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Most Orlando bungalow owners aren’t asking whether to go vinyl. They’re asking which rooms. Colonialtown homes date from the 1910s through the 1960s, Thornton Park was platted in 1915, and the median Colonial Park home was built in 1947, according to Momentum Realty. Floors that old have usually seen patches, repairs, and a remodel or two.
That’s where luxury vinyl plank flooring in Orlando earns its spot: kitchens, baths, laundry rooms, and sunrooms, where wood takes the worst of it. Your living room and bedrooms can keep refinished hardwood, and the two surfaces meet cleanly at the doorway. You end up with a house that feels like one decision, not three.
Older subfloors can be uneven, so we check flatness and moisture before a plank goes down. That’s what keeps gaps and raised edges from showing up months later. Orlando also gets 14 to 17 rain days a month from June through September, and hurricane season runs June through November, so a leaking window or AC line is a real possibility. SPC-core planks handle spills and wet footprints, and a tested subfloor means nothing is trapped underneath.
Harrington Hardwood Floors is owner-led. Geste Harms has more than 30 years installing, repairing, sanding, staining, and coating hardwood floors and staircases in Central Florida. Our own listing says you won’t get a different crew than the one we send. Reviewers keep pointing to the same things: “on time every day,” clear communication, and a clean house at the end.
We’ve served the Seminole and Orange County area for decades. Whether you’re a few blocks from Lake Eola or in a Baldwin Park townhome, you’re dealing with someone who knows these houses were built in very different eras.
As a luxury vinyl plank flooring company in Orlando that started with real wood, we have no reason to put vinyl where hardwood would serve you better. If wood is the right call for your living room, you’ll hear that. The same goes for luxury vinyl plank flooring in Orlando kitchens and baths, where it’s the smarter pick.
It starts with a walk through the house, and most of it is looking down. We check how flat the subfloor is, test it for moisture, and look at what’s under your old flooring where possible. In older Orlando homes that step matters, since decades of patches and additions can leave low spots that planks will show off.
Next comes the room-by-room decision: which rooms get LVP, which keep wood, SPC or WPC core, and how the transitions will look. The scope gets spelled out in writing, covering removal, leveling, trim, and stairs, so you don’t run into surprise add-ons halfway through.
Then the old flooring comes out, the subfloor gets leveled, and the planks go down with proper gaps at the walls so Florida heat doesn’t push them into peaks. Trim, transitions, and stairs finish it, and the space gets cleaned up. That’s how LVP flooring installation in Orlando should go, with most of the care spent on prep.
A few local notes. The City of Orlando generally doesn’t require a building permit to replace floor coverings over an existing subfloor, per Karhan Companies, as long as no plumbing, electrical, or structural work is involved. If your project follows a leak or storm repair, those other trades may need permits. In a condo or townhome, your association is the real gatekeeper, so get its approval before you order anything.
Rainy season matters for timing too. If you’ve had a leak, the source needs to be found and the floor dried before any luxury vinyl plank flooring in Orlando gets installed over it.
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What you get depends on the house, from one laundry room to a whole first floor. Plank selection comes first: SPC or WPC core, wear-layer thickness, and texture. Hold any sample up next to your sliding doors before you commit. Dark planks near big south or west glass can fade or move in Florida sun, which matters in newer Orlando condos and homes with lots of windows.
Then comes prep and install: tear-out, moisture testing, leveling, underlayment, transitions, trim, and stairs. Stair work is something our reviewers call out by name, and it matters in Baldwin Park, where many of the townhomes run three stories.
If you’re in a condo or townhome, the job includes the paper side too. That means a floating assembly with underlayment that meets your association’s sound rating, written up as a spec you can attach to your approval request. Waterproof vinyl plank flooring in Orlando handles the surface, and the prep handles what’s underneath.
Most searches for luxury vinyl plank flooring near you turn up plank prices and very little about what happens beneath them. That’s the part worth walking through, whether you’re in Colonial Park or downtown. If you want luxury vinyl flooring in Orlando that sits right next to the wood in the next room, ask how the two will meet. Since LVP flooring installation in Orlando ranges from one room to an entire floor, the scope gets built around your house, not a preset list.
