Lessons Learned from a Botched LVP Install That Cost Me Two Weeks of Cleanup

Been laying floors for 15 years now, and working out of Nashville I thought I had this LVP game down pat. Last month I took on a flip house job with 1200 sq ft of Mohawk WiseSon click-lock vinyl plank, and the sub I brought in rushed the subfloor prep, didn't level it properly with a 1/4 inch self-leveler. By the time the planks started cupping up in the first room, I was knee-deep in callbacks and had to rip it all out, wasting a full Saturday on demo. Moral of the story: always insist on a moisture test with a calcium chloride kit before any glue-down or floating install, even if the client swears the slab is bone dry. If you're dealing with older homes like these around here, budget extra time for acclimation too, at least 72 hours. Saved my ass on the next job, quoted an upcharge for that step and the homeowner didn't bat an eye. NGL, it's these screwups that keep you sharp in this trade.

Man, that sounds like every subfloor nightmare I've heard about, especially when you're trying to hit a deadline on a flip. I had a similar deal where the leveling compound failed after a week, turned into a total redo and I ate the cost to keep my rep intact.