Welcome to your master guide to luxury vinyl. At Altimate Flooring, we have spent over 35 years helping homeowners across western South Dakota and the Rapid City Metro Area discover high-performance, beautiful floors. Whether you are remodeling a bustling family kitchen in Box Elder, updating a retail space in Sturgis, or building a custom home near Colonial Pine Hills, modern luxury vinyl offers the perfect blend of durability, elegance, and easy maintenance.
If you are beginning a home improvement project, you are likely asking: what is luxury vinyl flooring? Often split into Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) and Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT), this material is a highly engineered, multi-layered product designed to realistically replicate natural wood or stone.
Because of its multi-layer construction, it is exceptionally comfortable underfoot and holds up beautifully in any environment. If you want to explore the gorgeous designs available today, you can browse our full collection of luxury vinyl flooring online or visit our Rapid City showroom to see them in person.
A main reason homeowners choose this material over other hard surfaces is its moisture resistance. But is luxury vinyl waterproof? Yes, high-quality luxury vinyl is completely waterproof from the surface down to the backing.
This makes it an absolute game-changer for moisture-prone areas like kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and mudrooms. Unlike wood, it won't warp or buckle when exposed to standing water, pet accidents, or snow tracked in during our Black Hills winters.
As you compare wood-look flooring options, you might wonder what is the difference between laminate and luxury vinyl flooring. While both options look strikingly like natural hardwood, they are constructed differently.
Laminate features a dense wood-fiber core, which makes it feel incredibly solid but more susceptible to moisture damage if water gets trapped in the seams. Luxury vinyl, on the other hand, uses synthetic polymer bases that are 100% waterproof. Additionally, luxury vinyl absorbs impact and sound slightly better, making it quieter underfoot.
If you are making a long-term investment in your home, you need to know: how durable is luxury vinyl flooring? This material is built to be extremely tough, resisting scratches, dents, scuffs, and stains from active pets and heavy traffic.
With proper care, you might wonder: how long does luxury vinyl flooring last? A premium LVP floor can easily last 20 to 30 years in a residential environment.
To achieve maximum longevity, you need to choose the right materials. When looking at your choices, what is the highest quality luxury vinyl plank flooring available? Look for options with a thick commercial-grade wear layer (20 mil or higher) and a rigid core (SPC).
For ultimate durability, some collections are built to withstand extreme environments. For instance, Mohawk's SolidTech flooring is hurricane-proof, utilizing unique locking technologies and ultra-dense rigid cores that prevent water from seeping through the joints even under extreme pressure.
Achieving a flawless, flat floor depends entirely on proper preparation and professional installation. One of the most common DIY questions is: do I need underlayment for vinyl plank flooring?
If your LVP planks have a pre-attached underlayment pad on the back, you usually do not need to purchase an extra underlayment. In fact, adding too much padding can make the floor joints unstable. However, if your planks do not have an attached pad, adding a thin, dense underlayment is highly recommended to dampen sound and make the floor feel softer.
If you are looking to save time and demolition costs, you might wonder: can you put luxury vinyl planks over tile? Yes, you can install LVP over existing ceramic tile, provided the tile is flat, structurally sound, and any deep grout lines are filled with a self-leveling patch so they do not telegraph through the flexible vinyl.
Once your subfloor is ready, you must plan your transitions. Knowing how to transition flooring from room to room will give your home a clean, cohesive design. For a step-by-step look at managing layout changes, read our guide on how to transition vinyl plank flooring from room to room using coordinating T-moldings and reducer strips.
Once your new luxury vinyl is fully installed, you'll want to protect your investment. A common logistics question is: how soon can you put furniture on vinyl plank flooring?
If you chose floating click-lock vinyl planks, you can move your furniture back into the room immediately. However, if you chose a glue-down installation, you must wait 48 to 72 hours to allow the adhesive to fully cure.
Regardless of the installation type, you should learn how to protect luxury vinyl flooring from heavy furniture to prevent deep indents. Always use wide felt pads (never rubber, which can chemically stain vinyl) under heavy table legs and avoid sliding heavy pieces across the floor without protective sliders.
Finally, daily maintenance is simple. Knowing how to clean luxury luxury vinyl plank requires nothing more than a soft broom or microfiber dust mop for loose dirt, combined with a damp microfiber mop and a pH-neutral vinyl cleaner for periodic deep cleans.
Get in touch with the flooring professionals at Altimate Flooring
Rapid City - 1221 Oregon St
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