Installing Vinyl Plank Flooring in Your Basement and Attic

Finding a floor that can cope with the challenges of a basement or attic, and look good while doing so, can be tricky. A basement floor must withstand the higher moisture levels often found at lower levels. And an attic can experience wider temperature fluctuations than the rest of your home, meaning you'll need a floor that remains stable in changing conditions. Can one type of flooring really be a match for both?

 

Is Vinyl a Flooring Option for a Basement or Attic?

If you're converting your attic or basement into a living space such as a den, loft, home gym, or game room, you'll likely be looking for tough flooring, like the concrete floors so often found in basements, and light like the plywood often found in attics.

Fortunately, vinyl plank flooring can offer the solution for both scenarios. Yes, you can install vinyl plank flooring in both your basement and attic. Vinyl's sturdy core can withstand the variations in temperature that these areas often experience, and luxury vinyl plank can be thin and lightweight enough to limit the weight added to your attic. On top of that, vinyl can also give your space the luxurious look of wood or stone but with waterproof performance and easy installation.

 

 

Multi-Layered Design for Multilevel Installation

Vinyl flooring is constructed in layers that combine authentic-looking wood and stone designs with a strong core that offers increased strength and resilience. Our rigid vinyl plank (RVP) flooring features a stone-polymer composite (SPC) core that not only provides greater resistance to dents, but also has improved stability in changing temperature conditions. Vinyl floors can also offer a thinner profile, providing improved performance without adding bulk. This can be especially convenient in attics, where space and weight capacity are often limited.

Among our wide vinyl selection, you'll find designs that offer all the richness and warmth of traditional hardwood or the cool appeal of stone, but with the premium performance, you get with cutting-edge construction and design. You're sure to be able to find a match whatever the aesthetic you're going for and whatever the room you're working on.

 

How Do You Install Vinyl Plank Flooring in a Basement or Attic?

You might prefer to take it easy and let someone else handle the installation. If so, we're happy to connect you with an independent professional installer. Otherwise, our tips help make this a doable DIY project.

 

Let Your Vinyl Planks Acclimate

First, upon delivery of your vinyl flooring to your home, it's essential to allow it to acclimate to your home's environment. This is especially important for attic and basement installations, as these areas often experience different conditions from the rest of the home.

Like many types of flooring, vinyl will expand or contract based on the temperature and humidity of its surroundings. It's essential to give your planks time to do this before installation, to help prevent your flooring from buckling or warping down the line. RVP should acclimate for at least 24 hours, while luxury vinyl plank (LVP) should be allowed 48 hours.

Once installed, you'll want to keep your vinyl planks within a certain temperature range to ensure optimal performance. LVP planking should be kept between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and flooring with an SPC core can withstand an even greater temperate range. You will likely want to install a temperature control system in your attic, where rising hot air collects and causes temperatures to increase beyond what's felt in the rest of your home.

 

Prep the Subfloor

The subfloor must be clean, dry, and flat. Otherwise, debris and an uneven subfloor can disrupt the installation, causing an uneven surface, hollow sounds, and even plank joint issues.

You may wonder—can you put vinyl flooring directly on concrete? Of course, you can! Just be sure to lay a moisture barrier when floating directly over concrete. We recommend 6 mil poly, or an underlayment with moisture mitigation properties. Similar to poly, underlayment has the added benefit of helping to muffle the sound of footsteps on your flooring, which could be particularly useful for an attic installation.

An attic's subfloor will likely be a thick sheet of wood like plywood. A thin underlayment between the subfloor and your vinyl planking will help provide a more comfortable feel as you walk on it.

 

Install According to Instructions

Once the vinyl planking is acclimated and your subfloor is prepped, you're ready to install the vinyl floor in the basement or attic. You'll find the full details of how to install your particular flooring in the Warranty, Installation, and Care guide included with it, but it will be one of these three methods:

• Click-float planks click together at each end and float over the subfloor.
• Peel-and-stick installation involves simply removing a plastic covering from the plank's pre-applied adhesive and sticking the planks in place.
• Glue-down flooring, common in commercial environments, is the most secure but the most complex installation, and will likely require professional assistance unless you're an experienced do-it-yourselfer.

Maintenance

Once your vinyl floor is in place, it's easy to care for. Sweep with a soft-brush broom periodically to remove dust and dirt, and once a month, wet mop to clean away any stains or smudges.

It's best to use an approved formula, such as our Bellawood Floor Cleaner, as cleaning agents that contain wax, oil, or polish can dull your floor's shine. You should never use steel wool or any scouring pad, as these may leave scratches on your floor's surface if used too roughly. Instead, a soft mop should be sufficient to keep your vinyl flooring looking at its best.

 

Time to get started

Ready to pick out and install a flooring upgrade? Why not order some free samples so you can test out how vinyl flooring might look in different parts of your home?

And don't worry if you're not confident in your do-it-yourself skills—LL Flooring can hook you up with independent professional installers to do the job for you.

Watch this video of a customer who found the right solution for a basement that needed new flooring due to the all too common problem of water damage. And please subscribe to our YouTube channel and join the community!