Arlington's housing stock and what it means for lvp
Arlington's three housing types each have a different LVP angle. The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor has 200+ condo buildings with concrete slabs, where floating LVP install is fast and clean. South Arlington and central Arlington have hundreds of garden apartments and condos (Buckingham, Fairlington, Columbia Forest) where LVP is now the standard replacement for old vinyl sheet flooring and worn carpet. Single-family homes in Lyon Village, Cherrydale, and Ashton Heights use LVP in basements, kitchens, and mudrooms where moisture and traffic are issues. Rental properties — and Arlington has a heavy rental market — convert to LVP for the 10-15 year wear life and easy cleaning.
How we approach lvp installs in Arlington
For Rosslyn-Ballston corridor high-rises we use IIC-66 or IIC-71 rated LVP (depending on the building's requirement) with attached cork or foam underlayment. Floating install over the slab with full perimeter expansion gap. For Pentagon City and Crystal City mid-rises we use the same approach with 6-7mm planks rated for high-traffic residential. For single-family home basements (Bluemont, Westover, Madison Manor) we use 8mm waterproof LVP with a 6-mil vapor barrier over the slab. For kitchens and mudrooms in Lyon Village or Ashton Heights we use commercial 20-mil wear-layer LVP that handles dropped pans and wet boots without scratching.
LVP pricing for Arlington homes
Arlington LVP install is $5.50/sqft all-in. A 400 sqft Ballston condo runs $2,200. A 750 sqft Pentagon City unit runs $4,125. A 1,200 sqft Lyon Village basement runs $6,600. Some Arlington high-rise concrete slabs need leveling compound before install (we use a 10-foot straightedge to check during measurement). Leveling work is $1-2/sqft additional depending on severity. We never charge separately for moisture-barrier underlayment, expansion gap trim, or transitions.
A recent Arlington lvp job
Last quarter: 680 sqft Crystal City high-rise condo (the building required IIC-71). Concrete slab had a 3/8-inch low spot near the sliding door we discovered during measurement. We applied self-leveling compound, let it cure 24 hours, then installed 7mm LVP with IIC-71 cork underlayment in a single day after that. Total: $3,740 LVP install plus $480 for leveling. Homeowner had been quoted $5,900 by a competitor that didn't catch the slab issue and would have had install problems later.