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Flooring Kitchens

Any PRACTICAL reason not to use LVP in my kitchen?

3 years ago

I'd been considering LVP for my basement, but now that my house is full of samples, I've identified one that's the perfect color to hide doggie footprints while coordinating with the rest of my color scheme. It has a substantial wear layer and thick backing. I've put down a few planks as a test area in my hallway to step on with bare feet now that the weather is cool and I'm blown away by how warm and comfortable it is under foot.

Any reason it wouldn't work as kitchen flooring? Should I be concerned about a floating floor in that environment? This would be newly-constructed space, so we don't need to worry about how it'll lie over an existing floor, though I wonder if I'd need additional waterproofing over the subfloor if I'm doing a floating installation.

(I know people here have very strong aesthetic opinions on this, but I'm interested in the practicalities. I am not going to use tile because I'm a klutz who drops things and I'm also concerned about my elderly mother, and aging me, falling on an unforgiving surface.)

Thanks

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Comments (4)

isabellagracepan
3 years ago
I think it is a practical material, as long as you are happy with the look. I personally love hardwood in a kitchen, as I also find tile too hard. I don't like the look of LVP, and I am allergic to things that off gas a lot, so it is not an option for me, but if you like it you should do what makes you happy!

The only practical consideration I can think of is that burn marks show up very easily. We burned several holes in ours when I was a kid when a pot burned dry and someone tried to move it and the liquefied metal between the layers in the pot went flying all over the floor. As long as you don't drop anything that is scalding, you should be okay!
maddybeagle thanked isabellagracepan
maddybeagle
Original Author
3 years ago
isabellagracepan thanks! I'm thinking the vinyl you knew as a kid was sheet vinyl and I wonder whether the current LVP products would perform better. Maybe as long as I have samples around I'll try scorching some...though I bet that would not be a particularly safe thing to try. ;-)
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SJ McCarthy
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Other than melting metal (which would damage ANY product...even porcelain or stone) there is no practical reason why the LVP would not work in a kitchen. In fact, LVP was DESIGNED as a sheet-vinyl replacement. In other words, LVP is an easy-to-install vinyl product specifically designed to work in kitchens and bathrooms. It is vinyl after all.
maddybeagle thanked SJ McCarthy
Isaac
3 years ago
The environmental concerns were reasons we decided not to use it. There's the offgassing inside your house, the toxicity of the manufacturing process, and the fact that the stuff is poisonous when put in the dump.

We.are going with hardwood, but Marmoleum is supposed to have similar properties to vinyl without the environmental considerations. Or cork, but I worry about swelling from leaks with cork.
maddybeagle thanked Isaac

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