I am wondering how you can “condition” a crawl space to eliminate all those usual inconveniences? Just curious

btydrvn

I am wondering how you can “condition” a crawl space to eliminate all those usual inconveniences? Just curious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJT3hOhNjoY&ab_channel=BAYCrawlspaceandFoundationRepair

Whoa!...guess I may have seen that before?... wonder how common this is?... depending on the reason and the space ...and the expense...it may be worth it? .....thanx for the info

Think it was the wording that was confusing.... “vapor barrier” vs. “condition”

Everyone with a crawlspace has a vapor barrier, or should. Any termite inspector will quickly set you straight on that .

Encapsulating the crawlspace is pretty common now in areas of high humidity - it is something that a handy homeowner can do himself at not great expense. I paid a company to do mine and for me it has been worth every penny..

I am curious to know, are most of you who are commenting on here real estate professionals, interior designers or otherwise involved professionally in the home improvement business?

Not a pro, but have traveled these forums enough to know that LVT/LVP is like the "veganism" or "cross-fit" of home improvement apparently - the people that have it are REALLY into it, and seem to care that other people don't prefer it.

whm….in answer to your question ..i think there are more non-pro’s than pro’s in these discussions…some of the pro’s will state their status…some of them are looking for business…or “advertising “….or even retired….but mostly i think it is creative..talented ..people with lots of experience on the things discussed..that just want to share their ideas…after participating for a while you do acquire a lot of insight and understanding and enjoyment and information on the topic of design …if you are referencing the topic of this discussion …it appears to me it is a product of the future that has formed a love/ hate following …probably since it is so new on the scene

"are most of you who are commenting on here real estate professionals, interior designers or otherwise involved professionally in the home improvement business?"

I am simply a homeowner - not in any home-related business at all.

Ive been looking for a place to live for over 2.5 years. lol. Ive seen terrible things. lol. then i go on you tube and look at how things should be built. Hoping to take home inspection classes and get certified someday in the next few years. There is a lot of knowledge out there and no professional has time to specialize in everything. Things change exponentially on a daily basis. Most information is out there for everyone to read and consider. I dont know if hidden and secret information make someone more professional . There are amazing people and professionals out there building things etc, who have never had any formal schooling.

I know this thread is old but I thought I would add my experience in case anyone looks this up. I had engineered hardwood in my last house and didn't care for it. It had a deep bevel and was also in the kitchen as well as the main living area so we were constantly worried about water. There were several places that the finish had worn off (by the door from the previous owner) and was just raw wood. In our new (to us) house, we decided to do LVP. 3 dogs and now 3 kids, we thought it would be better. I got a high end LVP and we've had it for two years. It is waterproof but to me, that's where the plusses end. I don't know quite how to describe it but it just doesn't have the same presence as wood. The feel of this material is more commercial even though it looks like it's wood and has wood texture. It sort of feels like an uncanny valley with the material. It doesn't feel near as homey as wood but I can't quite put my finger on why. There's a couple of things that I've been disappointed with. It scratches and dents very easily. So does wood so that's the same except that with wood, it sort of blends and with the LVP, it sticks out like a sore thumb. I had a huge ding in my floor at my last house and I have several dings on the floor at this house and the other you couldn't really tell. It's like the way it dents the picture of wood is more noticeable than when it dented real wood. The biggest thing that I've noticed with it is the wood texture on it doesn't match up with the picture. There's swoopy texture where there's lines on the picture and vice versa. Maybe they've fixed this by now with newer products. It also is still very very flat looking. When seen from a distance, the way the light bounces off it makes it look like a giant sticker despite the texture.

I think a lot of it depends on your personality. It's like marble vs a marble looking quartz. To me, there's a depth lacking in the marble-look quartz that is more noticeable and irritating to me than some stains or etching in real marble. If you don't mind the patina and that it won't look perfect, you'll want real wood. In a few years, when this floor has had it, I'm putting in real wood. I know lots of people love it but after two years, I'm ready to switch back to wood. I'm on the fence about tile or wood in the kitchen because I don't want to stress over the water like I did in my last kitchen (which oddly enough was never a problem in that location). Grout is the worst and never feels clean.

By the way, the idea of wood being softer than tile is only true if you have a wood subfloor. If you are on a concrete slab, it's pretty much the same. Source: have had concrete slabs with all three flooring. It's all hard on your feet/joints. Get squishy house shoes.

I have to agree with Misscourtnie23. I put LVP in my sunroom. The thing I don’t care for is the sound as you walk over it. It sounds like plastic! It doesn’t sound or feel like walking on wood.

