We're in a high end home in a Colorado ski resort with lots of snow, 2 large dogs and a 17 month old grandchild. (Duplex with our DD and her family on the other side, market is well over 1.5 mil per side). I love the durability and feel of the LVP. Had hardwood in the south for my entire adult life before this house and don't regret going with LVP at all.

Too many variables to say one way or another.

I live in a community on the Gulf coast. Have a friend who lives right on the Gulf and built a custom home. My friend put in LVP throughout and it looks great. For them it was the right decision.

However, I'm inland just a bit (by a few blocks) and in a different part of town, (still high end), and we went with engineered wood floors since in our neighborhood, engineered wood or tile are what's expected.

I am in Northern Alabama, we are seeing it being requested a lot more in houses we design for clients. Anywhere from entry level homes to 500k homes. It will more than likely what I will install in my new home as well.

If you watch home shows on TV(Flip or Flop...etc) ALLOT of the homes on there in the 600k and above 1 mil. have this in their houses. I love wood but this product looks exactly like wood and is much more durable. Tech has come a long way these days. And from what I've heard, allot of this product is from recycling. Which I'm 100% for.

As the aesthetics continue to improve the material will continue to grow. Same case with quartz vs granite.

the registers will detrmine low vs high end installs

It is not “more durable” than wood. That is a ridiculous and very short sighted statement, looking no further than the 5-7 years of your tenancy. In 120 years, it will be in the landfill 10-15x over, and natural solid wood will still be down and serving the home. IF the homeowner stops looking at wood at a pair of pants to be rehemmed every two years when fashions changed.

Issues with the finish in such a short time is usually due to incorrect installation of the finish. Or an incorrect choice in finishing system. Or elephants in street stilettos with gravel on the soles. Even that wouldn’t really dent hickory. It would just mar the finish some.

As someone who worked extensively in a city that billed itself as the Hardwood Capital of the World for the longest time, even the least expensive homes here do wood. All of the new construction at any price point have wood, in the public areas. It’s a given assumption on all builds. The only exceptions creeping into the market for LVT are budget rental remodels, where the ability to remove one plank burned by a cigarette is a bonus.

New construction may have all carpet in the private areas to get that wood, but it’s engineered wood glued to the slab, or the peculiar plywood sleeper type buildup with site finished solid that the more upscale builders use.

perhaps your assumptions are short sighted? Mine very well could be as well! We’re taliking finish durability not life expectancy as it relates to cost of ownership with your lifestyle and household make up.

I will tell you firsthand that a hickory floor can be scratched through the finish by large breed dog nails and young kids. It doesn’t take an elephant

It's funny, but I installed solid hardwood on my main floor and an economy LVP that I purchased at Home Depot in the basement. Most of the people that come to my house say nothing about the hardwood, but oohh and ahhh over the LVP in the basement. However, I still like my solid hardwood better even though it does get scratched.

$1500 home in MS.

80K home in NoVa.

700K home in CA.

1M home in Vancouver.

Yeah, vinyl would be appropriate here.

I have both. LVP looks great, but it can and does scratch. Yes it can be fixed, but I'd rather have scratched wood then a big white plastic scratch in LVP that screams "rip me out and replace me". I guess it depends on the room (I like both) but they are not on par with each other. Like everything - subjective

Here is the finishing system used for my floor

https://www.loba.de/us/products/waterborne-finishes/1-component-waterborne-finishes/product/ws-easyfinish/

Joe.......true wood look dated in 5-10 yrs??????? That lasts allot longer than true wood!! Using recyclables instead of cutting down trees??????????? SERIOUSLY????? Tech has come a LOOOOOONG way in the last couple of decades.....Explain please.......I doubt I'll hear from you..............

Laminate is in almost all the flips in my rust belt city - low to middle range houses, mostly. There is a high-end flip/restoration happening across the street from me (all old Victorians on this street), and I was invited to see the progress inside - the builder is doing some fantastic work. Original wood floors were trashed after decades of renters, so she was replacing them with new solid oak flooring and also stripping and refinishing woodwork (usually flippers just paint/repaint old woodwork). House will go on the market for around 450k, which is higher range here.

