What Goes Under Luxury Vinyl Flooring

With thinner vinyl flooring construction adding a foam underlayment can effect the locking system strength.

What goes under luxury vinyl flooring. Vinyl floors under 4mm should be installed right over the subfloor. At its heart plank vinyl floor also called luxury vinyl plank lvp or luxury vinyl floor lvf is simply vinyl flooring that comes in long narrow strips rather than the traditional square tile shapes. Installations in wet rooms should also include measures to ensure that the seams and perimeter of the floor are well sealed to prevent moisture getting under the luxury vinyl onto subfloor below. It s extremely beautiful flooring that mimics natural hardwood and sometimes even stone.

Learning how to install vinyl flooring is something you can do yourself. Vinyl plank flooring has all the visual appeal of solid hardwood flooring. A selling point of luxury vinyl plank is that it is designed to be a thin installation so it can easily go in over existing floors without raising your floor height. Vinyl flooring can either be glued to the subfloor or it can float on top of it and either way moisture underneath it causes problems.

A luxury vinyl tile lvt underlayment is a specially formulated underlayment for installing underneath luxury tiles. Because of its thinness it s critical that existing floors be level and smooth since any raised portions will cause uneven wear on the vinyl surface ruining the effect. For this reason installations over concrete should always include moisture testing and moisture control measures for the slab. Some products have it built into the product itself so it s not necessary to lay it separately.

Moisture weakens glue bonds and causes the edges to lift. The rule of thumb is any vinyl over 4mm can have a vinyl specific underlayment. But structurally this is a different product. Consider installing thin floorings such as luxury vinyl laminate or tile which are possible to lay right up to the cabinets.

Vinyl flooring costs a fraction of the price of hardwood making it a great option for beginner home improvers. With new advances in luxury vinyl flooring options now range from 2mm to 8mm. The ragged edge of the flooring is then covered over with quarter round or base molding.