Advice for LVP (Vinyl Planks) in 100 Year Old Home?

BRRRR - Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
5yFollow

Advice for LVP (Vinyl Planks) in 100 Year Old Home?

Drew Petro
Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 12 votes

We pulled up everything down to the orignal baseboards in our 110 year old SFH home and want to install something "nice" (Class B Property) across the entire first floor of our BRRRR; 3 living areas, about 500 sq ft. The home has definitely settled over the years, and the floor is not completely level throughout. Looking for something $2-$3 per sqft that will last a while and not feel "bubbly" when walking over it.

Is glue-down LVP our best bet? (Trafficmaster from Home Depot?) For wear and tear showing ... would you recommend light or darker planks? And finally - is a 4 mil wear layer sufficient? Or search for something more? (recommendations?)

0Reply
105 views

Most Popular Reply

Colleen F.Pro Member
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5y

What color is the dirt in your area?  because I have found dark floors show everything and  I go with a medium wood tone, the dark floor in Phoenix always looks dirty.  Light oak and medium was good in AZ, RI, and MA. I don't know about the modern greys. Leveler is good to use for uneven floors in smaller areas or sometimes you need to use a .25 inch subfloor. What are you covering? 

1Reply
See this reply in the discussion

17 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Steve Morris
    Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    Like darker planks for not showing dirt, but sometimes it overwhelms the room of too dark.

    Since I have a 110 year old farmhouse as a VRBO, how flat (not level) is the subfloor?  If you have a support post causing a bump, LVP is probably best, but odds are you'll get popped planks.  You can always use floor leveler, but make sure you get someone that knows (unlike my first try) on how to use it.  It sets up quick, so need to make it thinner.

    0Reply
  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    What color is the dirt in your area?  because I have found dark floors show everything and  I go with a medium wood tone, the dark floor in Phoenix always looks dirty.  Light oak and medium was good in AZ, RI, and MA. I don't know about the modern greys. Leveler is good to use for uneven floors in smaller areas or sometimes you need to use a .25 inch subfloor. What are you covering? 

    1Reply
  • Annchen Knodt
    Investor · Durham NC (and Brenham, TX) · Member since 2018 · 301 posts · 197 votes
    5y

    I'll second the recommendation to get some advice on properly leveling the floor, and add that 4 mil is a super thin wear layer.  I've heard lots of folks say 6mil is too thin.  I installed 5mm COREtec floating LVP (w/ 20mil wear layer) over my 1985 wooden subfloor that seemed to be mostly level but boy can you still feel bumps all over the place.  We are actually taking it back up and more carefully leveling the floors this weekend.

    @Colleen F. I'd be curious what situations you'd recommend the .25" plywood underlayment for?

    0Reply
  • Fernan Nava
    Rental Property Investor · Barstow, CA · Member since 2015 · 131 posts · 102 votes
    5y

    Most floating floors have some tolerance for uneven surfaces is about 1/16 of an inch. It depends a lot on how high between your peaks and valleys if is more than say 1/2", most leveling materials are not design to fill in that much. In that case go with a direct installation vinyl planks or sheet or engineered wood.

    1Reply
  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    The flooring company I use in this area (with a bunch of 100+ year old houses) says they won't do (because they warranty) an install over old hardwood without laying 1/4" luan. I've done it and had it work out but they do it more and they warranty so it must not work out a good bit of the time. I'm with @Colleen F. on flooring colors, I have dark mahogany floors in my 1910 house and it shows EVERYTHING; that modern greyish-brownish mix or old oak with lots of grain is better at hiding dirt.

    0Reply
  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    The flooring company I use in this area (with a bunch of 100+ year old houses) says they won't do (because they warranty) an install over old hardwood without laying 1/4" luan. I've done it and had it work out but they do it more and they warranty so it must not work out a good bit of the time. I'm with @Colleen F. on flooring colors, I have dark mahogany floors in my 1910 house and it shows EVERYTHING; that modern greyish-brownish mix or old oak with lots of grain is better at hiding dirt.

    0Reply
  • Matt RomanoPro Member
    Realtor · Warren, RI · Member since 2017 · 96 posts · 52 votes
    5y

    I've used the LifeProof LVP flooring for a few projects and I love it.  They sell it at Home Depot, and it's seems extremely durable so far.  I even used it for a kitchen floor that was far from level, and it's holding up great! Falls within your price range per sq/ft too.  I agree with others though, despite what you might think, darker colors will almost always show dirt more.  It's like a car, black cars show EVERYTHING, whereas white, silver, and tan allow you to get away with much less frequent car washes haha!  

