Flooring Installation
Vinyl Plank Flooring in Calgary
Vinyl plank is the most forgiving floor you can buy, and it's also the one we most often see fail. Both of those come down to the concrete floor underneath it.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
McAra Design + Build gives you a fixed price in writing before any work begins. What moves the price of a vinyl plank installation is the condition of what's underneath: a flat, dry concrete floor or a solid plywood subfloor is the simplest case, while grinding down high spots, pouring a self-levelling compound over an uneven floor, or removing old glued-down tile all add work.
Levelling is priced after we measure the floor, rather than assumed to cost nothing, which is where most low quotes come from and where most extra charges show up later.
What's involved
Most of the work happens before a single plank is opened.
- 01Testing the concrete or subfloor for moisture
- 02Removing old flooring and adhesive
- 03Grinding and patching
- 04Self-levelling compound where needed
- 05Vapour barrier or underlay
- 06Click or glue-down installation
- 07Expansion gaps and edge detailing
- 08Transitions and trimming doors
- 09Baseboard or quarter round
What we check that others don't
What we check that others don't.
- §1
Why vinyl plank suits basements, and why it still fails there. The plank itself doesn't mind moisture, which is exactly why people choose it for basements. What fails is the concrete floor underneath: moisture rising up through concrete gets trapped under a sealed floor and comes out at the edges, in the glue, or as a smell. We test the concrete and choose the right vapour barrier before picking a product.
- §2
Flatness, measured against the manufacturer's limit. Every product states a maximum unevenness allowed over a given distance, commonly around three millimetres over three metres. Over an uneven floor, click-together plank flexes at the joints until the locking edges break. We measure with a straightedge, tell you what levelling the floor needs, and hold the finished result to that same limit.
- §3
Click versus glue-down, and which one your floor needs. Click plank snaps together, installs quickly and can be lifted up later. Glue-down handles temperature swings and heavy rolling loads better and doesn't sound hollow underfoot, but it needs a better-prepared floor and can't be removed easily once it's down. Sunny rooms and large open areas usually push us toward glue-down.
- §4
Wear layer thickness, beyond the marketing. The number that matters is the wear layer (the clear protective top layer) measured in mils, not the total plank thickness in millimetres — the two are often printed side by side to blur the difference. Twelve mil suits an average household; twenty mil handles dogs and a busy entryway. Total plank thickness affects sound and feel underfoot, not how long it lasts.
- §5
Expansion gaps and where the sun hits. Floating plank flooring shifts with temperature, and a south-facing Calgary window in February causes a real temperature swing. A floor installed too tight against the wall will buckle in the middle. We leave the proper gap, and where a room is long or gets a lot of sun, we'll say so before recommending click-together plank.
How long it takes
Two days to a week.
A single-level install over an already-prepared subfloor usually takes two to three days. Removing old flooring and adhesive, grinding, or pouring self-levelling compound adds days, and the levelling compound needs time to dry before anything goes on top of it.
Material needs to sit in the house for a day or two to adjust to room temperature first — this isn't just a formality. Both start and finish dates are in the contract.
We put it in writing.
- A fixed price
- agreed before we start, and it doesn't move unless you change the scope.
- A completion date
- in the contract, not a range, not a best guess.
- A workmanship warranty
- if it fails because of how we installed it, we fix it. No argument, no invoice.
Most renovation guarantees are a paragraph of conditions. Ours is three commitments you can hold us to.
Questions people ask before they book.
- Yes, provided the concrete floor is tested and the right moisture barrier goes underneath. The plank itself handles moisture fine; the layers beneath it don't automatically. McAra Design + Build takes moisture readings from the concrete before choosing a product, because moisture trapped under a sealed floor shows up at the edges or breaks down the glue over time.
- Click suits speed, the ability to lift it later, and most ordinary rooms in a Calgary home. Glue-down suits long open areas, sunny rooms, heavy rolling loads and anywhere a hollow sound underfoot would bother you. McAra Design + Build points out that glue-down needs a better-prepared floor and, once installed, isn't coming back up easily.
- Look at the wear layer measured in mils, not the overall plank thickness in millimetres — they measure different things. McAra Design + Build recommends twelve mil for a normal household and twenty mil for homes with dogs or a busy entryway. Plank thickness affects sound and feel underfoot, not how long the wear surface actually lasts.
Where this sits
This work is part of Flooring Installation.
People looking at this page usually look at Hardwood Floor Refinishing and Basement Development in the same conversation.
Get a free in-home quote.
We visit your home, then you get a written price and a start date.
What are you planning?
Or call Chris directly: +1 (587) 837-3113