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Does LVP flooring bring down the value of your home?

9 years ago

We are building our home in a high cost of living area in the Bay Area. Our home is 3200 sq ft and we are putting in LVP(Modin Collection) in all areas except the bedrooms and bathrooms. Would adding LVP as a floor cover devalue the home when and if we sell the home? I would appreciate some feedback. Do you have LVP in your new build?

Comments (41)

  • 9 years ago

    Our new build will be a tad smaller than yours and we too are putting in the same floors. Devin is great to work with and a big help. I don't see any issues, it's a high quality LVP. FYI, they are adding new colors later this summer.

  • 9 years ago

    That's really a question you should be asking RE agents in your area.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are putting LVP in our new build in our duplex in a high end resort area. It's just going down, but we love it so far. Our decision making is that with the (big) dogs and 6 months of snow and another month of mud during snow melt, it's going to hold up better and be easier to maintain than wood. We thought about tile, but it is just too hard on my back cooking a lot. If later we don't like it, it can always been replaced. We've had hardwood in our house for 33 years and have refinished it in the main living areas 3 times -- that's a real mess. Don't get me wrong, I love real hardwood, but for us, in this build, I think the LVP is a better choice. We are carpeting the bedrooms because that's what we prefer and doing black slate in the baths and laundry.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Some Bay Area homes get 10 plus offers when listed. If you think you might be in a part of the Bay Area that will get that response I don't think the floors will make much difference. Someone buying a $1M house might assume they will rip out and replace whatever floor is there. If you are in a buyers market like 2009 they will want a discount whether you have LVP or wood floors that are scratched and dented from kids/pets.

    I don't think the Bay Area proper has had a "normal" real estate market in decades so I'd get what you want especially if you plan to live there more than 5 years. I don't think asking a realtor is always good advice. Some will always tell you to upgrade because it makes the house easier to list and market. Others will say it should be similar to the other houses in your neighborhood so if they are doing wood you should too. Still others will say what I wrote above.

  • 9 years ago

    Thank you all!


    Pensacola PL, hoping to have a good experience with Devin as well. I personally thought he was easy to work with. Also recommended our installer open a trade account so we could get a $0.50 off on the $3.49, which makes an already great deal even awesome! What color did you go with?


    cpartist, i did ask and they said it "depends".


    mojomom, thank you for sharing, your floors look very flattering! I personally like the underfoot feel of hardwood but that is not going to convince me to go for it because i have 2 kids under 2 and i know how much work they are and the mess they make. Is that Imber you have installed in your home?


    Don't mean to hijack my own thread this is sort of embarrassing but I am half color blind, so will these two colors work in the kitchen? I have Eagle Rock Sable Glaze for the cabinets(Schuler) and Arden collection from Modin. My installer said they were "okay" but need another opinion.


    Eagle Rock Sable Glaze -

    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/230457705905675174/


    Arden from Modin -

    http://www.flooret.com/arden/





  • 9 years ago

    Yes it looks like those two colors will work well together.

  • 9 years ago

    MojoMom, I'm definitely leaning towards LVP throughout our new house ... my reasoning being very close to yours:

    - Dogs

    - Ease of maintenance

    - Tile is too hard on my feet and knees

    A sticking point: What do you put on the stairs? LVP won't work there, and I don't want carpet!

  • 9 years ago

    I like those colours together. I especially like the floor - looks really nice!


  • 9 years ago

    That 'Flip or Flop' show uses that all the time in houses 800k and up in Ca.

  • 9 years ago

    In my opinion it does lower the value of the house a bit, however, you probably aren't building the house just to turn around and sell it. So what does that matter?

    If it is what you want, then use it.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Yes, of course it "devalues" a house, just as any budget material will. But as bry911 says, it you are going to be in the house for a reasonable period of time, and you like the material, then why not?

  • 9 years ago

    In our area it would...IF you were selling it. People here want real hard wood, regardless of how nice or easy to maintain LVP may be. But, real estate is local AND it works for your family so I wouldn't sweat it.

  • 9 years ago

    Mrs. Pete,

    We are going to use carpet on the stairs. I agree, not ideal, but our staircases aren't a "feature" element so should be fine.

    Re hardwood in our building area: We had hardwood in the living areas in our old ski house. The hardwood was only 8 years old when we sold, but because the dog dings and discoloration near the door the dogs went in and out of (even though we kept a mat there), I suspect it devalued the house some, probably equal to the cost to replace. In fact, the buyers after inspection wanted us to fix the flooring, but we held firm -- they had seen it in the viewings and it wasn't something the inspector discovered. They backed down on that one.

