Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) in Beaverton, OR

Yes, and it costs nothing to check — pull back a corner in a closet. In Beaverton mid-century housing there is often original hardwood underneath, and if it is sound, refinishing may be the better result for less money than a new floor. We will tell you honestly which way we would go, including when the answer is that the old floor is not worth saving.

Always, and in the low-lying parts of Beaverton it matters. The city grew on ground that was wetland, and moisture coming up through a slab or crawlspace will destroy a floating floor no matter what it cost. We test, and if a vapour barrier or a different product is the answer, we say so before you spend anything.

The plank is. The floor as a whole depends on the installation and on what is underneath it. Water can still travel through seams and around the perimeter and sit on the subfloor, so a spill wiped up is a non-event while a leak left for a fortnight is not. It handles everyday water far better than laminate or carpet, which is why we put it in kitchens and baths, but it is not a swimming pool.

Sometimes, but we look first. Over a sound, flat, well-bonded surface it can be a good option and it saves the cost of removal. Over old sheet vinyl on swollen particleboard, or anything that is loose or uneven, it just buries a problem that will show through within a year. We tell you which one you have before you decide.

It depends entirely on the house. A quiet couple can be well served by something modest; a family with two dogs and a hallway off the front door should be paying for a thicker one. Rather than quoting a number in the abstract, tell us who lives in the house and how the room is used, and we will point at the right shelf.

Good LVP over a properly flattened subfloor feels solid and is warmer underfoot than tile. The hollow, clicky sound people associate with it almost always comes from a floor floating over dips that were never levelled, or from a missing or unsuitable underlayment. That is an installation problem, not a property of the material.