In my rentals, I've installed a lot of the Lifeproof 22 mil LVT from Home Depot and have had zero issues. The stuff is bombproof.

I usually go with the 5 mil Allure gripstrip or the 12 mil Allure clicklock. They're okay. The 22 mil is probably better than those. My installs aren't as thorough as others' might be, since my handyman or husband installs rather than a real flooring guy. So when you're looking at your flooring, know that they'll perform better when properly installed.

That said--- I picked up a batch of #2 red oak hardwood for $1.39/sf. It's looking amazing! I'm so excited. We'll see how it works-- we just started yesterday-- and it's installed with a special nailer tool. He probably hasn't installed floorboards like those since the 80s, so it took him a bit to remember how it goes. But he seems to have figured out the system and it's progressing well.

VPF, 22 mil, over Smart Core Premium Foam Underlayment.

My last floor, I bought pre-finished oak hardwood. It was the same price as decent quality vinyl plank, and cheaper than the top end vinyl plank.

Install cost me slightly more and tenants have a better chance of damaging it, but it sure looks good. Higher quality rental where the wow factor is a big plus. Also, rented to an economic level where tenants tend to take better care of things.

Problem I've seen in the old places I did the floor ... nothing is level. Some are soup bowls others have bulges. So the floor looks GREAT for a year or two...then the seams "pop" loose. And there is really no way to correct it.

I started out with 6 mil stuff that had no backer to it. It is showing some signs of wear where kitchen tables and chairs are, but otherwise it is in good shape. I laid it over old vinyl many years ago

I use 12 mil stuff with a backer and have no worries now. I have some 22 mil stuff as well.

It all depends on the quality of the product, what will be on the floor, how the tenant treats it and color scheme.

Have some nice stuff that is dark, maybe close to walnut color. It has shown more scratches than the cheap 6 mil stuff that I installed years before.

On a bad floor I will use self levelling floor fill as needed. Something that you can feather edge. I have also used a belt sander or even a grinder to get the occasional humps and high seams out of the way.

Use a flashlight to check all joints.

We have a no name supplier that gets us 22 mil for less than $2.50/foot. It has built in padding. We also use the wider and longer planks. Goes down faster!

I have 50 mobile homes with vinyl plank flooring,I have had the finish of the wear layer wear through in one instance and this after 12 years of use.This was the cheapo allure stick together planks, the flooring was still serviceable but looked like paint drips on the floor.

That said, I have replaced lots of vinyl plank after 5 years due to separation of the plank.

Having the thickest wear layer won’t likely be the difference maker for the long lasting floor that we all desire. My experience with the 22mil wear layer plank has been that they are less pliable , are brittle and will crack, greatly reducing their useful life.

Sisco I agree with you on the fact that the quality of the plank is everything.

I know I will get flamed for this, but I can install carpet in a single room faster than planks, and usually for less money.

When the prospective tenant walks into the bedroom and sees brand new carpet it makes a difference. Quality carpet lasts longer, but even the cheap stuff looks good at first.

Oh yeah, as for a better option maybe that would be actual ceramic tile flooring?

Buy once, cry once.

I am considering putting that into the bathrooms as there isn't a lot of furniture being dragged on top of the floors in there.

I would like some more input on the problems with the LVP flooring.

Who else has had problems with their subfloor?

Is it just in one geographical location?

Brand, style, backing, subfloor type, crawl specs, installed over other vinyl?

I know that some have been using it for decades. I am below that timeframe.

I have installed it over hardwood, IPB, luan, OSB, plywood, existing sheet and SS square vinyl. Vented and sealed crawls plus over basements (finished and non).

Heated places with GFA, baseboard, cable ceiling, heat pump as well as central AC, wall unit AC and window shakers.

Some have no backer. Some without backer I put backer down and some without backer I just put over layers of existing vinyl. Most have their own backer.

Brands are all over the place.

I bought 2 big pallets of generic lvp I think it is 7mm. I have used half of it so far over about 3 years and I love it.

Ken, get a sample piece and beat it up.

Take it out to the street, put it good side down and step on it. Worse case scenario. That will show you what the scratches and such will look like.

I did a house in bamboo once. The stuff was bulletproof. I left one piece in a bucket of water, outside for months on end. No change. It was hard on the saw blades as well.

Unfortunately the coating they had on the top to make it shiny was easily scratched. Then it showed as white marks against the deep dark brown color of the planks.

I picked up a couple gallons of the Rejuvenate Floor Restorer from auction.

Have yet to be able to try it out but I am happy to hear that it worked for you.

I have installed about a dozen Lifeproof 22 mil LVT from Home Depot. All remains in good shape except where a tenant flooded his br floor with a plugged toilet in the adjacent bathroom.

Has anyone tried glue down vinyl plank? They have glue where you can pull up the damaged planks and replace them.

Big YES on glue down LVP: we have standardized on and used in numerous houses and apartments for the last several years. Looks great, easy to maintain, very pet friendly, relatively inexpensive to install, has held up incredibly well.

What we've used is tough (I test it by scraping a sample as hard as possible with tip of key or other pointed object). We have only had to replace maybe 2-3 pieces in 8 years and 20+ rentals). Easy, peasy to replace: pull up and put down new piece. (make sure the right glue is used for the original install). Initially used shaw resilient Prime Plank 0616V. Different colors but the most forgiving is Weathered barnboard 400(has white in pattern so even deep scrape won't show) and goes with grays or tans. (are trying others where we've gotten great pricing from local flooring co.)

AND.... The best thing we discovered... Air bnb apartment had flooded - standing water (due to inside wall plumbing leak). after leak was fixed, manager mopped up & towel dried floor and put 2 fans on it. Renter moved in 2 days later without any problems No mold, no buckling or lifting up of vinyl. Still perfect sev. years later. (note this was glued directly on slab)

(We have also used traffic master grip strip for years prior to glue down ; it held up well but is slightly more difficult to replace, and after the water recovery above, we insist on glue down.)

We also provide every new tenant with floor cleaning instructions and a microfiber mop and sometimes a bottle of rejuvenate floor clearer (esp. if hardwood).

We do not normally need special cleaning or shine restore products but if needed, we've found REjuvenate floor cleaner and shine restore products were worth the money (for hardwood and vinyl - different products). (better than bono in our testing).

Smartcire Ultra in bathrooms cause it's waterproof, has backer soft pad, clicks together so it floats above an uneven floor. I had extra so put it in my own homes half bath. I got it at Lowes but it may have been discontinued. It's box says certified low chemical emissions unlike Allure flooring. Box says install in climate controlled space so neither temps real hot or real cold.