Vinyl plank or laminate: the honest comparison
Vinyl plank is waterproof all the way through. A dishwasher leak sitting on it won't swell it. That makes it the right pick for kitchens, laundry rooms, bathrooms, and any house where spills happen often.
Laminate has a harder surface. It stands up to scratches and dents better than vinyl, which matters with big dogs or heavy furniture. But its core is made of wood fiber. If water reaches that core, the edges swell and never go back.
Neither one is the cheap option. They just fail in different ways. The right pick depends on which kind of damage your house is more likely to cause.
Where floating floors go wrong
Both are usually laid as floating floors. The planks lock into each other and aren't fastened to the subfloor. A floating floor grows and shrinks as one big sheet.
So it needs a gap at every wall, door frame, cabinet base, and pipe. When an installer skips that gap to save time, the floor has nowhere to go. It lifts into a ridge you can see, usually by the first warm spell.
The subfloor has to be flatter than most people expect. Over a wavy floor, the locking joints bend a little with every step and finally snap. You see it as gaps opening at the seams, and you hear it as a hollow sound underfoot.
Underlayment and sound
Some vinyl plank comes with padding already stuck to the back and some doesn't. Adding a second layer under the padded kind is a common mistake. It makes the floor feel spongy and can void the warranty.
In condos and upstairs rooms, there are often rules about how much sound can pass through the floor. Your HOA may set a minimum rating. We check that before we order the material, not after the floor is down.
What drives the cost
We quote after walking the space, because the things that move the number are things nobody can see in a photo. Here is what they are, in the order they matter, so you know what will drive your estimate before anyone comes out.
- Wear layer thickness
- 12 mil is fine for a quiet household. 20 mil and up is what a rental, a house with big dogs, or a genuinely busy family needs. The jump in material cost between them is real and it is the right place to spend.
- What is underneath
- Going over existing tile means filling and flattening every grout line first, or the grid slowly prints through the vinyl and you see the old floor across the new one.
- Underlayment and sound rules
- Condos and upstairs rooms frequently carry an HOA minimum sound rating, and that number decides the underlayment before anything else does.
- Room count, not square footage
- Floating floors need an expansion gap at every wall, door frame, and cabinet base. Ten small rooms cost more than one large one of the same total area.
Numbers you can hold us to
- Waste factor on plank vinyl runs about 5 to 10 percent, higher on a diagonal layout.
- Good vinyl plank lasts 15 to 25 years in a house; the wear layer decides where in that band it lands.
- Padding already attached to the plank means no second underlayment. Adding one makes the floor feel spongy and can void the warranty.
How long it takes
About 1,000 square feet in 2 to 3 working days where the subfloor is sound. Tile removal or grout-line flattening adds a day or more.
We do not publish prices, because a real number needs a real look at your floor. Estimates are free and in person. Stone measures, takes the moisture readings, and writes it up itemized before anything is ordered.
LVP & Laminate questions
Is luxury vinyl plank really waterproof?
The plank is, all the way through. Standing water won't swell it. The subfloor underneath isn't waterproof. Water that slips past the seams can still rot the subfloor and grow mold. So dry a leak out properly, even when the surface still looks fine.
Can LVP be installed over existing tile?
Often yes, as long as the tile is stuck down well, not cracked, and we fill and flatten the grout lines first. Leave those lines open and they slowly print through the vinyl. You end up seeing the old grid across the new floor. We check this at the house instead of guessing.
How long does LVP flooring last?
Good vinyl plank in a house lasts about 15 to 25 years. What decides it is the thickness of the top wear layer. 12 mil is fine for a quiet home. 20 mil and up handles heavy traffic and rentals. How it's laid matters just as much as what you buy. A floor put in without proper gaps can fail in its first year no matter how good the product is.