Luxury vinyl plank · Kansas City metro
Luxury Vinyl Plank, Installed by the Crew That Lays Our Hardwood
The look of a wood floor, in any room of the house.Which plank suits the rooms it's going in is worth a conversation with Jason.
Overland Park · Olathe · Shawnee · Leawood · Mission Hills
Before you decide
What You Will Hear From Us
- ✓Which vinyl fits your project, and why
- ✓Which core, wear layer, and pad it calls for
- ✓What your subfloor needs before day one
- ✓A written number that covers materials, installation, prep, and trim
Talk it through with Jason (913) 839-1609
What luxury vinyl actually is
Not Wood. And It Doesn't Pretend to Be.
A luxury vinyl plank is a printed image of wood under a clear wear layer, on a rigid core. Nothing in it came off a tree. That is why it holds up in rooms where wood does not. The core doesn't absorb water, so a spill sits on the surface until you wipe it up.
The floor it gets mistaken for most is engineered hardwood, and the mistake is easy to make, because they are built the same way: a thin top layer over a manufactured base. On engineered, that top layer is real wood. On vinyl, it's a high-definition image of wood under a clear coat, usually hardened with aluminum oxide, and it is surprisingly realistic, with the variation and grain of real boards and a surface texture that follows the image. That clear coat is also why it shrugs off water and is better protected against dog nails and dropped pans. Since we sell and install both, here they are side by side.
Engineered hardwood
Real wood on top. That layer is what you're paying for, and what gets sanded.Thick enough, it refinishes like a solid floor.
Luxury vinyl plank
An image of wood under a hard clear coat. Realistic and tough, and water doesn't bother it.Chosen by wear layer for the room it's going in.
Inside the plank
Vinyl Plank Is More Varied Than You'd Think
Two planks on the same display can look identical and be nothing alike underneath. One has a thin wear layer over a foam pad; the other has twice the wear layer, on cork, over a stone core, and it will still look new when the first has worn through at the doorway. On a sample board that difference is invisible. Four things set it, and Jason can walk you through all four against your project, including saying when the plainer, less expensive plank is all you need.
The core
Stone-based or wood-based
Rigid cores come in two families. A stone-based core is denser and harder. It resists dents from furniture, holds its shape through a Kansas City August, and goes over a less-than-perfect slab. A wood-based core is a little softer underfoot and quieter, and it prefers a flatter subfloor. Neither is better. One is right for your project.
The wear layer
The number to ask about
The clear top layer is what actually wears, and it is measured in mils. Residential planks run roughly 12 to 30 mil; builder-grade is often thinner than that. A guest bath and a family's main hallway do not need the same one, and the wear layer is usually where a lower price comes from.
The pad
Foam or cork, attached or not
Most rigid planks come with a pad bonded to the back. Foam is common. Cork is the one we point people toward when comfort matters. It takes the hard, hollow feel out of the floor, and it is noticeably easier to stand on.
The install
Click-together or glued down
Rigid planks click together and float over the subfloor. Thinner, flexible planks are glued down. The floating floor is the usual residential answer; glue-down earns its place in a few rooms, and the subfloor decides which. That is the part of the conversation that happens at your house.
What's popular right now follows hardwood: warm oak tones over gray, wide and long planks, matte finishes and a texture you can feel. The look is the easy part. The core, the wear layer, the pad, and how it goes down are what you're really choosing.
“Jason was upfront and direct, and provided great communication throughout the process.”
We looked all over town for a trusted flooring partner to install our new luxury vinyl plank floors and carpet. Interviewed several dozen companies and felt like many providers in the area were dishonest and wishy-washy on explaining their process. We were very pleased with Jason and his installation team. Jason was upfront and direct, and provided great communication throughout the process of finding materials and scheduling/executing demo & install. Would definitely recommend working with him and All Dimensions Flooring.
Before you buy
It Isn't a Forever Floor
Luxury vinyl can't be refinished. When it's worn or damaged, it gets replaced, which is why the wear layer gets matched to the rooms it is going in before anything is ordered.
For most projects that is a good trade. No sanding, no finish to cure, and a repair is a plank.
Who installs it
Same Crew, Same Standard
The plank handles the water. The seams and the subfloor underneath are our crew's job, and most of what makes a finished floor look right happens at the edges of the room. That work doesn't change with the material. Your vinyl goes in with the same crew and to the same standard as a white oak floor.
- The subfloor first. Vinyl handles water. What it doesn't handle is a subfloor that's out of flat, and most clicking seams and hollow spots start there. We check it before the written estimate.
- Undercut casings, not caulk. Door trim gets cut so the plank slides underneath and the edge disappears.
- Transitions that lie flat. Where vinyl meets tile, carpet, or the hardwood upstairs, the piece in between is chosen and set so you stop noticing it.
We just had LVP installed in our home gym. They were able to get me on the schedule quickly. The floors look great
You're Working With Jason.
"I founded All Dimensions Flooring with a single goal: to combine the selection of a major retailer with the personal accountability of a craftsman. You aren't handed off to a rotating cast of clerks. You're hiring my 25-year reputation."
All Dimensions installs, sands, and finishes with its own crew. Jason advises on the floor, and he has laid floors himself. Because we sell both, he has no reason to steer you either way, and the differences between vinyl and wood are the first thing he explains, at your house.
★★★★★ Mentioned by name in virtually every review
What Homeowners Wrote
Luxury Vinyl, Answered
If your question is not here, ask it on the form below.
Is luxury vinyl really waterproof?
The plank is. The floor is water resistant. Water won't hurt a rigid-core plank, but it can still get through the seams and sit on the subfloor, so a slow leak behind a refrigerator is a problem no flooring material solves. A spill you mop up the same day is nothing.
What does it cost, installed?
The plank and the subfloor prep set the price, so we don't publish a per-foot figure. With the square footage and what's down now, Jason can give you a realistic range by phone. The written estimate follows a look at the subfloor, and it is one figure that covers materials, installation, removal of the old floor, prep, transitions, and trim.
How long does installation take?
Faster than hardwood. There is no sanding and no finish to cure, so the job is taking up the old floor, flattening what's under it, laying the new one, and trimming out, and with a click-together floor you're back in the room when we leave. The schedule comes with the estimate, and one thing homeowners mention in their reviews is that we finished when we said we would.
Can it go over my existing floor?
Often: over tile, sheet vinyl, or sound hardwood. The real test is flatness, not what's down. We check it at the estimate and tell you whether skipping the removal will cost you later.
Will it scratch with dogs?
Dog nails don't bother a good wear layer, which is vinyl's strongest argument in a mudroom. What does mark it is grit tracked in from outside and furniture dragged across it. Felt pads and a mat at the door do more for the floor than anything you do about the dogs.
Is luxury vinyl the same as laminate?
No. Laminate is a wood image on a core of compressed wood fiber. It clicks together the way vinyl plank does and can look similar in the box, which is why people ask, but wood fiber swells when water reaches it, and a vinyl plank's core has no wood in it at all. And if the word vinyl brings to mind the sheet flooring in a 1970s kitchen, that's a different product too, a thin printed roll glued down in one piece. Luxury vinyl plank is a rigid plank with a thick wear layer, built to look like wood and lay like wood. LVT is the same material in tile form, for a stone look.
Get a Number on Your Project
Call Jason or use the form below. Tell us what you have in mind and roughly how many square feet, and come away with a realistic range, pending a look at the subfloor. The written estimate follows, with a recommendation on core, wear layer, and pad. There is no consultation fee.