No plastic floors unless you are below the 60Th percentile.

I would not use LVP on the main floor.

If you are trying to save some initial cost, use tile in bathrooms and laundry, wood or tile in the main living areas (kitchen, great room, foyer, etc.), and reasonably priced carpet in the bedrooms and upper level hallway. Pick a finish you like that is not too expensive and try to stay with that flooring for large, contiguous living areas in the house (for example, foyer, great room and kitchen might have the same finish). The bedroom carpet will be relatively inexpensive up front, and you can gradually go back and upgrade to other flooring choices when it begins to wear.

Bruce

The builder is recommending it for a reason. I would look to see what is happening in homes in the neighborhood in that price range.

That said, the price range of course is all relative. A million buys a small modest home in my NYC suburban town.

We just used LVP in our vacation home. It’s in Florida and makes perfect sense here.

I have to say my husband was very resistant but is now a total covert. It is easy, durable, and mindless. We drag our lanai furniture across it when we have to bring in in for the season!

I agree with Bruce except about carpeting. It gets dirty fast and then you live with it dirty for longer than you intended. Carpet cleaning goes only so far.

Which LVP is the builder recommending?

We have LVP in our basement. Engineered main. Carpet up. This was our happy balance. LVP is not acceptable in my neighborhood as a main floor flooring choice in a new build.

If a million dollars is "luxury" in the desert, LVP signals bottom of the barrel to me...no matter how well it wears.

I'm one state away from you, no LVP on main level in any million dollar home (and we have plenty of homes well beyond 1M). Scale back on landscaping, finish it later. Save by waiting to buy new furniture etc. Do the nice floors now....

We don’t have a million dollar home, ours is more like $425,000 but we live in a very low cost to build area. I agonized over this for months and decided to go with LVP for the ease of upkeep. Having said that, we have zero plans to sell so I stopped worrying about what would be “typical” of my area (our house is already very non typical for our area). If you have no plans to move, get what you want. If you think you might move eventually, you can’t go wrong with hardwoods.

We aren't building anything in the million range, but I would only consider LVP for a basement, a rental, or a beach house. You can definitely tell a difference under foot. I would expect something more substantial in a home of this value. In our area, we are able to get site finished hardwood for around the same cost as engineered or prefinished hardwood.

I’m also in Nevada but Vegas. My home was under a million but neighborhood has lots of million dollar homes. I wanted engineered hardwood. Found out we would need a whole house humidifier to have Engineered or real hardwoods. Our weather is too dry. Hardwoods need a higher humidity level that the desert doesn’t have. Went to multiple flooring stores in town and were told 90% of homes are doing LVP in Vegas and most of the rest are doing tile or laminate. I don’t how your humidity is in Northern NV but hardwoods r a no go in Vegas.

You know, vinyl is super easy. 1M isn't what it used to be. There are huge regional differences in opinion.

"I don't want it to look cheap". I would analyze this statement. Do you mean for you or someone visiting? People do all sorts of things to avoid "looking cheap". They put up with higher initial cost, greater maintenance, and poor longevity. And in the case of carpet - harder to maintain indoor air quality.

With 3 kids of varying ages, a dog and a cat, living in the desert - I would go vinyl. Full disclosure, I have engineered wood throughout my house. One 11 yo and 2 cats. I believe the full cost was about $12 a sqft. (our build is 2 years old. about $165/sqft, so maybe add 20%?)

Vinyl doesn't so much look cheap, it feels different. We have a rental house (that we lived in for a year) and the vinyl is so easy to maintain. Would do it before tile any day of the week.

One caveat, stairs can be a challenge. Our friends just bought a new spec house at the beach. The vinyl is awesome .. but the stairs are wood and don't match. Yuck.

"Ridiculously expensive" is not 1M for a new home. Not in 2021.

"Of course, tile in bathrooms" - right - hard and cold (and expensive) for a room I need to stand up in and struggle to put rugs in. . This is old-school thinking. All engineered HW in our house - no tile anywhere under foot.

Prices have gotten insane. Truth is "a million dollar build" is not THAT high end. LPV is being used because it looks great, wears like iron and is affordable. Real wood looks like crap fast with kids and animals. 'Patina' they call it. Tiles are hard on your joints and what ever you drop. We have had our LPV for a few years now. People think it's hard wood. It's perfect for kitchens and baths where you have water and heavy use. In the end spend the money on what you like. It stinks when you have to make choices you ultimately don't care for.

Wouldn't LVP be affected by low humidity too?

Real cork is nice.

Wow this IMO will be a real issue for a very long time. I think you get flooring that works for how you live. We have 3 huge dogs wood flooring would have been ruined long ago.Personally I would rather have LVP that all tile floors and LVPs have come a long way from the one we put in our walkout and I still love it. We are just finishing our stairway to the walk out after a very long renovation and we are using the same LVP as the walkot floors and they ar elooking awesome. I do not like the look of real and fake next to eachother for sure. I live in a small town in BC Canada and many homes here are 600K + mine included . That does not mean a flooring choice that does not work with your life.