Jackie Kemper That is due to the specific product and installation that you had done. I have LVP in my kitchen and wood in my dining room. Neither is a floating floor - LVP is glue-down and wood is nailed. I have never noticed any difference in the sound or feel when walking from one to the other (just tried it a minute ago and really it is the same).

The quality and brand of LVP also play a big role in how flat it looks and how it scratches and dents. The stuff I have does not scratch and dent. Never one scratch or dent in a few years now. I do put felt pads under all furniture just so it can move easily and not scratch. Mine has a slight sheen to it also. People have told me what a gorgeous hard wood floor I have! I am not even trying to fake a wood floor. It is just what worked for us and I don't regret it at all.

Jackie is correct.  There are different types of LVT.  The stuff you get at Lowe's is the cheap floating floor kind that snaps together.  The good stuff; the "real" stuff is the kind that you glue down with acrylic grout (glue).  You have to staple down a 1/4 inch underlayment and then glue the LVT to it.  It is more expensive than the Lowe's knock-off but much better quality that looks and feels like real wood.

I don't know about it being the glue down. We paid more at Shaw for the luxury plant flooring than high end carpeting. The thicker it is the longer the warranty on most. Ours is floating and the underlayment is made on it. Lowe's has the thinner product with half the warranty on it. I don't guess ours is clicky as someone called it since we have plenty of funiture on top of it.

We want it in our other two bedrooms and master bath.

This is Shaw Vinyl Style No. 502SA Color No. 00676 LARGO PLUS CAPLONE

Tim - Now I’m going to have to look at our contractor‘a info on what kind of LVT we had installed! I know it wasn’t Lowe’s. I love the education you get on HOUZZ!

Jackie, my brother installed the floating floor type of vinyl plank flooring in his house, and although it resembles wood, it still looks, feels, and sounds like plastic.  Luxury Vinyl Tile (not to be confused with plank vinyl flooring) MUST be glued down to an underlayment with acrylic grout/glue.  It looks, feels, and sounds like real wood.  The floating floor vinyl plank flooring is a lot cheaper than true Luxury Vinyl Flooring.  

FYI contractors often use the term Luxury Vinyl Tile when referring to vinyl plank flooring, but they are not the same thing.  They do the same thing with linoleum and sheet vinyl flooring.  They are also two completely different products.  Hope this helps.

If you are going to go through all the trouble of gluing acrylic grout down and stapling down a 1/4 inch underlayment and then gluing the LVT to it. Why not just get a natural product and staple it to a subfloor? The sounds produced by flooring are made by how you lay it down, agreed, but the isnt a main selling point of LVT that it can be floated anywhere? Why would anyone want to do all that for vinyl? wouldnt that be a nightmare to replace later on?

" isnt a main selling point of LVT that it can be floated anywhere"

No. At least it was never that for me since I never wanted a floating floor. It was maintenance, and better resistance to water spills or any other sort of spill. And my LVT has turned out to be exactly what I had hoped for.

The LVT product is 100% waterproof, and if glue down properly, is leak proof. Real wood is neither of these. Also a floating LVT floor is not guaranteed to be leak proof.

I just had Mannington adura max installed - they look lovey but when you walk on them they feel like plastic. They are extremely sturdy and scratch resistant and will not expand and contract like my wood floors did (they were quite warped when I took them out). I live in a high rise condo. I am high enough up that the building sways a little - that drove me to select LVP but my feet are yearning for the feel of wood. I had them installed as a floating floor because I wanted a more cushioned feel but when you walk on them they sound like plastic. To get rid of that, you have to get glue down or maybe try cork backed floors.

@silken1 (or anyone else) - what type of LVP do you have that you love? I have gotten tons of samples, and love the thicker products by Shaw and Coretec - but the higher end (and thicker) LVPs seem to have a wide ("enhanced") bevel which to me makes the LVP look even more "fake" - less like wood. I would love to find a thick, high end LVP with a micro bevel. I'd appreciate any input and guidance. Thank you!

Wood can be all those things and more if you take care of it. And it can last a lifetime. LvP may last 20 years Not to mention the junk pile of never fully decomposing matter it will leave behind. Its something to consider too.