And then back in the Bay Area where I grew up, my dad is getting my late grandmother's house fixed up and ready for renters. Due to insane Bay Area prices, this small century-old house is worth seven figures. My dad is putting wood-look laminate down on top of the original hardwood to protect it from renters. Looks fine, but is NOT something you'd do for your own house, especially not in this area. But a rental property? Valid application.

. How many fake wood products over the last 75 years are considered
chic or retro-cool, or even admired ironically today? Wash, rinse, and
repeat.

2. Trees are a renewable resource.

3. Recycled plastics still leach endocrine disrupters into the environment.

4. The acres of wood in my house are over 60 years old and looks fantastic. Get back to me when LVP matches that.

#2....Sure after 'decades' of growth.....

#3.....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_disruptor

#4.....VERY few houses are built today with 60yr old trees unless they are very old houses. Most are 10-15 yrs old. That's a fact. That's just the way it is these days.

Show me proof. Modern tech is taking over.......period.......

Sophie.....obviously what you posted is 'mainly' on land value, if not only, on land value in that area. NOT on the house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm considering LVP because my engineered floors are in poor shape and can not be refinished because they are 20 year old builder grade engineered - and at the time they told me it could be refinished "once or twice". But today I'm told - no due to a thin wear layer. It has taken a beating in my kitchen areas as well as scratches from dogs, water damage, UV fading, bad chairs, accidents, etc. If I replace with $$$ real wood again the expense would be HUGE for me and I'd feel sick any time my kids ran around house with dog OR when my aging dishwasher breaks, or when ice falls to floor that no one picks up, or don't roll your office chairs on real wood...yada yada yada. So now I'm considering LVP to have the look without the worry. I'm close to feeling good about my decision as someone on this site posted "damaged wood floors doesn't help house sell either". So I think I am choosing LVP.

My question is to those of you who say you have seen some "really realistic" versions out there is this - which LVP or stone core product would you say looks the best? Which would you stay away from?

I love real wood. I would LOVE to have hardwood floors in my home but ... I'm in South Florida and I have a dog. I've been in Florida for 25+ years so I am way over tile. Given all that - I am leaning towards LVP. There are some amazing products out there today that look and feel like real wood and are extremely durable. My favorite so far (from a looks perspective) is Provenza's Moda Living line. Search Instagram and you'll find pictures and people drooling over these floors. They have recently come out with a new line called Concorde Oak. This is an ESPC vinyl plank. And, apparently - SPC is what the LVP industry is moving towards. Supposed to be more durable and more waterproof (pros please chime in here). I've seen the Moda Living line in person and it really does look great. I have yet to check out Concorde Oak. I too would love to hear from others at to what their favorite 'realistic looking' LVP is.

flashpolkadot , we send very high quality American made Engineered plank flooring to South Florida all the time, even the Florida Keys. You can use great looking real wood flooring you just need to make sure its installed correctly and you keep climate controls on. Waterproof doesn't matter when water gets under the plastic tiles and they have to be pulled up anyway.

Yes but isn’t it true that spc is 100% waterproof. If it sits in water is does not affect the product. You can simple pull up the floating floor and re use when sub floor dries out

Warranty issues would likely come into play. Is it a wood sub floor?

Oak & Broad: Yes, I know that there are many people in Florida that are doing the engineered hardwood. I'm just so torn. There are pros and cons to each flooring category: tile, LVP, engineered hardwood. Tile - I'm over it but it's basically indestructible. Drop an ice cube? Dog pees? No problemo. Engineered hardwood - beautiful, will help in resale value but expensive and carries with it a variety of worries. LVP - looks great, feels great on bare feet (my requirement), durable, may/may not be 100% waterproof, could be expensive too if buying a higher end product. I haven't really explored the engineered hardwood option yet because I believe it's out of my price range - but would be open to seeing what's out there. Any particular brand/line you would recommend?

