Credit: Outer Banks Floor Covering

In the world of flooring, a few options are universally loved. We find wall-to-wall carpet flooring in the fanciest of hotels, natural stone tile that we see so much in luxurious HGTV bathrooms, and hardwood flooring, which is maybe aesthetically the coziest option according to most people. 

However, hardwood flooring is quite unfriendly in specific ways, and that’s where luxury vinyl plank (LVP) comes into the picture. This is a flooring material that perfectly recreates the look of hardwood flooring without any of its downsides. It also has a tile equivalent known as luxury vinyl tile (LVT), which is meant to look and feel like natural and ceramic tiles instead. In this article, we’ll stick to luxury vinyl plank flooring and list four reasons you should consider buying it over the hardwood flooring. 

Why Choose Luxury Vinyl Plank Over Hardwood Flooring

Credit: Houzz

• Fully Waterproof

One of the reasons why flooring materials like hardwood flooring and even natural stone tile flooring are so in demand is because these floorings are made from raw materials. However, there’s a hefty price to pay for that in terms of practicality; these flooring materials are porous and will absorb water and other liquid substances quite easily. 

If you’re wondering why that’s bad, water and wood don’t get along. When wood is exposed to excessive moisture, it begins to rot from the inside and becomes warped. When this happens to hardwood flooring, there is no way to repair it; your only option is to replace it.

On the other hand, luxury vinyl plank flooring shines in such situations. It is entirely waterproof, so you never have to worry about spills or using too much water when cleaning. This flooring is commonly found in moist areas such as bathrooms and kitchens.

• Looks and Feels like Hardwood Flooring

Despite such a significant disadvantage of hardwood flooring, people still aspire to buy it because let’s admit it; hardwood flooring is gorgeous to look at. It adds a touch of warmth to whichever room it is added in, and we’re willing to argue that this warm look mainly draws people to it.

In the 1930s, the pioneers of vinyl flooring recognized the popularity of hardwood flooring. They started making flooring that resembled hardwood, and the strategy worked; people began buying more and more vinyl flooring. But there was one major issue: vinyl flooring had a different feel than hardwood flooring.

Sure, the flooring looked precisely like hardwood, but it lacked the signature texture we all love. With the luxury vinyl plank, this problem has effectively been solved. The flooring looks so much like hardwood flooring that most people cannot tell the difference between the two. 

• Extremely Affordable

Purchasing flooring can be an expensive endeavor. If you buy authentic, high-quality flooring material, you can expect similar prices for most materials within their respective categories regardless of which flooring store you visit. Certain flooring materials, on the other hand, are notorious for their high cost, and hardwood flooring is at the top of the list.

The LVP costs between $1.50 and $12 per square foot. It is a superior flooring material. This is a thicker plank with a durable top layer. It has a more realistic wood-grain appearance, which can make your floor appear to be natural hardwood.

• Installation is Easy

DIY enthusiasts will appreciate how simple it is to install luxury vinyl planks. The installation is done via the simple installation technique of floating flooring. The planks snap or click onto the substrate using a tongue-and-groove connection system in this technique. It very much feels like you’re solving a puzzle, just on a much bigger scale. 

Other installation techniques involve using glue or nails. This technique’s benefits are that it’s fast, inexpensive, and honestly just so lowkey. Still, by using the floating flooring technique, there’s no smell of glue residue, no noise pollution from the hammering of nails, and most importantly, you don’t need an expert to install it.

Finally, hardwood flooring will be around for a long time. It is a timeless flooring option with advantages such as increasing home resale value. However, with so many practical applications, luxury vinyl plank has a solid case to be made.