@\ Ours was XL Flooring XL Flooring for our tV room at home and their sister company EZLay flooring for the entire cabin. Same quality with both companies but one had a different width and colour choices of planks. Ours is loose lay (can be glued down) and has never been a problem. also contrary to what some say, it does not let water seep thru the cracks if installed tightly and correctly. very little waste as the planks can be rotated to make pattern look different and it results in much less cut off wastage. I ordered too much not realizing that. I did a lot of research and it is very good quality. extremely durable. Ours still looks like new after a number of years. UI expoect it will last longer than 20 years suggested by some since there is just no wearing down of it. If you did have a flood, you could lift it up, replace subfloor if there was damage and re-use it. But even setting two pieces together on the counter without anything holding them in place, no water seeped thru the joint after 1/2 hour of leaving it there.

Vinyl Plank flooring is cheap, poorly engineered crap. Installation is said to be easy, but truth is a proper installation of this stuff is similar to the installation of ceramic tile. Like ceramic the planks are scored and broken instead of cut. Also, like ceramic, the floor must be perfectly level within 1/8" or you will eventually regret it. Even the good stuff when properly installed will give you headaches within a few years. Furthermore, the flooring allows mold to grow beneath it when something is spilled (reducing the quality of the air you breathe) and the flooring itself gasses toxic volatile organic compounds into the air. The stuff is made super cheap, and super brittle. Regular use will result with those brittle little snap lock seams fatiguing and breaking within 10-years. Even people who say they love their floors will rationalize their decision by saying things like, yes, the seams separate, but I use a heat gun to bang them back in, so it is no big deal. Others say, yes, they scratch, but some of the light scratches can be buffed out, and I can rearrange the rugs to cover the deeper scratches. Putting luxury in front of a word that typically means cheap flooring (a.k.a. vinyl) improves the floor as much as a pig would be improved by putting the word "Luxury" in front of that name. It is all marketing BS, so these manufacturers can mass produce cheap goods (about five cents a plank) and sell them at at premium price (about $5-$10 a plank). Quality does not matter, there is no such thing as a good vinyl plank floor. For God's sake people, stop falling for the marketing BS and stop buying this stuff so they can stop making it.

Just for some context, I have installed hardwood floors, laminate floors, and ceramic tile floors. I installed vinyl plank once, and that was enough. I will never use it again.

I have had LVP for 3 years now and it still looks new. easy to clean and maintain. did buy a higher quality brand.

Mike thinks.. based on one installation…that he is an authority on the subject…this is more a testament of his “lack of qualifications”/or abilities…… than anything else… we have had LVP for 20 years…easy installation..1300 sq ft took 10 hours…to install..Very happy….

I love my Armstrong Vivero vinyl plank floor. Had it for nearly 4 years now and zero issues. Easy to clean and looks great. It is a glue-down floor, so nearly as waterproof as the sheet vinyl that it replaced.

I have LVP in a beach house. I am very pleased with it. The prior house had "real" hardwood in it, that looked like I ran a woodchipper over it. I have dogs who run and play (and yes their nails are trimmed!), and they scratched the heck out of it cornering and just generally having fun. Add in sand, and whatever else, and honestly the floor looked awful.

Not one scratch in the LVP. So for me I'd rather have the floor look nice and not destroyed rather than get hung up on whether it is "real" wood. However if you disagree....that's the beauty of life. You don't have to buy it. Meanwhile I am no longer wincing everytime my dogs play tag....

All of the photos of the LVF in the previous responses look really nice. You can't tell in the photos that the LVF isn't real wood flooring. In contrast, my brother purchased LVF from Lowes, and you can absolutely tell it is plastic without walking on it or even getting up close to it. So, I conclude from this comparison that how good the LVF looks and feels has a lot to do with how it is manufactured. If you buy cheap LVF it's going to look like cheap LVF.

What I'd like to see is a plank with the same SPC core as vinyl. With the same cork or synthetic cushion bottom layer. With the same click together installation. With the same hard clearcoat. The only thing I'd not want is the thin vinyl with printed repeating picture. I'd like a thin piece of wood veneer. That way I don't get the repeat and the stripey toning some lvp products have. I also want very similar waterproof capability to work in kitchens and basements.. . . I'm seeing options at good prices.

Wood veneer will wear through, even scratch thru …and same as scratching ….the “ hard clear coat” will not be repairable…when we had ourLVP done ….i had to oversee the installation to avoid a noticeable “matchy” result….but 20 years ago and maybe even now the installers needed to be more aware of matching issues…and since they are paid by the sq.ft. on the job..they are more interested in rushing than matching…we chose the most expensive but most realistic product and have no regrets..especially when we have water leaks or spills….

