LVT problems: what goes wrong, why, and how to make sure it never does

We get called to look at LVT floors other people have fitted. The problems are always the same handful, and the causes are always upstream of the plank. If you know what causes each one, you know what to insist on from any fitter, including us.

Problem 1: planks lifting, curling or coming unstuck

What you see: edges lifting, a plank that moves underfoot, bubbles, or a whole area coming away, often near patio doors or in a kitchen.

Real causes:

• Moisture from below. Concrete or screed that was never tested, or a new extension screed that was still drying. Water vapour collects under the vinyl and breaks the bond. This is the number one cause in Bolton's solid-floored houses and extensions.
• Dust or contamination. Adhesive spread on a dusty, greasy or painted surface simply does not grip.
• Wrong adhesive for the room. A standard pressure-sensitive adhesive softens in the heat from bifolds, a south-facing window or underfloor heating, and the planks creep.
• Not enough adhesive, or planks laid after it had dried past its working time.

How we prevent it: hygrometer test on every solid floor (limit 75% RH), surface DPM if it fails, primer and smoothing compound for a clean bonding surface, high-temperature adhesive (F. Ball Styccobond F48 Plus or F49) wherever heat is likely, and we work in sections so the adhesive is always live when the plank goes in.

Problem 2: gaps opening between planks

What you see: fine dark lines appearing at plank ends or sides a week or a month after fitting, sometimes closing again in summer.

Real causes:

• No acclimatisation. Cold planks from a van or garage fitted straight into a warm house shrink as they settle.
• Floating click floor with no expansion gap, or one that has been pinned down by a kitchen island, a heavy dresser or scotia nailed through the plank. The floor cannot move as one sheet, so it opens up somewhere else.
• Long runs of click floor without expansion breaks in an open-plan house.
• Cheap flexible click planks (not rigid core) that move more than the joints can tolerate.

How we prevent it: planks opened and laid flat in the room for 24 hours minimum at living temperature; glue-down for open-plan ground floors and sunny rooms; on click floors a proper expansion gap at every wall and fixed object, scotia fixed to the skirting never the floor, and rigid-core planks only.

Problem 3: lines, ridges or bumps showing through

What you see: the pattern of the floorboards, screw heads, tile grout lines or a hump by the door visible in the surface of the new floor, sometimes within weeks.

Real cause: the floor underneath was not prepared. LVT is thin and takes the shape of whatever it sits on. This is called telegraphing, and it is the giveaway of a floor laid straight onto floorboards or old tiles.

How we prevent it: 6mm plywood overlay on timber floors with every joint feathered; primed smoothing compound on concrete, screed and tiles; a 2m straight edge across the finished subfloor before any plank is opened. This is the single biggest difference between a floor that looks new in ten years and one that looks tired in one. Full detail in our preparation guide.

Problem 4: scratches and scuffs

What you see: fine scratches in traffic lanes, claw marks, a scuff where a chair is dragged.

Real causes: a thin wear layer (0.2 or 0.3mm in a busy room), a high-gloss finish that shows everything, grit walked in from the drive, or furniture without felt pads.

How we prevent it: 0.55mm wear layer for any room that is actually lived in, textured matt finishes for homes with dogs, a mat inside the front door, and felt pads on chair legs, which cost pennies and save a floor. A good LVT is very hard to scratch; a cheap one is not.

Problem 5: hollow sound, bounce or clicking underfoot

What you see: a floating floor that sounds drummy, flexes in one spot, or clicks as the joint moves.

Real causes: click LVT laid over a dip in the subfloor so the plank is bridging a gap; a soft laminate or carpet underlay used instead of a dense LVT underlay; or a locking joint damaged during fitting.

How we prevent it: the same 3mm-over-2m flatness check applies to click floors as to glue-down; a 1 to 1.5mm dense LVT underlay (or an integrated backing); and, in rooms where any of this is marginal, glue-down instead.

Problem 6: discolouration and fading

What you see: a lighter patch where a rug was, yellowing near a window, pink or brown staining from underneath.

Real causes: strong direct sun over years (most quality LVT is UV-stable, cheap imports less so); rubber-backed mats reacting with vinyl; or, for staining from below, moisture or an old bitumen adhesive bleeding through.

How we prevent it: quality ranges with published UV stability, advising against rubber-backed mats, and sealing or removing old bitumen before fitting.

What good fitting looks like, in one list

1. Subfloor checked with a straight edge and a moisture meter before quoting.
2. Plywood on timber; primer and smoothing compound on solid floors; DPM where the test says so.
3. Dust extracted; surface vacuumed before adhesive.
4. Planks acclimatised in the room for 24 hours or more.
5. Adhesive chosen for the room, named on the quote, applied within its working time.
6. Set out from a centre line (herringbone) or a straight datum (plank), not from a wall.
7. Expansion gaps and door bars where the construction needs them.
8. Preparation photographed so your guarantee is protected.