We had our whole house re floored in LVP In June 2021. Within a few months a portion of the kitchen started bubbling up and splitting at the seems. The flooring guy originally came and said that he believed it was sun damage coming from our glass sliding door. We ended up replacing the door with uv protection glass and the flooring guy replaced the whole kitchen floor with a moisture barrier paper underneath. During the demo they said there was possible moisture on the floor. We had a plumber out and he determined we did not have a leak. Just a few months later it started to happen again in a different area of the kitchen. When they installed the lvp originally they went right over tile, so this time he took up the tile as well so we could see what was happening. There was no obvious water or leak. We then had all our pipes looked at. Our drain pipes scooped. Inside and outside, pool, etc. Spent a ton of $ on tests. There was no leak to be found. We think we must have a foundation slab that has a high moisture content or the soil below has a lot of moisture? That’s all we could come up with. This time for the 3rd installation they put down a moisture barrier epoxy, a wood plank sub floor, and glued the lvp down to that. It made it a year after that, but we have the same problem happening again. So they have replaced the flooring in the kitchen 3 times in less than 3 years and it needs to be replaced again now. We had the manufacturer out and they of course blamed the installation. It is mind boggling. We have had so many plumbers, and flooring companies out and no one has ever agreed on what the problem is. So, I have to replace the kitchen floors again and this time need to do something other than the LVP that matches the rest of the house. I have heard about epoxy/ painted concrete flooring and thought that might flow better than tile. Do you have a knowledge as to if it would hold up to moisture fumes as that is our best guess as to the moisture problem we have? Tile is the other option and that is what was originally in the house and there didn’t seem to be any issues with tile. any ideas?

R S, yes it felt smooth, but not "slick" smooth. It does have texture, but nothing like hand-scraped. You can feel the texture of the wood through the finish. I had the Lauzon wire-brushed sample and a sample of the Hamptons series "natural" white oak here at the same time. The Hamptons sample is not wire-brushed and has a semi-gloss finish. I could not feel the texture of the wood under that finish. They definitely felt different underfoot and Hamptons flooring was smoother feeling. The wire-brushed is really beautiful. I would not order a whole house full of flooring based on the sample, though, because I'm not quite sure it's a true depiction of the actual flooring. I've always believed that flooring companies use their very best material for the sample boards, so I'd want to look at a full box before committing. If you do get a box, be sure to post what it's like!

All wood flooring (and your cabinets, doors, frames, paint, drywall, etc) have these types of requirements. The "range" is up to the individual manufacturer to specify. I've seen bamboo that has the narrowest requirement of 45%-60%....for good reason. The GLUE that holds bamboo together is RIGID whereas the grass (bamboo is grass) is ABSORPTIVE so it MOVES. Engineered hardwoods are more specific because the layers create layers of glue...and glue acts and reacts DIFFERENTLY from the wood layers. If one expands but the other does not, you get DELAMINATION. The companies have tested their specifications under laboratory conditions and have found the BIGGEST window for "success" with their floors. They have then written those down. As for solid wood floors in old homes, remember this: the wood floors CUPPED and/or CROWNED and/or SEPARATED early on in the life of the floor. It could have taken more than a DECADE for the home to find it's equilibrium. The original owners SIMPLY PUT UP WITH IT (imagine having to 'put up' with crowned floors for 10 years...today's consumer REFUSES to accept this....so we have warranty requirements now that SPECIFY the 'happy place' for each wood product). Once the first sand/refinish occured (25 years later) the "problem" (the visual issues) with the wood were sanded away. One generation later, it looks GREAT. But no one took selfies of the floors in the '60's. And the cuts and widths were different (there is a BIG reason why 2" strip hardwood was sooooooo popular....and it wasn't because it looked good). And the wood was often sourced (and dried/racked) from local mills. And it sat longer on site before it was installed, and, and, and, and....you get the idea.

@kenuss I believe mine is laguna vibes driftwood, I'm out of town until tomorrow but I can confirm that when I get home. Yes, I'm still very happy with it and get lots of compliments. No one knows it isn't full through real wood. It cleans beautifully. If something sticky drips in cracks you I may need to use a microfiber cloth by hand here or there but that is rare. It does have a lot of texture throughout each board with tiny grooves if you haven't actually seen a piece in person. I have 2 dogs and a parrot and other than sweeping it with a cordless hard floor vacuum with a soft roller in it a couple times a week for dog hair, beach sand & dust and moist mopping with a microfiber mop with sprayer or my mopping machine occasionally it doesn't need anything heavy duty or time consuming.