Luxury Vinyl Plank
Luxury vinyl plank is the floor we recommend most often for the rooms that actually take a beating — the entry, the kitchen, the hallway and anywhere a dog goes. It looks like wood, it is genuinely waterproof, and it goes over most existing floors without a fight. It is not, however, all the same product, and the differences that matter are ones you cannot see from the sample board. Wear layer and core type decide whether a plank still looks good in ten years, and we would rather explain that than sell you the cheapest box.
Wear layer is the number that matters
Mils, not millimetres
Every luxury vinyl plank has a clear wear layer on top, measured in mils. It is the only part of the plank that traffic ever touches, and it is the difference between a floor that still looks new in a decade and one that goes dull and scratched in three years. A thicker plank with a thin wear layer is not a better floor; it is a thicker floor that wears out at the same rate.
For a bedroom or a spare room, a modest wear layer is genuinely fine and there is no sense paying for more. For an entry, a kitchen, a hallway or any house with dogs, step it up. That single decision does more for how the floor ages than the brand name on the box.
Rigid core versus flexible
Flexible glue-down vinyl conforms to whatever is underneath it, which means a bump in the subfloor becomes a bump in the finished floor. A rigid core plank bridges small imperfections instead, which is why it has become the default for older houses where the base is not perfect.
Rigid core also handles temperature swing better, which matters in a room like a sun porch or over an unheated crawlspace. It costs a little more and in most Bootheel houses it is worth it.
What's included
- Genuinely waterproof — spills, pets and wet boots
- Wear layer specified for the room, not just the price point
- Rigid SPC core options for uneven or busy floors
- Goes over most existing floors once the base is sound
- Realistic wood look without hardwood’s moisture limits
The rooms that take the water
Entries, kitchens and hallways
These are the rooms luxury vinyl plank was made for. Around here the back door is the working door, and what comes through it is mud in spring, dust at harvest and water most of the winter. A waterproof plank shrugs all of that off, cleans with a mop and does not stain the way carpet does.
Running the same plank continuously through the entry, kitchen and hallway also makes a modest house look considerably larger, because the eye is not stopped by a threshold every few feet.
Pets, children and rentals
If you have a dog, this is the honest recommendation. Claws mark laminate and hardwood in a way that a decent wear layer resists, and accidents that would ruin carpet wipe off vinyl. The same logic makes it the sensible choice in a rental that turns over regularly.
It is also the surface we would suggest for a family with young children, for the simple reason that everything that gets spilled on it can be cleaned off it.
What "waterproof" does and does not mean
The plank itself is waterproof. That is a real, useful property and it is why a burst washing machine hose does not automatically mean a new floor. What it does not mean is that water cannot get past the plank at the edges and sit on the subfloor underneath.
So we still seal the perimeter properly in wet rooms and we still tell you to deal with a leak rather than ignore it because the floor is waterproof. Anyone who tells you the floor makes the room immune to water is overselling it.
Luxury Vinyl Plank we've installed
The subfloor decides the result
Flat first
Every manufacturer sets a flatness tolerance for their plank, and every failed click-lock floor we have ever been called to look at failed because that tolerance was ignored. On a floor that dips, the joints flex every time somebody walks over the low spot, and eventually they separate.
We check the floor with a straightedge before quoting, not after. If it needs levelling compound or an underlayment, that goes in the quote as its own line so you can see exactly what you are paying for and why.
Moisture testing on slab
On a concrete slab — which is most newer construction around Sikeston and every below-grade room in Cape Girardeau — the slab is tested before anything goes down. Concrete gives off moisture for a very long time, and a plank laid over a slab that is still wet will trap it.
Testing takes very little time and it is the difference between a floor that is fine and a floor that has to come back up.
Expansion gaps you will never see
A floating floor has to be able to move. That means an expansion gap at every wall and at every fixed object, hidden afterwards by the shoe mould or the baseboard. Planks butted tight to the wall will buckle the first humid summer, and that is a repair, not a warranty claim.
On a concrete slab — which is most newer construction around Sikeston and every below-grade room in Cape Girardeau — the slab is tested before anything goes down.
Luxury Vinyl Plank questions
Is luxury vinyl plank really waterproof?
The plank itself is, which is why it handles spills, wet boots and pet accidents without staining or swelling. Water can still get past the edges and sit on the subfloor, so a real leak still needs dealing with — but day-to-day water is genuinely not a problem.
Can you lay it over our existing floor?
Often, yes, provided what is underneath is sound, flat and dry. We check that at the estimate. Where there are already two or three layers down, we would usually take them up instead, because layering raises the floor height enough to make doors bind.
How is it different from laminate?
The core. Laminate has a wood-based core, so standing water will eventually swell it; vinyl does not. Laminate often has a crisper, more realistic surface texture and can be better value. For wet rooms we recommend vinyl; for dry rooms laminate is well worth comparing.
Does it feel cold or hollow underfoot?
It can if it is a thin plank over a hard subfloor with no underlayment. A rigid core product with the right underlayment feels solid and quiet. It is worth standing on a sample rather than judging it by hand.
Will it scratch?
Anything will scratch given enough provocation, but a good wear layer resists it well — better than laminate and considerably better than a finished hardwood. Felt pads under furniture and a mat at the door still make a visible difference over the years.
Luxury Vinyl Plank by city
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