not flat shows through a floating floor far more than it does through a nailed one.
Preparation is where the money is well spent. Leveling and moisture testing decide the result more than the choice between two products at the same price point.
We take this work across greater Charleston, from Summerville and Goose Creek to Mount Pleasant, West Ashley and the sea islands, and on the York County side around Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay and Lake Wylie. More on our flooring services.
The plank is, through its thickness. The seams, the subfloor and the walls around it are not, so a leak still needs fixing — but the floor itself will come through standing water in a way wood will not.
A floating floor follows what it is laid on. Dips and bumps in the subfloor read through, and that is the most common complaint about an LVP job that was otherwise fine.
Leveling first is not an upsell.
Yes, though less than wood. It expands and contracts with temperature more than with humidity, which matters most in a room that gets very warm — a sunroom, or a slab floor over an unconditioned space.