LVP is a new standard.

Not far from you. When I saw it at $1.4 in 2016 Serrano El Dorado I questioned it, but the home sold quickly. Then in 2018 in a pair of $3 mil homes in Granite Bay & Loomis Placer Co changed my perception as the material was higher grade and perfect for indoor/outdoor like the western themed party we attended with 100+ and straw strewn throughout. Hosts (a highly respected builder) did not worry about the floor.

Homes I build in the $1-2 mil range are now 50/50. While I like the feel of hardwood and limestone under my feet, the years have taught me that I am not in charge of that decision.

Here are my thoughts as a realtor and someone building a new home in the same price range. (In Florida, with a lot of humidity) When we were remodeling our current home, we were planning on doing engineered hardwood again in the upstairs area (hallways and bedrooms). Our contractor, who had no pull either way, suggested LVP as its quality is much higher now than it used to be. We researched the heck out of it and decided to go for it. Let me tell you, I LOVE IT. I love it so much I’m putting it in the upstairs area in my new home. We went through carpet, laminate and engineered hardwood in 14 years, all was trashed. The hardwood was by far the worst, thanks to my kids, dogs, and basic humidity issues that we have here. LVP is basically indestructible- 3 years later it looks exactly like the day we installed it. As a realtor, I see it everywhere here, second only to tile (which we have downstairs in the living area, also a must). LONG STORY SHORT - LVP is not “your grandmother’s” vinyl. They have wonderful options now, and it’s so easy maintenance. Do what works for you, and your lifestyle. As someone who will always have dogs and live in Florida, hardwood is a no for me. If the next person who buys my house wants to rip it up, so be it. But for my needs, it’s perfect. And trust me, we get lots of compliments on it. Nobody “suspects” it’s a plastic floor nor has ever suggested so.

We have engineered hardwood in our entire house except for tile in kitchen and bathroom in Las Vegas. Absolutely no problems related to the low humidity. Actually I suspect interior humidity levels are probably not that different across the country with heat pump/air conditioning removing it as they work.

It’s hard to imagine a million dollar house with vinyl floors, there has to be somewhere else to put in some savings.

I'm with you mojavemaria. I'm also in a very dry state, and forced air during winter dries the indoor air even more...it was showing 28% this morning. I run a humidifier 2 days a week, it raises the humidity level to only 32% at the best. Zero problems with engineered wood.

Thank you all for your opinion and expertise. To clarify, our house is going to be 3480 square feet and is primarily one level with a recreation room upstairs and half bath. It's on 2 acres of dirt, beautiful mountain views, very dry, higher winds at times. Our builder recommended it because of the cost, look, and durability and knows people are using it more and more in newer, custom homes. I'm not sure on brand yet, but if any of you have suggestions. . . . I appreciate your thoughts and still have much to think about.

I considered LVP for a future project, but once I had my husband walk on large sections of it installed at a flooring store, it was taken off the list immediately.

The other one to look at is the ceramic core with thin layer of wood that all gets "baked" together. It is supposed to be water resistant. It starts to get pricey though. Husband didn't like the sound/feel of that on the floor either.

If your home is mostly 'one level' that would indicate you are on concrete slab. Hardwood on concrete takes a special touch. Your builder is probably hoping for a floating vinyl floor because it saves him/her many days of labour and frees up 3-4 humans.

A floating vinyl floor is quick and easy to install. It will require transition strips through doorways. Even the high-end stuff ($9/sf) like CoreTec cannot handle 3000sf of continuous flooring. You need some space for movement which means you need T-mouldings through doorways.

A hardwood could be glued down but you are most likely looking at engineered hardwood over concrete in a desert. The adhesives used can be as much as $1/sf....and takes ++skill and knowledge to get it down properly. And skill costs builders money.

You can see where I'm going with this. If you want wood, you will have to realize what that means with they type of home you have.

Can you confirm that your home is 'slab on grade' (concrete sitting at ground level)?

I spent months researching floors for a rebuild - we live near the beach and have 2 dogs and are on a slab. We didn’t want tile (too hard) or carpet (gets too dirty) so we ended up going with LVP (or more accurately rigid core WPC from Coretec). We live in the south SF Bay Area where a postage stamp sized lot/house is over $1 million... but the KD we worked with said she is also seeing it in multi million dollar homes. All I know is that for our lifestyle it made the most sense and so far we’ve been really happy with it. Even more so when I recently discovered that our elderly dog had an “accident” which we didn’t discover until the next morning :-(. Really down to personal choice... possibly resale if you are planning to sell soon.

