LVP Flooring Installation in Lithonia, GA
Houses that have been lived in for decades tend to carry a history under their floors: sheet vinyl laid over board subflooring, a patch where a wall once stood, a hallway that dips toward the middle. When LVP flooring installation in Lithonia is planned for a house like this, the first step is finding out what that history means for a click-lock floor.
Rigid-core luxury vinyl plank is forgiving in some ways and strict in others. It hides minor surface marks, but it needs a flat, solid base, room to move at the edges and doors that clear the new height.
Testing old flooring before it is disturbed
Older sheet vinyl, vinyl tile and the dark adhesive beneath them were sometimes made with asbestos, and you cannot tell by looking. If an old resilient floor or its mastic will be scraped, sanded or torn up, a sample should go to a qualified lab first. When a test comes back positive, removal belongs to an abatement contractor, or the old layer may be left in place and covered if it is sound and the plank maker permits it.
Board subfloors, dips and squeaks
Some older homes have diagonal board subflooring instead of plywood, sometimes with gaps between the boards or edges that have cupped. A click-lock floor bridges small gaps but shows ridges and flexes over soft spots. Loose boards are refastened with screws, which also quiets many squeaks, and a layer of plywood or underlayment panel may go down where the boards are too uneven to correct one at a time.
A dip along the middle of a room, often over a beam that has settled, is measured with a long straightedge or a laser. Shallow low spots are filled. A sag that comes from the framing needs a separate conversation before any flooring is ordered.
Rooms that are not quite square
Walls in older houses drift. A room may be slightly wider at one end, or a hallway may run a little off line from the rooms it connects. Since planks run in straight rows, an out-of-square wall shows up as a tapered row along one side. We measure both ends of each room and set the starting line so the taper lands where furniture or a less visible wall will hide it.
The expansion gap still has to be kept along a crooked wall, which means the trim covers a gap that varies a little in width. Taller baseboard or a shoe molding is often the simplest cover.
Doors hung for an older floor
Doors in older homes were hung for whatever floor was there at the time, and many have already been trimmed once. If old layers stay and plank goes on top, the floor can rise enough to make doors bind and thresholds awkward. Taking the old layer down to the subfloor often keeps the new surface at a height the doors already clear. Where it does not, door bottoms are trimmed and casings are undercut so the planks slide underneath.
An original hardwood hallway kept beside new plank also needs a measured transition. The closer the two heights, the slimmer the profile that joins them.
Choosing a plank that suits an older house
Wear layer and construction come first: an SPC core with a solid wear layer stands up to grit and dropped objects, while overall thickness is chosen with door heights in mind. Plank size and color are the style decisions. Narrower planks with a quieter grain can look more at home in a smaller, older room than very wide, long boards, though that is a matter of taste. The product sheet also tells you whether an underlayment is attached or bought separately.
If you are weighing a click-together laminate against vinyl plank, our laminate flooring installation in Lithonia page describes that option.
What the estimate separates out
- Testing of old resilient flooring, if needed, and who handles its removal
- Refastening or overlaying the subfloor, and how much leveling is expected
- Door trimming and casing undercuts
- Baseboard, shoe molding and each transition
- Repairs found once old layers are up, described and priced in writing before they are done
Repairs under the floor and permits
Lithonia is in DeKalb County. In older homes, a flooring project can uncover a rotted joist, outdated wiring or a leaking drain line. If structural, plumbing or electrical work becomes part of the job, the City of Lithonia Building and Permitting Division can confirm whether a permit is required. Wider renovations are described on our remodeling services in Lithonia page.
Questions about plank floors in older Lithonia homes
Should old vinyl be tested for asbestos before LVP is installed?
If the old vinyl or its adhesive will be scraped, sanded or pulled up, testing first is the safe step, because asbestos cannot be identified by sight. A small sample goes to a lab. If the result is positive, a qualified abatement contractor handles removal, or the layer can sometimes stay and be covered if it is intact and the plank maker allows it.
Can LVP be installed over old board subflooring?
Yes, if the boards are solid, fastened tightly and flat within the plank maker’s tolerance. Loose boards are screwed down, raised edges are sanded and gaps wide enough to let the planks flex are bridged. When the boards are badly cupped or uneven, a new layer of thin plywood fastened over them usually makes the more reliable base.
Will my older interior doors still close once LVP is installed?
Most will, but some need their bottoms trimmed, especially if the plank goes over an existing layer instead of replacing it. Clearance under each door is measured during planning so the installer knows which ones to adjust. Trimming is normally done on installation day, once the finished floor height is known, and casings are undercut at the same time.
Start with a description of your house
Call 404-409-4448 with a rough idea of the home’s age, what is on the floors now and which rooms you would like to change. We can visit to look at the subfloor, the doors and any old layers, and then put the scope and price in writing.