My LVP survived our last washer flood unscathed. We were able to pull up strategic areas and wet vac the area fully then left some pulled up areas and put floor dryers on for a few weeks to dry it all out ourselves and than reattached the planks. It is now as good as new. It is indestructible and a good product for lower levels prone to excess water issues.

After the water damage from a clogged pipe, the worst damage was from the carpet being wet and spreading that moisture to the surrounding area - we had to have the lower 24" cut out of the drywall which is going to be replaced before the flooring goes in anyway, but that wet carpet and pad was a big problem, we're lucky that the furniture down there, the tv, and my computer wasn't damaged at least!

The basement was already finished when we bought this house last summer, but now that we've been living here and dealt with vacuuming the up and downstairs levels, I really think I'd prefer to have all LVP down there for maintenance and cohesive.

I teleworked and had my office in the game room in 2 houses. The one house had tile floor and I had a rug under my desk. I also had a gas wall heater I used in the winter and I was fine. This house the game room came carpeted and didn't need a alternate heat source. If I had my choice though I would like the LVP, just for ease of cleaning and not worrying about spills when I do crafts. But I know I would need an alternate heat source in the winter.

We have a space heater and blankets we used last winter and with the central air/heat system we did okay on the warmth factor but now that we've got 4 foster children and my senior citizen dog, having to clean spots on the carpet isn't my favorite thing in the world (the dog likes to eat grass occasionally and then out onto the carpet it goes!) and it's much easier when it's on the LVP we have in the kitchen/bathrooms/front hallway.

Location is key here. How cold will your basement be? How old are these children? Are they on the floor watching TV/gaming? I would find pulling out a vacuum MUCH faster/easier than mopping. I also don't think an area rug would be insulation enough for floor play. I love my LVP in my kitchen but no way would I say it is easier to clean than my wall to wall. Dog messes are another story. When we did our basement LVP wasn't around. We couldn't find a product that was rated for basements--cork was our first choice until we read about the toxic glue and the water cautions. We ended up with carpet squares so they can be easily replaced in patches is the need arises.

The kids are 6, 7, 8, and 9. They have a futon sofa down there to sit on and there’s an ottoman with it - not much sitting on the floor though! The laundry room, bathroom and hall to the garage will be LVP like they were before, I like the ease of running a swifter around and being done - if we put carpet back in the living and 3rd bedroom where it was I’ll be lugging the vacuum down to do those smallish areas and also having to get under the furniture every once in a while.

If we do put carpet down it might be a darker color than the rest of the house has, which is still not definite (I really am leaning towards doing all LVP, can you tell? Lol) but at this point I just want to get started putting the basement back together - the drywall that had to get removed obviously would be first thing done and going from there. At least homeowners insurance is covering the majority, with the flooring and carpet depreciated slightly since it’s only a little less than a year old. We have to replace the vanity down in the 3rd bathroom too, with an allowance for the new top because the size of the old one isn’t common outside of the initial builder options for the time it was done (the house was built in 2011).

LVP can be awesome. The ONE THING you NEED TO KNOW about LVP is this: it MUST HAVE a subfloor that is FLAT. It must be flat. After that it needs flat. And sometime after that, you need to check that this thing is FLAT.

Carpet hides some of the WORST subfloors in the WORLD. Some would rank as "dangerous rollercoaster". I am not kidding. And basement slabs have a long history of being wonky. And slanted. And bumpy. With the occasional crack running the length of the space. Anything but "flat".

So the LVP may appear (price tag) to be lower priced, but the SUBFLOOR preparation that MUST BE DONE, can cost $2-$5 per square foot (the $2-$3/sf is more common).

Please be aware that you will need to have the contractor to offer and estimate for the REPAIR of the subfloor before LVP can be used. This is an added amount that is NOT NEEDED for carpet. Please make sure you specifically ask for this to be included in the quote. And "no" this is not automatic. Contractors will only quote what the homeowner asks to be quoted.

LVP can cause heartache if the subfloor preparation is skipped. Tooooooo many threads have popped up because the installer did NOT prep the floor because the homeowner didn't ask for it in the quote. It then became a massive sore point in their relationship (some ended in court). And many of those floors had to be removed and replaced (once the subfloor was prepared properly). It is a HARSH lesson to learn.

Please make sure the subfloor preparation is included in the new quote. And if it is less than $1.50/sf, ask why so low.

The guy included the sub floor prep in his estimate for the whole basement. He also did one with carpet and plank and he’s just finished one with all plank for me after I asked about it.

The laundry area had two other layers of flooring under the plank we had installed, now all that has been removed and will be prepped for new plank after the drywall part of things is done.

Right now my insurance adjuster is taking her sweet time and it’s driving me up the wall! :p