Engineered Hardwood vs LVP: Which Floor Is Right for Your Texas Home?

Pick luxury vinyl plank (LVP) for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, rentals and busy homes with pets: it is fully waterproof and starts at $1.70 per sq ft.

Pick engineered hardwood when you want real wood under your feet in living rooms, bedrooms and offices. Plenty of Central Texas homes use both: vinyl plank in the wet rooms and real wood in the living areas.

Engineered hardwood is a real wood surface on a stable core. The Bjelin floors we carry have a 0.6 mm real oak, ash or walnut surface (0.4 mm on the wood tiles), hardened with Bjelin's Woodura treatment on most of the range, and join with 5G click locks.

LVP is a printed wood image under a clear wear layer, on a rigid vinyl core. The wear layer, measured in mil, is what takes scratches: 12 mil for budget rooms, 20 to 22 mil for most homes, 28 mil for heavy use.

This is where they differ most. Rigid core LVP is waterproof, so a dog accident or a leaking ice maker line wipes up without swelling the plank.

Engineered hardwood has waterproof seams but a wood surface. Wipe spills promptly, keep mats at sinks and doors, and use LVP in rooms where water is a daily event.

On LVP, the wear layer decides scratch resistance. Our 8mm plank has a 28 mil, diamond-coated wear layer, the toughest we sell.

Hardened engineered wood is built to resist dents better than standard hardwood. Like any real wood, it can show scratches over time, and some people like that lived-in character.

Real wood has grain, texture and warmth no print fully copies, and wide engineered planks up to 10.7" x 93.6" or a herringbone pattern make a room feel custom.

Today's wide vinyl planks (9" x 60") look convincing, are quieter with an attached pad, and are easier on the budget.

Our own insured crews install vinyl plank for $1.75 per sq ft over a sound, level slab. Engineered hardwood is priced by quote, and our crews install it too, priced after a measure.

Both float over a properly prepared slab, so neither needs nails in the concrete. Tear-out, leveling, stairs and trim are quoted after the measure.

Our Waco warehouse (2919 Mary Ave) and Liberty Hill showroom (126 Holmes Rd Unit 24) are open Monday to Saturday 9 to 6 and Sunday 12 to 5. You can also try any floor in a photo of your own room with our free Room Visualizer at 254floors.com/tools/visualizer.