  • 9 years ago

    Personally Id rather buy a home with resilient nonseamed flooring (eg vinyl sht) than any clic together product that will eventually fail.

  • 9 years ago

    Two years ago I would have probably said yes it will devalue the house but nowadays, I feel that if it looks good and works for you, that's all that counts. In a HCOLA area, chances are anyone coming in is going to want to make changes anyway if you sell, so why not just do what works for you.


  • 9 years ago

    HCOLA?

  • 9 years ago

    High cost of living area

  • 9 years ago

    msrpete, i would like to use lvp on the stairs as well but I am going to have to stick with carpet because of little kids.

    tarnator, thank you! That is reassuring.

    The first thing i have noticed people do when they move into a new house is change out the flooring and I understand everybody have their own preference but i wish they would pay more attention to why it was put there originally.

    We would like to think we want to stay here for a while to have the kids go the public school but kids compatibility with the neighborhood might push us to think twice.

  • 9 years ago

    Hi! I am not using Vinyl. I am a farmer and have 8 stray pets. 3 labs and 5 cats. I also homeschool. I am in the early stages of planning but going with lineolum for the bathrooms. I have been to many friends homes and know only this; wide boards can be a real issue and need care. radiant floor heating can make things warp but especially bamboo. Oak skinny boards can last a long time.


    I really want to support you for getting the look and feel that you want! I just wanted to let you know that after many bad reviews for products, of course not all but some! I got worried about the white core and dents that a vinyl tile could get. I get it. Everything is not perfect! But it made me wonder about trying for anything, maybe even pine and giving into the marks. We have 7" hickory in our stone cottage and wish I would be studied that one! We have a wood stove and no AC.. it warped badly and we had to make ugly screw holes and plugs.. we should have left a lot more wiggle room for the amount of temp change we think.. but overall we love the color. If I were to do again I would have put a rug under dining room chairs.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    I'm astounded at all that hardwood floor refinishing! I've had as many as 5 dogs and a few cats and have hardwood floors throughout my house. They are small dogs - Cavalier King Charles Spaniels - but they still have claws and track in EVERYTHING. I do use high gloss poly finish and find it is much more durable and harder. My upstairs floors were put in/refinished 32 years ago. Some of the downstairs floors were refinished 17 years ago due to water damage from a 2nd floor broken pipe; kitchen was done 14 years ago - they all look like new.

    Remember, with any tile, vinyl or otherwise, dog pee will get under the individual tiles. Yes, if it happens constantly and is not cleaned up, it will eventually eat through even a solid poly finish but that takes a LOT of housekeeping neglect.

  • 9 years ago

    I am heavily considering LVP in our update. My husband has been trying to convince me for the last 2 years to do it instead of hardwood. I love hardwood, but I am afraid I would not be able to relax with my dog (he marks fairly often and is very stealthy about it). I am seeing more and more builders put his in new homes in our area (the Midwest).

  • 9 years ago

    Not the same as the look of hardwood, but the real lineolum in sheets sounds, maybe forbo cocoa or something, sounds like you all might consider this for pee especially! It is afterall the same flooring choose used in very tough settings. The readings say that when you dent it or scratch it badly, you can get the marks out. The one thing the vinyl print is missing.. maybe others have a thicker print and gives you a deeper tone rather than white core. As a DIY project it looks like a good choose. I would personally consider getting a quote on pine instead.

  • 9 years ago

    Remember, with any tile, vinyl or otherwise, dog pee will get under the individual tiles. Yes, if it happens constantly and is not cleaned up, it will eventually eat through even a solid poly finish but that takes a LOT of housekeeping neglect.

    For many LVP's water (pee) will not get between or under the tiles. When we first moved in a year ago we put LVP over the hardwood in one room as we couldn't get a fence installed in a timely manner and we were worried about the dogs going on the hardwood.

    Before we did it we tested the effectiveness by covering a 4x4 sheet of plywood and then placing a soaked towel on it, after days of rewetting the towel, the wood was still perfectly dry.

    I got worried about the white core and dents that a vinyl tile could get. I get it.

    I use LVP under office chairs to protect the hardwood, after 5 years there was no wear on the LVP. We did this after I had to replace, not refinish, hardwood when my sons office chair wore a gash in the hardwood.

    Of course, ymmv

  • 9 years ago

    If the dog is marking the house I'd go low cost with the assumption any flooring put down will need to be replaced before putting the house up for sale in the future.