    0Reply
  • Drew Petro
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 12 votes
    5y

    @Annchen Knodt, @Colleen F. yes my biggest worry is having to pull it all back up! I can’t decide if the 1/4” will actually hide the unevenness (assuming 100% of the floor is covered with it)  obviously if the company requires it, it must work... I guess    House is in SW Michigan  

    @Steve Morris - makes sense. That’s my problem - the beams and cinder block foundation areas sit higher than the rest of the floor. For a floating LVP, like Smartcore at Lowe’s or LifeProof at Home Depot, I’m trying to figure out if a 7.5 mm thick XL plank at 72” wide would “hide” more unevenness than a 6.5 mm thick 32” wide plank. Both with padding on the back.

    0Reply
  • Drew Petro
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 12 votes
    5y
    0Reply
  • Jered B.
    Rental Property Investor · Pittsburgh · Member since 2020 · 7 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    I’ve been following this guy on YouTube for the past few years.  He has lots of experience with this “stuffage”.  He does a realllly good job explaining different Vinyl products from the big box stores.  Type into YouTube “..Which vinyl flooring is best by HomeRenoVision.”  Good Luck!

    0Reply
  • Kristin Feerst
    Merchantville, NJ · Member since 2019 · 39 posts · 32 votes
    5y

    I did LVP in my 110 yr old BRRRR. Floors looked similar to yours with holes in some areas. We ended up having to do plywood sub floor on the whole downstairs to even it out. We used self leveling compound in the upstairs hallway where it was really uneven i.e. sagging. LVP is thin, even the higher grade stuff, so you need a level sub floor or it will be bubbly and not durable.

    Next time around we are going to compare cost of LVP vs. site finished hardwood.  Everyone is gaga over LVP but for older homes with rough sub floor site finished HW may win because you don't need as much prep and it will be more durable.  

    Jury is still out on how long our LVP will last.  It looks nice but I question the robustness.  We used a hickory color which has good hide.  Went with Duralux brand from Floor & Decor at $1.39/sq. ft. I've heard good things about lifeproof but at the $3-4/sq. ft price point I don't see the value over HW.

    1Reply
  • Kevin Sobilo
    Realtor · Hanover Twp, PA · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y
    If you are doing work yourself consider getting a floor sander and refinishing those floors.

    Old beat up floors will refinish up nice. They won't look like new floors, but they will look nice and if they get some damage (within reason) you can more easily deal with it yourself.
    0Reply
  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    5y

    We also recommend sanding the old floors as they add character you can't buy! 

    Because those are REAL hardwood floors you can sand down 1/4 inch to help level out.

    Ton of stain choices and if done right, they'll 95% look new.

    [email protected]248-209-6824
    Logical Property Management4.9451 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    A couple of comments  relating to those who said sand the floors.  They look like they might be old fir floors and if there are areas with paint the professionals usually will not sand them because of the age and lead paint. In a single bedroom It might be okay to redo and leave them, I did this in a couple of dormer rooms but once you are walking a lot on them if they are overhead they get noisy. For the main living area I think the OP is looking for something more modern

    @Drew Petro the 1/4 subfloor should be fine but ask the floor guy. Now in the end you could still have slope if that is an issue but they won't be uneven. is it wide plank pine?  If so you have to do the subfloor and cants do leveler because you have bigger gaps.  

    0Reply
  • Drew Petro
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 12 votes
    5y

    Wanted to follow up on this thread after installing the floor and explain what we did, if it may help someone in the future. First, we took a belt sander with a heavy grit paper to the few raised spots. Spent some time working these down, which wasnt really bad with a heavy grit.

    We then laid down 7/16" OSB as a subfloor. On top of that we put Home Depot's Life Proof brand LVP. It was 7 mm thick, with the built-in pad on the bottom. We laid this directly on top of the OSB subfloor, with no other underlayment in between. 

    I could not be more happy with the end result. My biggest concern was that it would feel "bubbly" or "squishy" under your feet, and the entire floor is completely solid. It legitimately feels like hardwood under your feet. Even some of the "soft spots" that we noticed in the floor were solid. I would assume from the "thicker" 7/16" subfloor giving it a little more meat...? 

    Not the cheapest option, but should last us a decade +. About $0.75 sq ft for OSB, $2.99 for the LifeProof, $3.00 to install per sq ft. including subfloor (about 500 sq ft total). All in, a little under $7 per sq ft. Going in to a BRRR property, so the value and finish was also important.

    PS for those that said to refinish the existing original floors ... as much as we would have loved too, they were actually the original tongue and groove baseboards (albeit "hardwood"), not top-layer old finished hard woods.

    0Reply
  • Skyler Southern
    Rental Property Investor · Fishers, IN · Member since 2018 · 27 posts · 16 votes
    5y

    @Drew Petro Lowes Procore at $1.68/ sq ft is the only flooring we use now. Great stuff at a price most liquidators can't even beat.

    0Reply
  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    @Drew Petro  Looks great!   You won't be sorry you laid that subfloor, not everyone has to but for your floor it will make the difference in longevity.

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free