Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring Installation in Minneapolis

Luxury vinyl plank, or LVP, is a waterproof plank floor with a printed wood-look surface and a tough clear wear layer on top, and Top Notch Floors installs it throughout Minneapolis. It goes down fast. It handles water, dogs and kids better than wood does.

There are three ways to build it. Rigid core, usually SPC, has a dense stone-composite center that stays flat and hides small subfloor bumps. Click-lock planks float over the subfloor with no glue, so a leak or a damaged plank can be pulled and replaced. Glue-down vinyl is bonded straight down. It is the quietest underfoot and the best choice for big open commercial spaces and rolling loads.

LVP wins in the rooms that punish other floors. Kitchens see spills. Basements see humidity and the occasional wet floor drain. Mudrooms take road salt and snow all winter. Rentals need a floor that survives tenants and cleans up with a mop. Vinyl handles all of it.

Be precise about waterproof versus water-resistant. Waterproof means the plank itself will not swell if water sits on it, so a dishwasher leak does not ruin the floor. It does not mean water cannot get past the seams to the subfloor underneath. Water-resistant means it shrugs off spills you wipe up, not standing water. We tell you which one you are buying.

Wear layer is the number that matters most. It is measured in mils. Twelve mil is fine for a bedroom. Twenty mil is what you want in a kitchen, a hallway or any house with big dogs. A thicker wear layer resists scratches and scuffs, and it is the difference between a floor lasting six years and lasting twenty.

Vinyl plank can often go right over existing tile, sheet vinyl or old wood, which saves you the cost and mess of tear-out. The subfloor still has to be flat. Rigid core bridges small dips, but grout lines, humps and soft spots telegraph through and stress the locking edges. We check with a straightedge, skim and level what needs it, then set a moisture barrier over concrete before the first plank goes down.