LVP flooring in the main area of a million dollar home just seems wrong to me. I would cut costs somewhere else and go with the hardwood.

We used Coretec LVP in a snowy climate with big inside/outside dogs who come in and out via dog doors. We’re in a ski resort area and really nothing in the area is less than a million dollars and our neighborhood and house is relatively on the higher end. Tile is just too hard on my back especially in the kitchen. Just because something is a less expensive alternative doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not the best for a particular function. I love hardwood but it just wasn’t the best option here.

LVP is composed of a limestone plastic core (SPC) with an underlayment bounded to the bottom. A printed vinyl film with a 10-40 mil aluminum oxide clear wear layer coat makes up the top you see. The repeat of pattern on the printed vinyl film impacts how realistic a wood pattern looks in larger areas. Modin from Flooret direct has an extra large around 272" repeat for the 9" x 72" plank. It can be installed in up to 100 foot lengths. Link. Look at reviews on YouTube.

A new type of engineered wood floor rigid plank has basically the same construction as LVP with a substitution of a 1.2mm veneer layer of hardwood(about 3/64") for the vinyl film. It has the same click together floating capabilities as the vinyl product. And the same waterproof characteristics. No repeat because it's real wood.

Cali Flooring is one producer. Link.

H2OME from Lifecore is another. Link.

Pricing of $4-6. If this product performs it could be an alternative to vinyl plank on visuals.

We are currently building a new custom home in Florida, over 1 million, on the water. In our last home we opted for wood tile look because I really wanted wood, but being on the water and with our high humidity, wood floors would not stand up. In this home we are putting LVP throughout, and tile in the bathrooms and laundry. I did a ton of research and was between CoreTec and Provenza. I purchased Provenza and have yet to lay it down. It looks and feels like real wood without the headache and upkeep. I will post pictures as soon as we put it down. Look at other discussions on here on LVP. They helped me make my final decision. I am super excited and can't wait for it to go down. Good luck!

Different products for different markets. Great evidently for houses that double as nurseries and kennels.

But I can't picture LVP in the typical upper midrange new homes in our area. Here are three typical sales in the last two months:

s. US$3.830m

s. US$2.461m

s. US$2.222m

Again, it comes down to personal choice and lifestyle. Cost actually wasn’t the main factor in our selection of LVP... Not wanting to be a slave to our floor was :-) Even though tile would have provided similar benefits it’s way too hard for me to stand on for any length of time.

Really this thread goes to show how varied the answers are. The advice of talking to realtors in your area is bang on if you are concerned. Really what I did in Vancouver or someone else in any city doesn’t matter if not yours

I am involved in flooring and almost everyone is putting LVP in their home. I personally feel like it looks and feels cheap and that it’s destined to go the way of the bleached blonde laminate of the nineties. Please don’t install LVP in your home. I only recommend it to people with lots of dogs or small children. Even in that case it’s only if I can see that they aren’t properly caring for their current flooring and I don’t want them to waste money on laminate or wood that they obviously would destroy. It’s ultimately your choice but I detest the stuff.

I remember when everybody here on GW/Houzz was installing bamboo flooring as the latest and best thing! Hardly anyone puts it in now. Before that, it was Pergo.

LVP is the darling right now, until it gets replaced by some other new flooring. Hardwood (site finished and engineered) and tile will always be around.

Hi @Janae Ballingham,

A lot of people have brought up a lot of great points on this post. You definitely want to shop for flooring that is going to be able to support you and your family the best. Vinyl has come a long way in recent years and there are some beautiful options. Our Seaboard Oak CALI Vinyl is one of our popular sellers. It is built with 70 7/8" long x 9" wide planks, a 20mil wear layer, and a 50-year residential warranty.

If you're still unsure about vinyl, our Geowood flooring Dan linked above is also a great option. In fact, it was recently featured in a Property Brothers recent episode of their Celebrity IOU season. You can check it out on their website here. They used our "Tawny Oak" Geowood. Our Geowood flooring requires limited acclimation, has a 7-coat scratch resistant finish, and is easy to clean and water resistant.

Both of these options are great for homes with pets and offer up a durable foundation. We recommend you also order as many samples as you can so you can from the different flooring styles you're consider and compare and contrast them to see what you like best. You can order samples off of our website using the code "FREESAMPLE" or by calling our team at 1(888) 788-2254 and requesting some samples.

Hope this helps!

With children, pets, etc. I would really consider LV. While I have hardwolod ( walnut ) throughout our home, my son had LV installed through out his house. I was amazed how good it looks ( his house is in coastal So Cal ) , & a $million plus house there is considered a “fixer upper starter home “, so generalizations about price are very relative. Trust me , it looks fantastic. And for what it’s worth, I see it often in much higher priced homes too. Get what you like, can afford, & think about practicality.

