Two-person household, three cats: must our LVP be thicc?

May 6, 2022 5:36 PM

We're self-renovating the kitchen and looking at luxury vinyl plank (LVP) as flooring. It seems to come from 4mm - 7mm thicknesses. Household is a couple (with three cats), but we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. How important is getting the thicker planking?

We want to have a nice house, but are budget-conscious, and the amount we'd need runs about CAD$800 for 4mm planking but CAD$1200 for 6mm, so not an insubstantial hop in cost. We do spend a lot of time in the kitchen -- love to cook -- but don't do anything that I think would cause undue wear on a floor. Does thicker planking truly add value, or is it more only needed for larger households with more people, traffic and wear over time?

posted by Shepherd to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Best answer: hmm. I thought the utility of the thickness was its bounciness. Mine is coretec, I think 7.8mm, and I looooove it. A lot of leg and back problems went away for me when we installed it; and almost nothing breaks when dropped.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:09 PM on May 6, 2022 [9 favorites]

Best answer: Thickness also adds more thermal insulation and sound dampening, in addition to comfort and longevity.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:51 PM on May 6, 2022 [5 favorites]

Are you planning to install it yourself?

If not, then you should be comparing (cost of 4mm planking + installation) vs. (cost of 8mm planking + installation).

Since the labor required to install both products may be similar, you might find that including installation shifts the cost ratio a bit..
posted by Nerd of the North at 7:55 PM on May 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I just got new LVP flooring to replace the original LVP that was in my condo when I bought it. The original was very thin - like 3 to 4 mm and I decided to get thicker LVP to replace it - I think mine is 7 mm. I could tell the difference right away - the thinner LVP felt like walking on concrete (which is what my subflooring is) and the thicker LVP has bounce and feels much better on my feet. I did have a soundproofing layer installed underneath, which probably also makes a difference, but I would go for the thickest LVP I could afford because it will be more enjoyable in the long run. Edited to add: household is only me and one cat, but it was worth it anyway.
posted by heurtebise at 7:39 AM on May 7, 2022 [1 favorite]