It looks nice in the picture, and it's probably better than the old carpet, but don't call it wood. Because it's not. You get what you pay for.

And using your own installer, if he/she is good, is probably better than using the store's installer.

"It looks nice in the picture, and it's probably better than the old carpet, but don't call it wood. Because it's not. You get what you pay for."

If it's not wood, what is it?

If you're going to glue it down on concrete, be sure to perform a proper moisture test.

littlebug zone 5 Missouri

" it's probably better than the old carpet, but don't call it wood. Because it's not. "

So what is it?

Okay, first up, it is wood. Second, how thick is the top cosmetic layer and would you be able to refinish it if needed? Since this is a rental, unless you have the world's best tenants, you may need to refinish it someday.

LVP looks amazing !, but half the house already has hardwood and i wish to preserve it. How do i find out about the thickness of the veneer ? this one is 1/2 inch, but others say 3/8 inch. doesnt seem that much different to my untrained eye!

If you have floor vents, you can pull out the vent cover and look and see how thick the top layer is. Or you may have to pull up some quarter round/shoe mold to see how thick it is. I read on another thread you should have at least 3 MM of wood above the tongue in order to be able to refinish the floor.

If it's an engineered floor, not sure how thick the cosmetic layer needs to be to be refinished.

Koebers, what are those two floors you posted pix of? What brand/color LVP??

The Home-Depot stuff normally has a 2mm wear layer (that's the very top layer of wood that is "oak" everything else below that is "something else"). The finish is a 7 layer Aluminum Oxide (AO) Urethane. That means the chances of refinishing this are slim to nil. Both the wear layer (3mm is the MINIMUM requirement to get a sand/refinish out of it) and the AO finish will make this wood near-impossible to "fix up" at a later date.

At $1.96/sf, the install will be more expensive than the wood. And the subfloor preparation will be more expensive than the wood. Carpets hide the WORST POSSIBLE subfloors. Hardwood floors need real plywood for installation. Carpet RARELY has "real" plywood underneath it. So you will need to UPGRADE your subfloor. That costs money. Most types of OSB are not a good "fit" for sitting underneath hardwood so if it is there, you will need to upgrade. And fibre board (often seen underneath carpet) is a No-No for hardwood - upgrade/rip out will be needed. As you can see, to get these hardwoods in place, you will need to do some upgrades to the subfloor before putting it down.

The other thing you may want to be aware of is the "average life expectancy" of a floor in a rental property = 7 years. Your subfloor + labor costs could run as high as $6 - $8/sf. That is 4 TIMES the amount the flooring costs. That's high. We normally like to see labor+prep prices that are only 1-2 times the price (same price as the floor or a snick more).

Ask yourself whether or not the property will bring in the price to cover the higher than usual subfloor costs. And whether or not that seems like a good idea for a floor that may only last 7 years regardless of the subfloor prep.

I installed heritage mill oak harvest from HD last year. It looks good but feels cheap. Always has a creaking sound when walk on and scratch easily. The backing has burns, blacks, not flat. It is not cheap I bought at 3dollor but lots of waste due to unsustainable planks.

Unusable

"Carpet RARELY has "real" plywood underneath it. So you will need to UPGRADE your subfloor. "

Maybe they build new houses this way? My home has "real" plywood under the carpets. My mother's house has "real" plywood under the carpets. My old house had "real" plywood as well. I will be replacing some of the carpet in my house with engineered, and I will be using the existing subfloor.

Chessie, in many areas OSB is used if carpet is going to go in. Basically, homeowners shouldn't assume they have plywood, pull up a corner of the carpet and check!

Well that is certainly a better statement than to say "RARELY".