Buyer's guide
How thick should your LVP be?
Thickness decides how the plank feels and how much subfloor it forgives. The wear layer decides how long it lasts. Here is which of each you need, with every figure from the 77 floors we stock.
The short answer
6.5 mm with a 20 mil wear layer is the right default for a Florida slab-on-grade home. Go to 8 mm and 22 mil for heavy traffic, big dogs or a slab you cannot fully flatten. 5 mm is for a flat slab and a tight budget. The wear layer decides how long the finish lasts; the thickness decides how the plank feels and how much subfloor it forgives.
| Thickness | Wear layer | Collections | Per sq ft | Box covers | Floors in stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mm | 20 mil | GRAND LUX SOFT (GD), IRIS | $1.59 to $1.79 | 22.5 to 29 sq ft | 12 |
| 5.5 mm | 20 mil | XD-5.5mm | $1.79 | 30 to 30.17 sq ft | 6 |
| 6 mm | 20 mil | XD6 B Series | $1.99 | 26.18 sq ft | 5 |
| 6.5 mm | 20 mil | EIR 6.5mm, SSR 6.5mm, Ultra Clean SPC | $2.09 | 22.43 to 22.63 sq ft | 26 |
| 7 mm | 22 mil | APRES | $2.19 | 22.58 to 23 sq ft | 8 |
| 8 mm | 22 mil | IRIS 8, WHISPER WOODS, XD8 Series | $2.49 | 18.82 to 22.64 sq ft | 20 |
How we know: these figures are read from the 77 floors stocked in our distribution partners' Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando warehouses as this page was built, not from a manufacturer brochure. Prices are the per-square-foot rates published on each floor page.
What does plank thickness actually change?
Three things, and lifespan is not one of them. First, how much subfloor it bridges. A rigid core spans small dips and ridges instead of following them, and a thicker core spans more. The flatness figure on most rigid-core installation sheets is 3/16 of an inch over a 10-foot span; a 5 mm plank will show a slab that misses that figure, an 8 mm plank will hide some of the miss. Second, how it feels. Thicker planks are quieter under a heel and less hollow-sounding over concrete, though the attached pad does more of that work than the core. Third, height. 5 mm is about 0.20 inches, 8 mm is about 0.31 inches, and that difference shows up at door casings, appliance clearances and the transition to an adjoining room.
What thickness does not change is waterproofing. Every rigid-core plank we stock is waterproof through its full thickness; a 5 mm plank and an 8 mm plank behave identically in a wet kitchen.
What does the wear layer change?
Everything about how long the floor looks new. The wear layer is the clear urethane-coated film over the printed design, measured in mils (one mil is a thousandth of an inch). It is what chair legs, grit, claws and dragged furniture actually touch. Once it is worn through, the pattern beneath scuffs and there is no refinishing a vinyl plank.
Builder-grade planks sold in big-box stores commonly carry a 6 or 12 mil layer. We do not stock anything under 20 mil: 49 of our floors are 20 mil and the rest are 22 mil, which is why every one of them carries a 30-year residential and 10-year commercial warranty. If you are choosing between a thicker plank with a thinner wear layer and a thinner plank with a thicker wear layer, take the wear layer.
Which thickness for which subfloor?
| Your situation | Minimum we would put down | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New or ground slab, flat within 3/16 in over 10 ft | 5 mm, 20 mil | Nothing to bridge; spend the difference on wear layer or square footage |
| Older slab with patched areas or a slight crown | 6.5 mm | Bridges the small misses a floor patch leaves behind |
| Over existing tile with grout lines | 6.5 mm or thicker | Wider grout joints telegraph through thin planks; see installing LVP over tile |
| Second floor over plywood | 6.5 mm | The attached pad handles the sound; joists want a stiff core |
| Heavy traffic, large dogs, rental turnover | 8 mm, 22 mil | The thickest wear layer we stock, on the stiffest core |
| Condo with an HOA sound requirement | 8 mm plus the HOA's specified underlayment | Ask the association for the IIC figure it wants and send us the spec before ordering |
Does a thicker plank mean a quieter floor?
Partly. The attached pad does most of the acoustic work. All 77 of our floors have an IXPE foam pad bonded to the back, which is why none of them needs a separate underlayment on a slab. The core adds mass on top of that, so an 8 mm plank is quieter than a 5 mm plank under a hard heel, but the difference between the two is smaller than the difference between having the pad and not. If a building requires a tested IIC or STC rating, that is a documentation question rather than a thickness question: send us the requirement and we will check the floor's documentation against it.
What does thicker cost?
Per square foot, $1.59 at 5 mm against $2.49 at 8 mm. On a 1,000 square foot job that is about $900.00 more in material for the thickest plank we stock. The 6.5 mm tier at $2.09 sits between them and is where most of our stock is: 26 of 77 floors.
Compare any two on the flooring calculator, which prices boxes rather than square feet and adds the cut waste for you.
Common questions
Not on a flat slab. It is the same waterproof rigid core with the same 20 mil wear layer as our thicker planks. It is the wrong choice over an uneven slab or over tile, where a thicker plank bridges better.
The overall thickness listed on each floor page is the plank as it arrives, pad attached. For door and appliance clearance, use that figure plus whatever is under it.
Yes, with a transition strip where they meet. A T-mold covers a same-height joint and a reducer steps down between heights; 77 of our 77 floors have matching trims in stock.
About $900.00 in material at today's prices ($2.49 against $1.59 per square foot), before freight and cut waste.
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