How Long Does Luxury Vinyl Plank Last? A Dealer's Answer

Quick answer: In our experience, a luxury vinyl plank floor realistically lasts 10 to 15 years in a typical home, and most homeowners renovate before the floor is tired. Neither Shaw nor COREtec publishes a lifespan in years, so that's a dealer's answer, not a manufacturer's. What moves your floor toward the long end is the wear layer and finish you buy, a flat, properly prepped subfloor with a good installer, and keeping up with the manufacturer's care guide. On a floating floor, small damaged areas can usually be repaired by swapping planks, though a new plank can stand out, so keep a couple of spare boxes: products often get discontinued with no warning.

How long does luxury vinyl plank last? It's one of the first questions we hear from homeowners, and after about 22 years in the flooring business, we can give you a straight answer, along with the things that decide where your floor lands.

It's a question people care about. In The 2027 Floor Forecast, Anderson Tuftex's survey of 512 high-net-worth homeowners and 251 interior designers, nearly seven in 10 respondents said they value flooring that lasts at least 15 years.^{Source 1} Here's how close LVP gets, and what moves a floor toward the long end of its range.

How long does luxury vinyl plank last in a real home?

In our experience, a luxury vinyl plank floor realistically lasts 10 to 15 years in a typical home.

Here's the part that surprises people: in our experience, the floor usually isn't what ends it. Typically a homeowner renovates before the flooring is tired. A kitchen remodel, a new color scheme or a move tends to come along first.

That number is our experience, not a manufacturer's figure. Neither Shaw nor COREtec publishes a lifespan in years for their vinyl floors, and a warranty term isn't one either. What Shaw's and COREtec's residential warranties do cover is the floor wearing through to the pattern under normal use, which they define as light to moderate foot traffic.^{Source 2Source 3} Read the warranty on the exact style you buy, because the terms vary from style to style.

Where your floor lands depends on three things: what you buy, how it goes down, and how you care for it.

What separates a long-lasting LVP floor from one that's tired early

The wear layer

The wear layer is the clear layer over the printed design, measured in mils (thousandths of an inch). It has a lot to do with how a vinyl floor wears over the years, and it's one of the easiest upgrades you'll make.

Going from a 12 mil wear layer to a 20 mil one is two-thirds more wear layer, and it doesn't cost a lot more money. Here's a like-for-like example from our catalog. Shaw Endura Plus and Shaw Anvil Plus 20 Mil are both Shaw SPC floors with a ScufResist finish, both float, and both come in 7 by 48 inch planks. Endura Plus has a 12 mil wear layer at $2.99 per square foot. Anvil Plus 20 Mil has a 20 mil wear layer at $3.29 per square foot. Both prices are the manufacturer's advertised price, so that's 30 cents a square foot apart. Endura Plus is actually the thicker plank overall (0.189 inch against 0.173 inch), so the extra 30 cents isn't buying a thicker plank. Our wear layer vs. price study looks at that math across our whole catalog.

Here's how we'd choose:

That's our advice, not the manufacturers'. Neither Shaw's nor COREtec's warranty assigns a wear layer to a household, and both exclude surface scratches unless a separate scratch warranty applies, at every thickness.^{Source 2Source 3} No wear layer is scratch-proof. Our LVP wear layer guide explains each thickness in detail.

The finish on top

The finish matters on LVP as well. It's a separate line on the spec sheet: the Shaw floors above list a ScufResist finish, and every COREtec line in our table below lists a UV acrylic finish. COREtec's page for Originals Premium says its finish provides superior stain resistance and cleanability.^{Source 4} A named finish doesn't turn a thin wear layer into a thick one, though. Shaw puts the same ScufResist finish on 12 mil Endura Plus and on 30 mil Titan HD Plus Platinum, so compare the mil number and the finish as two separate decisions.

What cuts luxury vinyl plank's life short

The two mistakes we see most often are not keeping up with maintenance and a bad installation. Either one can take years off a good floor.