Look for an American made product. Here is a helpful article we made about how to pick high quality Engineered flooring <- link

Oak & Board makes a great point about keeping climate controls on with real wood. It’s the reason we did not use real wood. I love to keep the windows open and have a whole house fan that I run at night that’s cools the house easily. So real wood was out for me. My flooring person recommended against it in our situation because we don’t keep climate control on.

Interesting. I don’t doubt the reasoning behind climate control, but we just installed central air in a 96-year-old house that had never had AC before (central heat, though.) There are a ton of windows that stayed wide open 7-8 months a year.

We restored the original hardwood floors when we moved in, only because they were so dirty. Floor guy thought it was the only resanding they'd ever had.

We’re less humid than Florida. Is that maybe the difference?

I am in AZ - no humidity.

@_sophiewheeler I've never seen a "pro" be so insulting while giving their "expert" opinion.

This thread is nearly 2 years old. ;-)

Miss Sophie -- beloved by some, hated by others -- is an elderly lady who suffers no fools and doesn't sugar coat anything. She is no longer an active poster on this forum. I found her incredibly knowledgeable, even if her delivery was less than diplomatic. She contributed quite a bit.

Edited to add: Great. Apparently, the poster who commented about Sophie deleted her comment, so now mine looks like it fell from outer space!!! lol

She also replied to me, which appears to have been deleted as well, and the only reason I know is because I received an email notification that someone tagged me in a post. I didn't find her comment to be particularly charitable -- or respectful of someone who couldn't defend herself due to inactivity on the forum, a possible illness, or even a possible passing -- so I am not too sad to see it gone. :-)

Regarding the original post, a flooring guy from a local mom-and-pop shop actually talked me *out* of using LVP, based on my needs/wants/expectations at the time. With 6 kids, a 160# dog, and ample sunshine streaming into the south- and east-facing rooms, he flat out told me that a *dark* LVP would be beyond disappointing in my application. He promised me it would show scratches all the time, and mentioned that by "water proof, kid proof, pet proof" the manufacturers really just mean "waterproof." I totally believed him, especially since one of the sample boards I borrowed had a ginormous scratch across it, and I thought, "Yep. That would happen to me on the very first day, I'm sure...." :-D

So, as long as y'all want light or medium toned floors, this issue should be much better!

I put in lvp. I didn’t want to have issues with water in the kitchen, scratches or worry about the kids not drying off well enough when they come in from the pool in the backyard. We have had it for 5 yrs now and I love it

I have seen it in resales in my neighborhood and some look good, some do not. My friend has the cheapo on (Home Depot) and while I don't like the look of hers, it has handled their 3 dogs well. I did a search on LVP and this came up. Do you think LVP has gotten better looking/more durable since this thread started? Some threads here seem to suggest it would not hurt in a resale but I don't know if I believe that. Our local flooring store said LVP is their highest selling flooring now.

@One Devoted Dame That was me who deleted the comment. I realized I was being way too oversensitive on my reaction to her post. I didn't want the comment to stay. Sorry @User. LVP isn't for everyone. I so far have had a good experience, but I doubt myself all the time for the decision. I think that's where the sensitivity came from. And I agree, it was not charitable. My apologies to all. I want to apologize to @live_wire_oak as well.

I realized I was being way too oversensitive on my reaction to her post. [....] I so far have had a good experience, but I doubt myself all the time for the decision. I think that's where the sensitivity came from. And I agree, it was not charitable. My apologies to all.

<3 We all have our days -- and sensitivities -- I totally get it!!! <3

It's absolutely normal to have these kinds of doubts. Perfect solutions don't exist in home building, lol, and those of us with overly analytical, scrupulous tendencies (of which I completely claim membership, myself) can seriously struggle.

Thanks for coming back to this thread! <3 For my part, if anything I have said is upsetting, please accept my apologies, too -- I try to convey positivity and an upbeat attitude, but I know I fail once in awhile (ohmygosh, awhile back, I was called "snarky" by a new poster, and I about fell over myself, trying to apologize for coming across that way, inviting her to check out my posting history, that seriously, snark isn't my thing). Smileys and hearts can only go so far, but I try!

