Which Brand of Vinyl Flooring is Best

Today we're discussing which vinyl luxury plank flooring brands I prefer the most! We're going to talk about all the options on the marketplace, and how you can avoid buying a bad product when you think you're getting a good deal.

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0:00 Intro
0:18 What Is Vinyl Flooring?
6:28 Comparing Thickness & Cost
10:!2 Underpads
13:58 Locking Systems
16:07 Which Product Performs Best?
19:28 Best Value
21:30 Underpads Continued
29:31 Ease Of Installation
32:30 The Best Brand of Vinyl Flooring

WANT TO WATCH MORE VIDEOS??
Check out more DIY renovation videos here:
► Easiest Flooring I Have EVER Installed! Loving it!
► How to Install Vinyl Plank Flooring Quick and Simple
► All You Need To Know About Flooring Options

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Produced by: Home Renovision DIY 2020
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[HomeRenoVisionDIY]

The winning LVP flooring in this video is no longer available from the supplier. Here is a link to a similar LVP product👇🏼

[TheNewps]

Just finishing up my third room with Home Depot Lifeproof 7mm. Installed the flooring directly onto the concrete stab in all three rooms. I'm in CA so I am not sure what works in different parts of the county. As long as the floor is flat there is no need for padding underneath the flooring. In fact I prefer it because with padding it makes the floor sound clickie. Straight on to the concrete slab is quiet and there is still some cushion in the flooring. It also already has the vapor barrier built into it. 1st room was 5 years ago, lots of traffic, no issues whatsoever, still looks great. 2nd room was 2 years ago, again no issues whatsoever either. Right now at HD is $65 for 20 square feet, $3.25 per square foot.

[toddforney]

We put down engineered hardwood in a living room/dining room area some years ago. With 3 kids and 2 dogs, it was scratched and dented in under 6 months, and it was time to hit the redo button. We went with Mannington vinyl plank flooring (and, no, I don't work for the company). It looks (almost) like real wood with the grain and all. Fast forward 4 years, and it looks like we put it down yesterday. (And, yes, those darned 3 kids, all their friends, and the dogs are still in the house.) Nothing lasts forever, but I'm favorably impressed.

Tip #1 for those who decide to use wood grained vinyl plank: Each box will have a differing variety of faux wood grains. However, the patterns do repeat. Keep an eye on mixing them up as you lay them down so you don't end up with the same patterns next to each other.

Tip #2: If you're covering a relatively large area (and are buying a correspondingly large number of cases of plank), it is possible that the die lots will vary from case to case. Open up several boxes and mix up the planks from them as you go. Otherwise, you could end up with a bunch of slightly lighter ones in one area of the room and a grouping of slightly darker ones in another section.

[aidanmatthews]

As someone who is an assistant manager of the wood dept. at F&D, it was very refreshing to see such an honest video about the current market

[JohnR]

Good review. LVP Floor notes: Big box stores generally = lower quality & lower spec products. Research before you buy. Visit flooring stores. You will see a difference in range & specifications. Decorner flooring you noted looks acceptable but specs on website less complete Vs. others.

Karndean flooring is my first choice for LVP. Have purchased & installed before & will again. Part of any design choice should start with what do you want to see, and how do you want to see it. The Karndean Korlok plank uses photograph quality floor images, micro wood grain surface texture, .55mm top wear layer, 6.5mm thick with padded base, no underlay needed. Basement concrete floors are of course a different beast, subfloor separation away from concrete, often essential. (20 mils>mm = 0.508 mm)

[Splimbo]

I've slowly gathered all the necessary knowledge from all these videos to make my house look amazing and last. This may be just the fine details but the only thing I need now is a house.

[manilamartin]

I was starting my career as a florring contractor back in the day. You are an amazing explainer. We used the cheap stuff in apts. The good stuff went into houses. We included padding in the price. We wouldnt install unless it was done correctly. And I am not a big fan of the hd or lowes vinyl. I preferred pergo or armstrong.

[kennyjandula]

I have been in the professional flooring business since 1985. The best residential flooring hands down is an Armstrong 'Inlaid' sheet vinyl floor. It is expensive and needs to be installed by a professional. Only available at certain dealers but will outlast any LVP or laminate floor hands down. Will not tear, color goes all the way through.

