Luxury Vinyl Plank vs. Tile

Tile for a full bathroom with a shower, and especially for the shower itself, where the TCNA Handbook's methods put a waterproof membrane behind the tile. LVP is a reasonable choice for a powder room or a bathroom with no shower, where water is limited to splashes and the occasional overflow. In either case, ask for the floor's ANSI A326.3 wet DCOF or product use class.

Both work. Tile is harder and does not dent, but it is tiring to stand on and unforgiving of dropped dishes. LVP is softer and quieter, but a slow leak under a dishwasher or refrigerator can reach the subfloor through its seams. If the kitchen is on a stiff slab and you want the longest-lived surface, choose tile. If comfort and budget lead, choose LVP. As planning ranges, LVP runs about $5–10 per sq ft installed and tile about $10–20.

Either, once the slab is checked for the risk that matters to each. For LVP, that is moisture. RFCI's moisture guide says every concrete floor should be tested regardless of age, using ASTM F1869 or F2170 against the product maker's limit. For tile, that is cracking and movement. TCNA's FAQ says slab cracks reflect through bonded tile and recommends a crack isolation membrane or a mortar bed over a cleavage membrane.

Porcelain tile is nearly impervious, absorbing 0.5% or less water by the ASTM C373 test. A tile floor is not automatically waterproof, though. Water can pass through grout joints into the setting bed. Where waterproofing matters, as in a shower, the TCNA Handbook's methods include a waterproof membrane under the tile.

The plank is. The floor is not sealed. Water that gets through the seams reaches the subfloor, and under a vapor-resistant plank it dries slowly. Find and stop leaks quickly, and do not use LVP as a shower floor.

Usually because of what is under it. TCNA's FAQs name slab cracks reflecting through bonded tile, tile set over control joints, too much floor deflection, missing movement joints and poor thinset coverage among the causes. Cracked tile is usually a substrate or installation problem, not a bad batch of tile.

Yes, if the floor is stiff enough. TCNA's traditional minimum is L/360, measured before the tile underlayment. On a 10-foot span, that is no more than about 1/3 inch of deflection. TCNA's FAQ also says the A108 standards exclude OSB and thinset makers do not recommend bonding tile directly to it. A TCNA Handbook method with the right backer or membrane is the way to do it.

Sometimes. TCNA's FAQ says specialty thinsets bond to sheet vinyl, but the whole subfloor under it still has to meet tile's requirements. Floating LVP can often go over a flat, well-bonded old floor if the maker allows it. In both cases, check what the old floor is made of before disturbing it. In older homes, have it tested before sanding or tearing it out.

It depends on the product, not the category. ANSI A326.3 sets 0.42 wet DCOF as the threshold for level interior floors expected to be walked on when wet, and its Interior, Wet class names home kitchens and bathrooms among possible areas of use. Older tile spec sheets may cite ASTM C1028, a static friction test that ASTM withdrew in 2014. Ask for the A326.3 number instead.

Both repair one unit at a time. A damaged LVP plank is swapped, which is easiest on a floating floor. A cracked tile is cut out and reset, and matching grout and tile is the hard part. Keep spare material from the original run for either one. TCNA's FAQ notes that epoxy injection under hollow tile may work in a small area but is not practical over a large one, and a repair that does not fix the cause will not last.