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Vinyl Plank Flooring Cost in Ontario (2026): LVP, SPC and WPC by Grade, Click vs Glue-Down, Attached Pad, Installed Prices With Two Rooms Worked Through
Flooring & Tile
What Vinyl Plank Costs in Ontario, Why the Box Price Is Half the Story, and the Difference Between LVP, SPC and WPC in Plain Words
Vinyl plank is the floor most Ontario basements and a good share of main floors get now, and the reason is the number: about $6.00 a square foot installed at a grade that will outlast the mortgage. The planks are $2.25 to $4.75 a square foot depending on how thick the wear layer is and how stiff the core is. The labour is $2.75 to click it together or $3.75 to glue it down. Then there is the part nobody budgets, which is getting the old floor out and the subfloor flat enough, and that is where a $6.00 floor becomes a $9.00 floor on the invoice.
The numbers
$3.25mid-grade plank, delivered
$2.75labour, click and float
$6.00installed, mid grade, floating
$13,275a 1,200 sq ft main floor, with HST
| Grade | Plank, per sq ft | What you get | Click, installed | Glue-down, installed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Builder | $2.25 | 4 to 5 mm, 6 to 12 mil wear layer, printed pattern that repeats every few planks, no pad. Fine for a rental, a spare room, a flip. | $5.00 | $6.00 |
| Mid | $3.25 | 5 to 6.5 mm SPC or 7 to 8 mm WPC, 12 to 20 mil wear layer, attached pad, embossed-in-register texture. The one to buy for a house you live in. | $6.00 | $7.00 |
| Premium | $4.75 | 20 to 28 mil, wider and longer planks, painted bevels, better pattern variety, rigid core. Looks like wood from standing height. | $7.50 | $8.50 |
Click labour $2.75, glue-down $3.75 including the adhesive. Add 10% waste on the material for a straight lay, 15% for herringbone or diagonal. These are the rates in the flooring cost calculator, which runs every room and the removal in one sheet.
LVP, SPC, WPC: the three letters that matter
LVP is luxury vinyl plank, the whole category. A flexible vinyl plank with a printed layer and a clear wear layer on top. Flexible means it telegraphs every ridge in the subfloor, which is why the old peel-and-stick planks all show the plywood seams after a year.
SPC is stone plastic composite, a rigid core of vinyl loaded with limestone dust. It is dense, thin, hard underfoot, and it does not move much with temperature. It is also the stiffest of the three, so it bridges small subfloor flaws better and dents less under a fridge. Most mid-grade plank sold in Ontario now is SPC.
WPC is wood plastic composite, which has no wood in it; the core is foamed vinyl. Thicker, warmer and quieter under a bare foot, and softer, so a chair leg marks it sooner. WPC was the premium product five years ago and SPC has mostly taken its place because SPC is cheaper to make and ship.
The wear layer is the number on the box that predicts how the floor looks in ten years. It is measured in mils, thousandths of an inch. 6 mil is a closet. 12 mil is a bedroom. 20 mil is a kitchen with a dog. The floor under the printed layer can be anything; once the wear layer is through, you are walking on the picture, and the picture scuffs off.
Click or glue?
A click floor floats. The planks lock to each other and lie loose on the subfloor with a gap at the walls, and the baseboard or quarter-round hides the gap. It goes down fast, it comes up easily, and it is $1.00 a foot cheaper to lay. It is also the floor that gaps, bounces and peaks when the subfloor is not flat or the room is wide, which is a whole page on its own: floating floor problems and repairs.
A glue-down floor is bonded to the subfloor plank by plank. No movement, no hollow sound, no T-moulds across a long room, and a damaged plank can be heated and lifted on its own. It costs $1.00 more in labour, it wants a flatter and cleaner subfloor, and on concrete the slab has to pass a moisture test or the adhesive lets go. I glue down on the heated slabs in the houses I build, because a floating floor over radiant can gap at every seam as it warms, and the manufacturer’s sheet for most click products puts limits on it. Vinyl plank over radiant heat covers that.
Rule of thumb: float it in a bedroom, a basement rec room, a rental. Glue it in a kitchen, a long open main floor, anything over a heated slab, and anywhere a rolling chair or a wheelchair lives.