[AKJammer]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the difference between WPC and SPC. As I've researched it, WPC (wood pulp core) is a mixture of sawdust and plastic to form the thick central core. It's good stuff and works well, but it will dent if you bang it. SPC (stone pulp core) is basically constructed the same, but has sand mixed with the plastic. Sand is cheaper than sawdust, so the product is usually a bit less expensive. It also will not dent. I've pounded on it with a hammer and can't leave a mark on it. I've put down several floors over the years as the products have evolved. SPC plank is by far the best way to go.

[mikegresham]

Great demo brother..everything you said is so true..ive laid flooring for years and learned so much with newer labels newer products but the protection layer and costs should always come hand in hand whenever installing something were all walking on..you get what you pay for and dont get fooled ..alot of trickery in pricing always ask someone who knows amd go from there..great job again

[Jason-irig]

I'm not sure if it was actually mentioned, but WPC and SPC stand for wood-plastic composite and stone-plastic composite, respectively. WPC is supposed to have a slightly more cushioned feel when walking on it, which also makes footsteps quieter. SPC is generally thinner and often more expensive than WPC, and it is marketed as having better impact resistance.

[la-gluh]

Listen to the man! I bought the cheap stuff and installed it in my basement in the summer, the locking did not hold and the floor pulled itself apart the following cold winter.

[jayman]

Wild. I went with a 4mm HD “cheap” floor five years ago in a three season sunroom that gets tons of traffic and sees wild variations in temperature and humidity. It’s been flawless. No separation of the locking joints and it still looks brand new.

[tommyjay]

I used the Lifeproof stuff since I have dogs with pee problems. I left a sample in a bowl of water for a week with zero damage. Pretty awesome stuff

[stephancrisci]

Hi Jeff, Thanks for bringing the "wear layer" to our attention. I wanted to supplement this video by mentioning that manufacturers disclose this by using the measurement "mils" - which is a measure of vinyl thickness. A mil is 0.0254 mm which is 1/1000 of an inch. I have seen product for sale on the thin side of 3 mil and the thickest I found was 30 mil. Everyone should definitely be looking for these numbers to see how thick their wear layer is. A cheap plastic trash bag is 1.7 mil thick ... so be careful ...

[nipzie]

As someone who has the original Life proof, low end vinyl planking flooring for 17 years now, it wears amazing. Unless you're dragging heavy machinery over it, you will never go through your wear layer.

[stevelucas]

For those looking for the top wear layer its called the 'MIL' layer. With the MIL layer there's a number associated with it (MIL 6 -20). The higher the number of the MIL Layer the better or 'thicker' the layer. This is the most important layer for wear. Most packages will list the MIL layer but some do not and in those cases do your research before purchase. You need to google that exact make/model for the MIL layer #. If you go to a big box store and it's not on the package chances are its a low MIL # 6-8. IMO any MIL that's lower than an 8 can expect to wear quicker. Anything that's above a 12 MIL can expect to last longer. Vinyl flooring MIL numbers can go as high as 20 MIL and may go higher. Also IMO with pets you're going to want a higher MIL #.

[tonyag]

My contractor went shopping with me when we were picking out our laminate floor and he had us go with the pergo higher end floor with a lifetime warranty. That was five year's ago and our floor still looks brand new. I'm glad he took the time to go with me because my husband wanted to buy the cheapest floor out there.

[benjaminshutt]

I am a flooring department manager at one of the big box stores. I liked this video and a lot of what you said is exactly what I tell customers. Especially the wear layer part. That said, it's hard to find a plank without an attached pad now. Also, I would never sell a plank that was under 5mm. I agree with your comments on price point as well. One thing I don't agree with is needing an underlayment pad. All the manufacturers specs and warranties state that additional underlay isn't required if it is attached. One thing I hate though is the fact that most brands require their brand of underlay or your warranty is void. So yeah maybe a cheaper product is fine but what if you have that one in a million situation where you need the warranty protection. But all in all, loved the video but I think some of our differences are differences between the salesman and the installer.

[michaelraiman]

I live 5 min from Floor and decor. Glad to hear it meets your expectations.