  • 9 years ago

    I can't speak for your area, but unquestionably in my area (HCOLA NY suburb, but no where near bay area prices) LVT would be severely dinged for resale. Hardwood is the norm here, so LVT anywhere outside of mudrooms/basements, perhaps a lesser used bathroom, would be considered cheap, no matter the practical value of the material.

    But these things are regional - around here, vinyl siding is the norm for anything <$1mm, whereas in other regions cement board is considered the norm for that price range, despite the substantial increase in price and upkeep.

  • 9 years ago

    But these things are regional - around here, vinyl siding is the norm for anything <$1mm, whereas in other regions cement board is considered the norm for that price range, despite the substantial increase in price and upkeep.

    Yes I don't get it. We're on Lawn Guylind (That's spelled phonetically the Nu Yawk way), and we're renting in an fairly expensive gated community. All the houses are vinyl sided and not even done that well! Where I am in FL, if they don't use stucco, it's definitely cement board.

  • 9 years ago

    I noticed several people say they can't use LVP on stairs. Not sure why they are saying that. We just installed a loose lay LVP plank throughout our log cabin, including the stairs. Many of them come with matching transition strips and bull nose for stairs. Ours didn't but we bought a very nice zinc bull nose that allowed for slipping the plank into a small slot so it is locked in place. It came in several colours including a neutral brown that worked well for us. It was also all glued into place on the stairs and looks and feels great. I also saw some done in the flooring store this way with risers that also had the LVP on them. Ours are floating stairs. It is so much quieter than the plain wood we had on them before.

  • PRO
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It totally depends on your neighborhood and only a realtor who sells a LOT of houses in that area, can give you a good answer. In my neighborhood, site-finished hardwood is expected and is the norm.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    There is an actual forum on here just for installing the LVP on stairs. It looks beautiful! We're replacing our laminate wood floor in the kitchen/ family room/ foyer with LVP and I wanted to run it up our high traffic staircase. I was excited to see that it can, in fact, be done!!

  • 8 years ago

    If it does devalue your home, it will devalue it much less than good hardwood costs.

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Not true! Hardwood floor, finished on-site, is not that costly and it is FOREVER! LVF (whoever came up the the luxury part of the name is a marketing genius!), will only last so long and then must be replaced.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Around here, you're looking at $10-15/sqft installedand $5/sqft refinished. You can only refinish 4 times. Kids will mess up the vast majority of floors in this cost range so you need to refinish. LVT is $5/sqft installed when you catch a good sale.

    People are willing to pay less than $2k more total for hardwood floors when house hunting.

    If hardwood is forever, why are so many people removing their damaged hardwood floors?

  • 8 years ago

    Mrs Pete, we are putting wood on the stairs, and have a professional match it as closely as possible. The risers will be painted white. Just a thought. The no return on investment is a sore point with me, but with a dog, three boys, and a pool, it makes more sense.

  • 4 years ago

    I think if your house is millions of dollars and considered luxury, you should definitely match the quality with a high end wood product. However, I don’t think replacing outdated floors. With trendy lvp could devalue a home? If you stage and do you colors right with what people are looking for in you area should only increase interest. My home is a 5 bed 2.5 bath family house in a middle class neighborhood. I plan on doing lvp through the whole house. I like the fact that it looks like wood and is waterproof. Of course if you can afford wood do it, but the real estate market In my area is crazy homes sell in days. Any type of updating you do adds value in the long run.

  • 4 years ago

    I am in the flooring business. My home is the DC suburbs where the homes are expensive. I have dark hardwood floors but I am seriously considering LVP throughout the house. The quality and styles are great. Like someone above said - if someone likes the way your home conveys when its for sale, it will sell.

  • 4 years ago

    I figure it may not add value like hard wood but it can‘t possibly detract from value like my old carpet would have! i can’t imagine why it would decrease value compared to carpet if in good shape.

  • 4 years ago

    Ugly vinyl plank. UGH.

  • 4 years ago

    So, does anyone know how LVP works with radiant heat in cement slab?

  • 4 years ago

    Many are fine on a heated slab but you need to check the specs first.

  • 3 years ago

    I like what I read on a real estate site: the LVP will neither add value or detract value. Put in LVP if it works for you. Most new buyers want to change the floors anyway. As a new buyers, wouldn’t you rather replace a floor that pops up easily than one that needs power tools and pneumatic chisels to grind off a concrete floor?