Luxury Vinyl Plank & Tile

Luxury vinyl plank looks like wood, cleans like vinyl and stands up to heavy daily traffic. It is also thin, which means it shows everything under it. A ridge in the concrete, a trowel line in old patch or a raised seam in the plywood will telegraph through a vinyl plank within weeks. Most of the work that makes a vinyl floor last happens before the first plank is cut.

There are two ways to install it, and the room decides which one. Glue-down plank is bonded to the floor with adhesive and rolled in. It does not move, it handles rolling chairs and carts, and it is what we use in offices, break rooms and large training rooms where the floor takes heavy traffic and the furniture gets rearranged. Floating plank clicks together and rests on an underlayment without adhesive. It goes in faster and suits homes and smaller rooms, but it needs expansion space at every wall and a transition break where a large area runs through a doorway or changes direction.

Concrete holds water long after it looks dry, and moisture coming up through a slab is the most common reason a glue-down floor fails. The adhesive softens, the planks shift and the edges lift. We test the slab before we install, compare the results with what the flooring and adhesive manufacturers allow, and tell you plainly if the slab needs more drying time or a moisture-control treatment first. Gluing over a wet slab to hold a schedule only moves the failure a few months down the road.

Vinyl moves with temperature. A training room with a wall of south-facing windows can swing a long way between a cold Monday morning and a sunny afternoon. We bring material in to acclimate at the room's normal temperature, keep cartons out of direct sun while we work and leave the expansion space each product calls for. On a glue-down floor we roll every section with a heavy roller so each plank is fully seated in the adhesive, not just resting on the high spots.

End joints are staggered so no two line up in neighboring rows, and the planks run parallel to the longest wall or the main light source unless you want them another way. Door jambs are undercut so the floor runs underneath. Transitions to carpet tile, tile or existing floors get a proper reducer or T-molding, and baseboard or wall base goes back on clean. In an occupied office we plan the work in sections with you, so part of the floor stays open while the rest is installed.