The work
What luxury vinyl plank actually involves
Rigid core or flexible, and what the wear layer actually buys
Luxury vinyl plank is a printed image under a clear wear layer, over a core that decides how it behaves. Rigid cores come in two kinds: stone composite, which is dense and hard, and wood composite, which is lighter and warmer underfoot.
The number worth knowing is the wear layer, measured in mils. It has nothing to do with how the floor looks on day one and everything to do with how it looks in year eight, because it is the only thing between the printed image and the traffic.
Twelve mil is a normal residential wear layer and twenty or more is what light commercial specifies. A thin wear layer under a convincing photograph is the most common way a cheap plank floor is made to look like an expensive one.
Waterproof
Waterproof describes the plank, not the floor
Every rigid core plank on the market is waterproof as a piece of material. You can leave one in a bucket overnight and nothing happens to it. That is not the same claim as a waterproof floor.
Water that reaches a seam runs along the locking joint and sits on the subfloor, where it has nowhere to dry. The plank survives; the subfloor and whatever is under it may not.
In a bathroom or a laundry the thing that matters is what happens at the perimeter and around the pipes, which is a question about sealant and transitions rather than about the plank.
Failure points
Two things that go wrong
Telegraphing
“What will you do to the subfloor before the planks go down?”
A floating plank floor takes the shape of what is under it. Ridges, old adhesive, a high screw head or a dip between joists will show through as a visible line or a soft spot, and with a hard rigid core it will also click underfoot. The remedy is levelling before, not adjustment after.
The expansion gap
“How much expansion gap are you leaving, and does anything heavy sit on top of the floating floor?”
Vinyl moves with temperature more than most people expect, and a floating floor needs a gap at every wall and every fixed object for it to move into. Fitted tight, or trapped by a heavy kitchen island set on top of it, the floor has to buckle somewhere. Rooms with big windows and direct sun are where this shows first.
Before you book luxury vinyl plank
How we rank →Six checks, in the order they save you the most. None of them takes longer than a phone call, and the first one is the reason two quotes for the same job can be a thousand apart.
Common questions about luxury vinyl plank
Who handles luxury vinyl plank?
Luxury vinyl plank is handled by flooring companies. Not every company in the trade takes this work on, so each ranking lists the services a company genuinely performs rather than everything it advertises.
What should I ask before booking luxury vinyl plank?
Ask what the quote includes and excludes, who is doing the work, whether a permit is needed and who is pulling it, and what the workmanship warranty covers. Get the answers in writing before anyone starts.
How do I compare quotes for this?
Put them on one sheet line by line. Differences in price almost always turn out to be differences in scope, material grade or warranty length rather than margin.
Is luxury vinyl plank priced separately from the rest of the job?
Usually it is a line inside a larger quote rather than its own invoice, which is exactly why the exclusions matter. Ask for it itemised so you can compare that line between companies instead of comparing two totals.
For flooring
Do you offer luxury vinyl plank?
Claim your profile so the services you actually perform are the ones recorded here, alongside your licence, hours and coverage. Neither claiming nor advertising buys a ranked position.