Luxury vinyl plank in Creve Coeur, MO

Almost every house in Creve Coeur has a full basement, and a good share of them are finished into rec rooms, offices and guest suites. That space is the single best argument for luxury vinyl plank. A rigid core plank is waterproof through its whole thickness, so a slow water heater leak or a heavy storm rolling over the 270 corridor becomes a cleanup problem instead of a demolition problem and a claim.

Above grade it earns its spot for different reasons. Kitchens in these 1960s ranches see spills, dishwashers and dog bowls. Entries off the long driveways along Craig Road take in salt and slush from December into March. Vinyl plank shrugs at all of it, cleans with a damp mop, and reads as wood from standing height. For a family that wants one floor running through the main level, it is hard to beat on cost and durability.

Vinyl plank is thin and it telegraphs. Anything you can feel underfoot on a bare slab you will feel through the finished floor, so flatness is the whole game. On basement slabs we grind the high spots, fill the low spots with patch, and check with a straightedge before a single plank goes down. Poured basement floors in mid-county houses often slope toward a drain, and that has to be dealt with honestly up front.

Upstairs the issues are different. Old sheet vinyl, three layers of it in some Creve Coeur kitchens, sitting on a plank subfloor that has crowned over sixty years. We take up what has to come up, add underlayment where the substrate is too rough, and refasten squeaks while the floor is open. We also test slab moisture before installing below grade, because a vapor problem shows up as a failed floor a year later.

It starts with the in-home measure. Erik walks the space, checks the slab or subfloor, notes doorways, transitions and anything that has to be demolished, then writes the quote. You look at full-size samples in the room they are going in, under your own lighting, because basement light and showroom light are not the same thing at all. Once you approve it, material is ordered and a date goes on the calendar.

Install is fast compared with hardwood. A finished basement usually takes one to two days and a full main level about two. The plank needs a day or so in the house to reach room temperature first. We move furniture, cut in around cabinets and hearths, set transitions and base or shoe, and haul the old flooring out. You can walk on it the same day the crew pulls away from the curb.