Not keeping up with maintenance

Grit is sandpaper under your shoes, and the wrong cleaner can dull a finish. Here's what the care guides for the vinyl floors we carry ask for:

• Keep grit out. Shaw's care guide says daily removal of dirt and dust is important to keep particles from abrading the surface, and that walk-off mats should be used at all entrances.^{Source 5}
• Protect it from furniture. Shaw asks for wide floor protectors under tables, chairs and other heavy furnishings, and chair pads under rolling chairs.^{Source 5} COREtec says to always use proper protection and care when moving furniture or other heavy objects across the floor.^{Source 6} Our guide to heavy furniture on LVP goes deeper.
• Watch the sun. Shaw says to avoid direct sunlight on LVT flooring because it can cause fading and expansion of vinyl planks, and to use window protection.^{Source 5}
• Use the right cleaner. Shaw says products containing bleach and steam mops are not recommended, and to avoid abrasive cleaners and mop-and-shine products.^{Source 5} COREtec says to avoid products that contain detergent, vinegar, wax, citrus or floor polish, and to stay away from steam mops unless they are approved for your specific product.^{Source 6}

The warranties back this up. Shaw's and COREtec's residential vinyl warranties exclude damage from non-approved cleaning agents and abrasive scouring pads, and from rolling chairs used without chair pads.^{Source 2Source 3}

A bad installation

A bad installation will cut short the life of the floor, however good the plank is. The most common problem is the subfloor. Shaw's SPC installation guide says the subfloor must be flat within 3/16 inch in 10 feet, or 1/8 inch in 6 feet.^{Source 7} Over dips and humps, a floating floor's locking joints are stressed every time someone walks on it or furniture sits on it, and eventually a joint can break. Our guide to separating vinyl plank shows what that looks like, and our vinyl plank over tile guide covers the prep for one of the trickiest subfloors.

Shaw's and COREtec's vinyl warranties also exclude performance failures that come from not following the installation instructions.^{Source 2Source 3} So a good installer protects your coverage as well as your floor. Our guide to finding a flooring installer lists the questions to ask.

When LVP starts to look worn: repair or replace?

If the damage is in a small enough area, it can be repaired. On a floating floor, you don't have to pull up the whole room to fix one bad plank. Shaw publishes a step-by-step plank repair guide for floating vinyl floors: the damaged plank is cut out, and a new one goes in and is glued at the joints and weighted while the adhesive sets.^{Source 8} The repair guide for COREtec's maker, USFloors, says that if a plank becomes damaged, it can be replaced.^{Source 9} It's a job for a careful installer.

Just remember that a repair can stand out. You're putting a brand-new plank down next to planks that have been walked on, worn slightly or faded by the sun for years, so it may not blend perfectly.

When is it time to replace the whole floor instead? In our experience, it's when the wear isn't in a small area anymore:

• The wear runs across the main traffic paths, not just one or two planks.
• Broken joints or damaged planks keep turning up in different spots.
• You're renovating anyway, and the floor no longer fits the room you want.

Keep a couple of boxes of attic stock

We always encourage customers to keep a couple of boxes left over for what the trade calls attic stock: replacement planks if anything gets damaged, or enough to add a small room later.

Here's why it matters. Products are discontinued all the time, and we don't know exactly when that will happen. A style can be discontinued at the drop of a hat, with no warning. Even when your style is still made, a new run can be a shade different from your original order. Shaw's warranty, for one, says replacement material comes from current running-line products comparable to the warranted product, which may not be the floor you have.^{Source 2}

A few tips:

1. Plan the extra into your order. Order about 10% more than your square footage for cuts and waste, then plan so a couple of boxes are left over once the floor is down. Our guide to how much flooring you need walks through the math.
2. Store them flat and indoors. Despite the name, we wouldn't keep them in a hot attic or garage. A closet or another climate-controlled space is a better spot.
3. Label the boxes with the style, color and the room they match, and keep your receipt with them.

The LVP we'd point you to first: COREtec

When someone asks us which LVP to buy for a floor they want to keep, COREtec is where we start. COREtec is the heavy hitter in luxury vinyl, and in our experience it's a very popular one. Our COREtec buyer's guide compares its collections, and our COREtec review covers the brand in depth.

Here's the shortlist we'd work from: four COREtec floors, plus three Shaw floors for comparison and for lighter-traffic rooms, thickest wear layers first. Prices are per square foot at the manufacturer's advertised price (MAP); each product page shows the carton price beside it. Lower prices may be available: request a quote by email using the "Email us for today's best price" link on any product page.

Our COREtec vs Shaw guide compares the two brands line by line.

Final Word

So, how long does luxury vinyl plank last? In our experience, realistically 10 to 15 years in a typical home, and most people renovate before the floor is tired. To push yours toward the long end, buy as much wear layer as your household needs and check the finish listed on the spec sheet too, get the subfloor prepped and the floor installed right, and keep up with the manufacturer's care guide. Keep a couple of spare boxes for the day a plank gets damaged. For more on choosing a floor that lasts, see our guide to the most durable flooring for homes.

Before you choose, order $5 samples and check them in the room where they'll go. Every sample dollar comes back as credit toward your order when you sign in at checkout with the same email you used for samples.