I really have a strong aversion towards LVF. I personally would rather just a cement floor or other non-vinyl tile

I can spot an LVP floor from ten feet away…and on all of these pics. All of them lack the warmth, depth and beauty (and feel under your feet) of real wood. LVP is flat and dull looking, by comparison…and, much more uniform. By inserting the word “Luxury” in front of Vinyl, the industry has hoodwinked the consuming public.

Install water sensor/alarms at all water sources, and real wood is no more problematic than any other flooring.

"By inserting the word “Luxury” in front of Vinyl, the industry has hoodwinked the consuming public."

LOL! No one has been hoodwinked, sadly for you I guess. The term "luxury" was added to distinguish the vinyl planks of today from the traditional old sheet vinyl of yesterday (which still exists of course). There are some very VERY good products in LVT today, and it can absolutely be a beautiful and functional choice, and certainly can be a better choice than wood, in some circumstances. Rather silly to try and paint all products with one brush stroke. That's like saying ALL wood floors are beautiful - which is hilarious of course. My BF is a building inspector and goes into brand new homes every day, including high-end homes. He has not seen a hardwood floor in a new home in over a year now. I have hardwood in my living areas, and LVP in my kitchen. It looks great, is easy to clean, and is exactly what I wanted. It's just perfect.

LVT is made from polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. PVC is hazardous to both the environment and human health. Plastic is everywhere. We should be reducing the manufacturing of it not calling it a luxury item. It isn't. Wood is a luxury because it is a precious resource. Plastic is cheap and there is always a higher price for saving money. If you want to pay more for plastic than you are being hoodwinked.

Having come from “redwood country”..I have seen what logging can do to beautiful mountains and wild animal habitats…beautiful giant redwoods removed .. never to be seen again as they are never allowed to grow into the beautiful giants they can be…and I experienced the huge job it is to maintain wood floors…from my childhood…I really came to LVP after finding they were the only option in our mountain home…I would never go back…never experienced any of the negatives promoted above…whether people can accept it or not plastic is becoming the foundation of all sorts of construction…as it lasts a life time and is replenish able…and does not destroy our forests….and in our case still beautiful after 20 years

So the irresponsible actions of a few loggers justifies use of a toxic product that is going to eventually wind up in landfills where it will exist for eternity? The forests will grow back. The LVT will be with us forever. I thought the ONE thing people agreed upon is that LVT is a detriment to the environment. i guess I was wrong.

Plastic does not last a lifetime. What utter crap. Take windows. Wood, single-pane windows will easily last 100 years with maintenance. Vinyl windows will last no more than 20. Hardwood floors can be refinished 3-4x and scraped and recoated innumerable times, also frequently lasting well over 100 years. LVP? 20 is a HUGE stretch. Try 5, 10 if you're lucky.

People use plastic because they have been sold on the fact that it is "durable" and "low maintenance" and "cheaper," which may be true if you're speaking in terms of 5 or 10 years. But the costs - actual and environmental - are much higher when you acknowledge that its life cycle is much shorter than natural wood products that can last 3-10x longer. Then add in the fact that manufacturing new plastic on that shorter cycle is terrible for the environment, too, and the real costs become obvious.

The idea that LVP is used in "high end" homes is an odd one. Where I live, it's only used in the basement of high-end houses, where hardwood obviously isn't suitable. It would be a huge red flag to see LVP anywhere on the main floors of a house, even under $1m.

It hasnt sunk in. If we smim, breathe, and eat these mircroplastic and microdust and inhale the fumes, it will affect our health in some form and to varying degrees depending on where you live. The demand for resources may be overwhelming but in the meantime lets not create more problems than we are solving be ignoring the red flags we see on the news daily. Biodegradable plastic is currently 1% of the plastics used on earth. Reduce, re-use and stop buying these products. Find another way.

Some of you are hilarious.

I am a big fan of science fiction… one of my fave movies was about a time in the future when garbage was shot into space… hmmm… the funniest part was they were “collecting” it to bring back for re-use… after all the resources on earth were stripped…

I am a Native American and love visiting my “protected” tribal lands… unfortunately I now have to pass thru stripped and destroyed.. barren… vast .. privately owned land…which was left to rot and waste away after a stripping of all trees….as it is off the beaten path … it was exploited easily…so sad… they were all redwoods with the possibility of growing to beautiful… rare …giants… only to be found in two places in the whole world…so yes… I’ll take LVP

They are called Sequoias..one famous tourist site is a hole carved out at the base big enough for a car to drive thru..

And HU…we still have our LVP in place ..looking perfect…after 20 years in use in mountain country…if people are replacing them sooner it is a people problem not a LVP problem…