Two rooms worked through
A 500 sq ft basement rec room, concrete slab, mid SPC, floating. Planks 550 sq ft with 10% waste at $3.25 is $1,787.50. Labour 500 at $2.75 is $1,375. Taped 6-mil poly under it at $0.35 is $175. Three transitions at $35 is $105. Quarter-round, 90 linear feet at $2.00, is $180. Delivery $150. Total $3,772.50 before HST, $4,263 with. That is $7.55 a square foot on the floor, not $6.00, and nothing on the list is optional.
A 1,200 sq ft main floor, occupied house, carpet out, mid SPC floating. Planks 1,320 sq ft at $3.25 is $4,290. Labour 1,200 at $2.75 is $3,300. Carpet and pad out at $0.90 is $1,080. Minor subfloor prep, screw down and sand the ridges, at $0.75 is $900. Baseboard off and back on, 300 linear feet at $2.50, is $750. Six transitions at $35 is $210. Delivery $150. Subtotal $10,680. The house is occupied, so furniture moving and protection adds 10%, $1,068, for $11,748 before HST and $13,275 with. The planks were 37% of it.
If that main floor had old glued-down vinyl or hardwood under the carpet, the removal line goes from $0.90 to $2.00 and a $450 bin shows up. What removal costs by material, including what to do about the black adhesive under 1970s tile.
Where homeowners go wrong
- Buying on the box price. The $1.99 plank at the big box is a 6 mil wear layer with no pad. Over five years it costs more than the $3.25 plank, because you lay it twice.
- Skipping the subfloor line. Every quote that comes in low left out prep. A floating floor on a wavy subfloor is a floor that clicks when you walk on it by Christmas. What levelling costs, and who should pay for it.
- Attached pad plus another pad. One or the other. Two layers of foam under a click floor lets the joints flex and break. The manufacturer’s sheet says which, and it voids the warranty if you do both.
- Laying it over concrete without a moisture test. The plank is waterproof. The subfloor is not. What happens under a waterproof floor on a damp slab.
- Forgetting the doors. A 6 mm plank with pad raises the floor about 1/4 in. over bare subfloor, and every door bottom gets cut at $25 each. Not a large number. Not in the quote either.
Questions people ask
How much does vinyl plank flooring cost installed in Ontario?
About $6.00 a square foot at mid grade for a floating click floor, $7.00 glued down, before removal, prep, trim and HST. Builder grade is $5.00, premium $7.50. A finished room with the extras runs $7.50 to $9.00 a foot.
Is SPC better than LVP?
SPC is a type of LVP with a rigid stone-filled core. It is stiffer, more stable in heat and cold, and harder; flexible LVP is softer and shows the subfloor through it. For most rooms in an Ontario house, mid-grade SPC with a 12 to 20 mil wear layer is the answer.
Is glue-down vinyl plank worth the extra dollar?
In a kitchen, a long open-plan floor, or over a heated slab, yes: no T-moulds, no gapping, no hollow sound, and single planks can be replaced. In a bedroom or a basement rec room a floating floor does the job for less.
How thick should vinyl plank be?
The wear layer matters more than the total thickness. 12 mil for bedrooms and living rooms, 20 mil for kitchens, entries and anywhere with a dog. Total thickness of 5 to 6.5 mm for SPC is normal; thicker WPC feels softer but is not tougher.
How does vinyl plank compare with laminate on price?
Laminate is about $0.50 a square foot cheaper installed at the same grade, $5.50 against $6.00. The difference is water: laminate swells, vinyl does not. Laminate vs vinyl plank goes through it.
Get your own number
The flooring cost calculator takes your rooms, the removal and the prep and prices vinyl plank at these rates, click or glue. If you already have quotes and one of them is suspiciously low, the $99 review reads all three against this price list and tells you what is missing.
Sources and further reading
- Torlys: Canadian maker of engineered, vinyl and laminate floors; the installation and radiant-heat instructions are a good example of what the sheet in the box says.
- Mirage Hardwood Floors: Quebec-made solid and engineered hardwood; their installation guides give the moisture, acclimation and radiant limits in plain numbers.
- Your rights when starting home renovations or repairs: Ontario government: the 10-day cooling-off period, the written contract rule, estimates, and what to do about a contractor who walks.