Often yes, but not in every room, which is why it helps to ask a hardwood company. In a Colonialtown or Thornton Park bungalow, the living room and bedrooms usually hold the character worth keeping, and refinishing can bring original wood back. Kitchens, baths, laundry rooms, and sunrooms are where luxury vinyl plank flooring in Orlando makes the most sense, because those rooms take the spills and humidity.
Two things to weigh. LVP can’t be refinished, so if you ever dislike it, the planks come up and get replaced. And older Orlando subfloors can be uneven or patched from earlier work, so they need to be flattened before planks go down, or you’ll see every low spot.
Engineered hardwood is a third option for rooms where you want wood without solid wood’s movement. Nobody can judge your floor from a photo, so it takes a walk-through to say what fits where.
Check your association documents first. Many Florida condo and townhome associations require written approval before any flooring change, plus an underlayment that meets a minimum sound rating, usually listed as IIC and STC numbers. Those numbers vary by building, so don’t trust a figure from a forum. The one in your documents is the one that counts.
SPC vinyl plank over a compliant underlayment clears most associations when it’s installed as a floating floor, but approval is still yours to get. For luxury vinyl flooring in Orlando condos and Baldwin Park-style townhomes, we can write up the plank, underlayment, and transitions as a spec for your approval packet.
Buildings also set work hours, elevator access, and insurance requirements, so call before you order anything and get those questions answered first. You can call or text 407-701-2028.
There’s no Orlando-specific installed price in the published sources, so here’s what Florida and national figures say. None of it is a Harrington Hardwood Floors quote. Serrano Renovations puts installed LVP in Florida at about $4 to $16 a square foot. BuildPriced calls about $6.50 typical, or roughly $6,500 to $8,500 for 1,000 square feet with basic underlayment. This Old House lists material at $3 to $10 a square foot and labor at $3 to $10, with removal of old flooring adding about $1 to $2.
What moves the number: plank thickness and brand, how much leveling the subfloor needs, tear-out, trim, transitions, and stairs. Searching luxury vinyl plank flooring near you shows low plank prices, but those leave out prep and labor. Compare installed totals, not plank prices. Call or text for a number based on your actual house.
The planks themselves, yes. Spills, wet dogs, and tracked-in rain don’t hurt good SPC or WPC vinyl. The part people miss is that waterproof vinyl plank flooring in Orlando only protects the top. Vinyl is a vapor retarder, so water from a leaking appliance, window, or AC condensate line can run through seams and sit underneath, and moisture rising through a slab can cause adhesive failure or odors.
Orlando gets 14 to 17 rain days a month from June through September, and hurricane season runs June to November, peaking August to October. After a leak or storm, find the source, let the floor dry, and test the slab or subfloor before anything goes over it.
SPC cores hold up well to dents and movement, though they can feel cold on a slab. Our reviews include matching and replacing water-damaged floors, so a repair plan is part of the conversation.
Sometimes, with the right prep. Vinyl plank can go over some existing floors if they’re flat, sound, and dry. Glue-down and dry-back planks will telegraph whatever is underneath, so rough spots show. Carpet always comes out, and tile with deep grout lines usually needs filling or leveling first.
In an older Orlando home, the question is what’s already under there. Colonial Park’s median house dates to 1947, and homes that age can have floors patched or layered over the years. If you have solid hardwood you might want back someday, think twice about burying it, because planks over it are hard to undo.
If the old floor is damaged or uneven, removal runs about $1 to $2 a square foot, per This Old House, and that beats covering up a problem. A quick look at the floor settles it, and it’s a normal first step in LVP flooring installation in Orlando.
Ask for proof, in writing. Florida doesn’t currently require a state license for flooring installation, according to a Seer Flooring summary of the law changes as of June 2024. A certificate of insurance and an active Sunbiz registration tell you more than the word “licensed” does. Rules change, so check current requirements, and ask us the same questions.
Then ask who will be on your job, whether the estimate lists removal, leveling, trim, and stairs, whether the floor gets moisture-tested, and what the warranty covers. A luxury vinyl plank flooring company in Orlando should answer all of that without hedging.
Harrington Hardwood Floors’ Sunbiz record has been active since 2016, and our owner says in his own words that you won’t get a swapped-in crew. Call or text 407-701-2028 and ask any of it.