@One Devoted Dame You are so lovely. Your response to my initial post did sit with me after I erased it. I just didn't feel right about not coming back to apologize. And I really hope that Sophie is okay and just hasn't participated in a while. I thought about how my mom would want to kick my ass for not taking that into account too. You weren't hurtful at all!

And I really hope that Sophie is okay and just hasn't participated in a while.

I totally hope the same, because it's been awhile since I've heard of any news of her.

I would like to mention, however, that she was involuntarily removed from Houzz by moderators. Likely because of her posting style. You aren't alone in your initial gut reaction to the writing style... Heck, I created a thread once, where she didn't spare me, either, lol!!! ;-)

@One Devoted Dame, I feel better knowing that it wasn't just me! LOL! You know, even though I had my initial reaction, i started thinking about the fact that everyone needs someone that tells you like it is, not what you want to hear. And instead of negatively reacting, embrace it!

It all depends on your market.

Where I am in Asia sheet vinyl is what all the big builders put in their new <$900,000 apartments 😲

I would really appreciate if some of you can help with my dilemma. We are looking into flooring options for our new home. We live in Arizona. I was looking in to wood look porcelain tile because I really like the look of wood, but I want something where I can have the same kind of flooring in the entire main floor, so hard wood tile combo is out. We have hardwood in our current house in both our floors except kitchen and stairs as much as I love the look of it, I don’t like the upkeep that comes with it. A couple of our friends got LVP done in their homes and they really like it. I love how it looks but just can’t get over the vinyl part and how will it effect the value of the house? I spoke to a couple of local suppliers and contractors and they said I can’t go wrong with either it just comes down to personal choice. And with regard to the value they said only hard wood increases the value and carpet may decrease the value because buyers would like to change the carpet but vinyl or tile don’t add or delete anything in our are. it most likely will be our forever home till we downsize but just in case. Our home will be around 700k.
I understand that vinyl costs less in labor charges but a 20mil wear layer vinyl is not cheap in material and I don’t mind to spend more on the labor of tile and prefer to compromise somewhere else which I can change easily later . I know some of the same things were discussed in this thread but most of them are over a year old was wondering if everyone is still on the same page.
For everyone who has wood look porcelain tile or LVP do you still like it after a couple of years? What are the pros and cons. For me one big con with the tile is grout. And LVP’s pro is it’s looks. Do you have problems with footprints being seen on LVP like how a few mentioned in an other thread? any pro’s please give your input on what you think?
Thanks a lot if you read till now. I will greatly appreciate any help you can provide.

The higher-end market starts at about C$3.5m (US$2.59m) where we are. And even there, LVP is virtually verboten, save maybe in a basement.

What US$1.08m (C$1.46m) bought last week just north of Toronto. (Markham, Ont.) LVP perfectly acceptable.

I would prefer LVP over wood look tile because grout and it's really hard standing on all day and cold.

My friend built a 1M+ ranch with walk out basement and did LVP throughout. Her builder uses it mainly in all his homes. she didn't question it. They farm and have 2 dogs. It looks good. I built a 600k house and did engineered wood throughout. It also looks good. I do not farm and have 2 little dogs.

Can anyone explain the difference between LVP and SPC? advantages one over the other?

SPC (Stone Plastic Composite) is LVP. It's just a type of LVP; the other type is WPC (Wood Plastic Composite). From flooringgirl.com:

"The meat of both WPC flooring and rigid core flooring is the waterproof core. In WPC flooring, this is made from wood plastic composite, while with SPC, it is made from stone plastic composite. The stone is stiffer, sturdier and less resilient."

I don't like the wood tile look. I've seen both LVP and wood tile and I think the wood tile looks worse.

My Nu wood is awesome. A commercial product that looks and wears wonderful in my home. Have a dog and dog visitors. NO SCRATCHES anywhere. Had water issue that did not effect the floor. Pretty too. Not gassy. Check it out. I don’t sell this stuff. Just a happy customer.
https://nuwoodflooring.com

@ML Swartz Im trying to find contact info for Nu Wood but I dont see anything on their website. Can you tell me how you ordered samples? Can you post pics of your floor? Thank you! Im desperately trying to choose my floors!