6 Vinyl Plank Flooring Mistakes That Cost Hawaii Homeowners Thousands

I import vinyl plank flooring for a living — and almost every week I watch buyers make the same six mistakes that cost them hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars. The worst part? You don't find out until the floor is already down.

Aloha! I'm Borys Rasin. I import vinyl plank flooring, wall paneling, and baseboards from Vietnam, Korea, and China to Hawaii, I own the Best Flooring Honolulu stores here on Oahu, and my crews install flooring across the island every week. Below are the six mistakes I see most often — or watch the video version here:

Mistake #1: Buying on price alone (and ignoring the wear layer)

You see one plank at $5/sq ft and another at 99¢, and the cheap one wins. Huge mistake — unless you're flipping the property tomorrow, you want that floor to last.

The first spec to check is the wear layer: the thin transparent coating that protects the printed wood look from scratches and stains. It's measured in mil (not millimeters — 20 mil is about 0.5 mm). My rule of thumb:

• 12 mil minimum for your own home or a rental
• 20 mil is the sweet spot — I've never seen 20 mil fail in a residential setting
• 30–40 mil is overkill for a home — you're paying for durability you'll never use

And if flooring is on clearance, always ask why. Especially at big-box stores, clearance sometimes means a defect or a misprinted batch.

Mistake #2: Picking the wrong core — SPC vs. WPC

Two core types dominate the market: SPC (stone polymer core) and WPC (wood polymer core).

• SPC — denser and heavier, harder to damage. Ideal on concrete ground floors.
• WPC — lighter, thicker, and softer underfoot, but easier to dent. A good fit for second floors, where less weight on the wooden structure is a plus and the extra thickness forgives a little subfloor play.

Honestly? Properly installed, both work fine throughout a house. I've done jobs with each. Just follow the installation manual.

Mistake #3: Doubling up on underlayment

Most vinyl plank today comes with attached underlayment — it cushions your step, absorbs small subfloor imperfections, and dampens sound. People think: if one layer of underlayment is good, two must be better. Never do this. The factory already attached the maximum the locking system can handle. Add a second layer and the floor gets too soft — every step flexes the click-locks until they break.

The Hawaii exception: some condo HOAs require a specific underlayment or IIC sound rating no matter what. In that case you're stuck between the installation manual and the house rules — and realistically, the HOA wins. Just know it can void the flooring warranty. (When comparing underlayments, ask for the IIC and STC numbers — higher is better soundproofing.)

And remember: underlayment does not replace a moisture barrier.

Mistake #4: Believing "100% waterproof" means flood-proof

The plank is waterproof — drop one in a bucket for three weeks and nothing happens; it's plastic. The floor is not. Planks have seams, and standing water slowly seeps through them. Small spills that evaporate are harmless; a washer leak or flood that sits there means mold underneath. If you get real flooding, pull the planks, dry everything out, and reinstall.

The most expensive version of this myth: skipping the moisture barrier on concrete. In my experience it's the #1 reason vinyl plank floors have failed in the last five years. Concrete slabs emit moisture — very common in Hawaii — and without a moisture vapor barrier, that moisture attacks your floor from below. Waterproof planks or not, the barrier is required.

Mistake #5: Click-lock where glue-down belongs (and vice versa)

Click-lock planks snap together with no glue — fast to install, easy to replace, perfect for residential homes. Glue-down is thinner, has no locks, and is adhered directly to the subfloor — built for commercial spaces with heavy traffic: offices, stores, malls.

Two misuses I see: glue-down in homes (works, but you're dealing with adhesive everywhere, and on second floors you must glue a separate underlayment first since most glue-down has none attached) — and click-lock in big commercial spaces, which breaks the manual's limits: most click systems can't run more than ~30 feet without a transition before the pressure starts damaging locks.

Mistake #6: Skipping acclimation, expansion gaps, and transitions

Click vinyl "breathes" — it expands and contracts with temperature and humidity, and the climate in Kaneohe is not the climate in Kapolei. That's why manuals require:

• Acclimation — if the manual says acclimate, acclimate. Skip it and you void the warranty.
• Expansion gaps — typically about a quarter inch anywhere the floor meets a solid surface.
• Baseboards at least ½" thick — to cover that gap even when the whole row shifts.
• Transitions and end caps — at doorways, sliding doors, and room entries.

The one piece of advice that prevents all six

Read the installation manual. Two minutes. Even if you're not installing it yourself — it tells you exactly what your specific flooring requires.

Or skip the homework and stop by one of our stores — Nimitz Center in Honolulu or Waipio. Tell us about your project, ask anything, and we'll hand you free samples and walk you through all of it in person. You can also start with our vinyl plank installation cost guide or request a free estimate anywhere on Oahu.

Hope to see you soon. Aloha!
— Borys