We purchased LVP provenza true story. About the same cost as hardwoods. They look like real hardwoods. We haven’t moved in yet (Vegas) so can’t tell you how they will wear.

I don't know anything about what works with dogs.

if someone is willing to not use wood, why don't you use linoleum.

That isn't wood, but it seems like something that is real quality.

@eeckberg1 how are your LVP provenza floors ? Do the floors have texture ? Do the provenza floors make noise click pops hollow noises ? Are they slippery ? Is there bounce when jumping ? Will light UV sunlight affect the provenza planks ? Please update thank you

Well we just moved in last week so can’t answer on UV light. Time will tell. They have a small amt of texture. The are not bouncy or hollow sounding but mine were laid directly over concrete. My concrete floors had tile previously so the floor has to be leveled b4 LVP could be installed. Not a cheap endeavor. They are not slippery at all. We also had them laid on our staircase and upstairs hallway. They are quite loud upstairs and staircase so will likely invest in a runner. Hope this helps. We love the floors so far!

@eeckberg1 if you don’t mind me asking approx cost and how did you choose LVP Provenza compared to Mohawk Revwood Plus LVP or CoreTec ? I’m considering Evoke Flooring LVP as well For our new build FL coastal with upper floors and interior stairs I’m not sure if LVP can be durable on interior stair treads? Or should we look at porcelain or ceramic wood-look tiles for stairs & floors since FL humidity is higher maintenance. I’ve had issues in our former home with engineered floated wood floor boards 12$ psf professional installed still shifting with gaps & swelling due to humidity. We’ve removed moldy cork flooring no thanks. We’ve had 9$ professional installled Laminate swell irreversible damage with moisture. People are saying UV will change LVP vinyl planks so now I’m back to wood look tile again. I was interested in Evoke apparently Low VOC and UV protected who knows haven’t seen much on this

First of all, how exciting - we wish you luck on the build process!

Vinyl plank is a great choice for flooring your home. Our luxury vinyl planks are 100% waterproof and has a lifetime residential warranty. Since you're into that real-wood look, we'd love for you to take a look at our colors. Maybe something like our cocoa brown Arbor?

Or if you like lighter looks, maybe Lato? One of our most popular.

We're known for being totally kid and pet-friendly - super easy to clean, yes, but also low-VOC's so that you can be assured your loved ones are safe hanging out at home. Feel free to reach out if you'd want to chat more about design/cost/etc.!

Janae what did you decide to install? Do you have pictures?

I don't like the idea of LVP because of the environmental impact.

I have been hoping that with technology there might be a super water resistant coating for hardwood floors.

I have looked at Vermont Natural Coatings Super Whey 3500 which is used in commercial buildings, hotels, & restaurants. Vermont Natural Coating Whey water-based poly coating has been used on many sports/ basketball floors which do get lots of wear but not much water/ liquid spills that sit for at least 8 hours.

I would never put wood in a bathroom. I have a semi-open concept home. The kitchen is open to the family/ great room so matching flooring makes the room look bigger and more elegant. The entryway flows into the back great room area so I prefer the main floor being the same flooring.

I have seen how the water-based poly coatings on solid hardwood wears quite terribly over the years especially in front of the sinks, stoves, and refrigerators.

Every design show makes the main floor all wood now unless it's in Florida where they use tile or LVP. The exception is the mudroom/ primary entrance from the garage being tile IF the main floor is hardwood/ engineered wood flooring.

I have been looking at the new waterproof engineered flooring but many reviews show many brands have poor scratch resistance.

See:

https://www.flooringstores.com/blog/waterproof-hardwood-flooring/

I installed LVT in a sunroom in my waterfront vacation home. It is so easy to clean and has not faded after 5-years, so far so good. The other rooms have hardwood as does my primary residence.
I definitely prefer real wood flooring for the feel under my feet, no sound issues, and the ability to buff or re-sand and stain. Engineered flooring looks good for a number of years, but it cannot be repeatably sanded and re-stained. I have lived in several very old historic homes with solid wood flooring. It is timeless, durable and flexible. I highly suggest site installed and stained versus LVT.

Engineered hardwood has a layer of hardwood. It can be 4mim or 6 mm. in the better products. 6mm is 1/4". Easily 2-3 sandings. Most won't even use one. Solid hardwood is tongue and groove. This limits you to 3 or so sandings until you hit the nail heads. What you get with engineered is the beauty of the caharteristics of a wide piece of wood. 8-11 inches of plank show the complexity and subtle tone variation with character features that makes wood attractive to look at. The 4" pieces necessary when using solid wood cannot show as much of the wood. I'd always without a thought prefer to have the wide planks of engineered wood over the skinnier pieces of solid.

European Oak. Not even available in solid. The harvest is limited. It goes much further as veneer in engineered flooring.