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Luxury Vinyl Plank Installers in the Seattle Area

LVP is the right floor for some houses and the wrong one for others. I will tell you which one you have.

Waterproof, solid core, and it goes over the floor you already have. Priced by the square foot, quoted in writing.

In short

We install waterproof solid core luxury vinyl plank across the Greater Seattle area, over existing hardwood, over subfloor, or straight onto a concrete slab. It is the right answer for rentals, basements and budgets that will not stretch to hardwood, and it installs without tearing your old floor out. I make less on LVP than on hardwood and I still recommend it when it is the better buy. The estimate is free, in your home, and usually within two or three days of your call.

The term worth knowing

What solid core actually means

Luxury vinyl plank is a printed and textured plank that clicks together and floats over whatever is underneath it. It has gotten a lot better in the last few years, and it is the fastest growing thing I install.

Solid core means the plank has a dense, rigid center rather than a soft flexible one. It is stronger underfoot, it resists denting, and when the planks click in tight the floor is genuinely waterproof. Not water resistant. Waterproof.

That is also the honest test for whether you are buying a good one. Cheap vinyl plank bends in your hands. I will hand you a sample and show you. If it folds, it is not going to stay flat in your house either, and I will find you something better in the same budget rather than let you buy it.

What matters is the core and the wear layer.

Straight answers

When LVP beats hardwood

And when it does not. I install both, so I have no reason to push you toward either one. Here is where each one wins.

01Rental propertiesHardwood only has about four refinishes in it, and renters are hard on floors. Refinish between every tenant and that is gone in a decade, so I tell landlords to lay LVP over the hardwood and keep the wood underneath for whoever buys the place.

02Basements and slabsA concrete slab pulls moisture up and releases it into whatever sits on top, which is what makes hardwood a gamble below grade. LVP does not care, so it is what I put down in basements without much debate.

03When the budget will not stretchI would rather lay a good floor you can afford than talk you into a hardwood you cannot. A well made LVP in a house that needed the money elsewhere beats a thin hardwood job you regret in five years.

04When hardwood wins insteadIf your floors still have refinishes left in them and this is the house you live in, refinish them. It costs less than covering them with LVP and it is worth more when you sell, and I will tell you that during the estimate.

Where LVP surprises people is the price: once material is paid for, some products land closer to refinishing than you would expect. I make less on those jobs and I still recommend them when they are right. That is the whole reason I am comfortable telling you when LVP is not the answer.

Placement

Where LVP goes

The floor floats, so what is underneath decides the prep rather than whether the job is possible at all.

Over existing hardwood

No tear-out. The plank floats over the top. Base trim either gets replaced taller or comes off and goes back on. The original floor stays intact underneath.

Over subfloor

Standard install after the subfloor is cleaned, dried and leveled.

On concrete

Basements, slabs and garages turned into rooms, where LVP is often the only floor that makes sense. The slab gets tested for moisture first either way.

Process

How an LVP install runs

Four steps. Faster than hardwood, and the prep is where the job is won or lost.

01Assess the subfloorI check what is already down, how flat it is, and whether there is any moisture coming up. This is the step that decides everything else.

02PrepClean, dry and level. Any squeak in the subfloor gets dealt with now, because once the plank is over the top it is a much bigger job.

03InstallClick-lock, seams pulled tight, plank direction planned so it runs with the light and the length of the room rather than fighting it.

04Trim and transitionsBase, thresholds and transitions to whatever the floor meets, then a walkthrough with you.

Licensed & bonded

L&I, employees on the books, nothing under the table.

5.0 on Google

Across every review the business has.

Estimate in 2 to 3 days

In your home, and free.

One year on labor

Written into the contract, plus the manufacturer warranty.

Questions

Questions people actually ask

The ones that come up on nearly every LVP estimate, answered the way I answer them at your kitchen table.

What does LVP installation cost?

Priced by the square foot, and it moves with the product you pick more than with the labor. Jobs under 500 square feet carry a higher rate per foot because the setup takes the same time. I will measure, quote it in writing, and show you where the money is going between material and labor.

Can you install LVP over hardwood?

Yes, and it is one of the most common ways I install it. The plank floats over the top, so the hardwood stays intact underneath. When you sell the house, the LVP can come up and the original floor is still there.

Is LVP good for rental properties?

It is the best answer I know for rentals. Hardwood only refinishes about four times, and tenant turnover eats that fast. LVP is waterproof, handles abuse, and goes over what you already have. You stop paying to refinish a floor every few years.

LVP or hardwood?

If you have real hardwood with refinishes left and you are staying in the house, refinish it. If it is a rental, a basement, a slab, or the budget will not reach, LVP is the better buy and I will tell you so even though I make less on it.

Keep reading

Also worth a look

Half the job of this page is telling you when LVP is not the answer, so here is where to go instead.

A white oak great room after sanding and refinishing

Sanding & Refinishing

If the hardwood under your feet has life left, refinishing is the cheaper answer.

Explore refinishing

Wide plank hardwood going down in a new build, Cle Elum

Hardwood Installation

Oak, fir, maple and engineered, matched to your plank width.

Explore installation

The old floor and the new floor meeting in one hallway

Our Work

Photographs of real jobs: installation, refinishing and LVP across the Seattle area.

See the work

In their words

What people say about working with Greg

Nobody has left a review about an LVP job yet, so these are hardwood. The way I work does not change with the material.

“Unique Hardwood Floors, did a quick and quality job on our kitchen floor. A friendly duo, they were open communicators and made getting a new kitchen floor as painless as it can be.”

Adam Jackson9 months ago on Google

“Amazing talent and work ethic. We could not be happier with work done to restore our floors. On scale of 1-5, Unique Hardwood Floors is a 6.”

Monica Eade2 years ago on Google

Read all 18 reviews on Google

A refinished floor in an empty dining room, Mill Creek

Talk to the person doing the work

Tell me about the room and I will tell you what actually belongs in it.

I install both, so I have no reason to push you toward one. Call or send a few details and you will hear back the same day.

Get a free estimate (206) 510-1037