Rant: I keep seeing people stretch LVP too tight and it buckles within a year

Had to tear out 600 sq ft of someone else's job last month because they pulled the planks way too tight against the walls. No expansion gap at all in some spots. The floor was already popping up at the seams and you could feel the buckle walking across the room. I know everyone wants a tight install but LVP needs room to move with temperature changes. I always leave at least 1/4 inch gap and cover it with baseboard or quarter round. Has anyone else seen failed floors from over tightening?

4 comments

4 Comments

gray3145d agoMost Upvoted

That bit about direct sunlight heating the floor more than the thermostat is something people really overlook, @the_laura. Most folks set their AC to 72 and think the whole room stays that temp, but I've seen floors hit damn near 100 degrees on a sunny afternoon through a window. What nobody talks about though is that subfloor moisture plays a big role in that expansion too. You can leave a perfect 1/4 inch gap but if the concrete slab underneath wasn't dried properly or you've got a humid crawlspace, that LVP is gonna soak up moisture and swell way past what the gap was meant to handle. I always throw down a moisture meter before any install and I've walked away from jobs where the slab was reading too high. The combo of heat and moisture together is what really kills a tight install faster than people realize.

the_rowan6d ago

Read somewhere that a big flooring manufacturer actually tested this. They found that LVP expands more than people think in heat, like up to 1/4 inch in a 20 foot run. That surprised me. Tight installs just turn into a mess when summer hits. People forget that direct sunlight through windows can heat up a floor way more than the thermostat setting. A buddy of mine had his floor buckle in a sunroom because he skimped on the expansion gap. Renters don't usually see this stuff, but good installers know you gotta leave room.

the_laura6d agoMost Upvoted

Heard a similar thing from a commercial installer once, @the_rowan. Makes you wonder how many builders actually leave enough room.

davidshah2d ago

My buddy runs a flooring crew in Phoenix and he leaves like a half inch gap on EVERYTHING. Never had a callback in 15 years. Honestly I think the whole "expansion gap" thing gets WAY overblown. Most of these manufacturers just cover their own butts with those numbers. If your subfloor is prepped right and you use good adhesive, LVP doesn't really move that much. I've seen plenty of 20 year old installs in old apartments with basically no gap that look fine. The real problem is cheap material and bad subfloors, not the gap size.