Waterproof LVP and matching stair treads in a Glenside basement

The basement had carpet over a slab, and water had gotten into it. By the time we were called the drying was done, but the bottom of the wall framing and the drywall above it had to come out before anything else could happen.

That's where a lot of basements stall. One company handles the water, another quotes the floor, and the homeowner ends up coordinating between them while four hundred square feet sits unusable. We did all of it — framing, drywall, floor and stairs — as one job.

The carpet came out first, then the damaged framing and drywall. With the structure back and the walls finished, we moved to the floor. Waterproof luxury vinyl plank was the obvious call: it's a below-grade room that has already been wet once, and LVP handles the moisture a slab produces without cupping or gapping the way wood would.

The stairs weren't in the original scope. They were carpeted, and once the basement floor was down they were going to be the first thing you saw and the only thing that didn't match. We priced vinyl stair treads in the same plank as an option and the homeowners took it. It's the kind of upgrade that's cheap while a crew is already on site and expensive to come back for.

Four hundred square feet is a small room, and small rooms are where the transitions show. The plank runs continuously to the stair nosing and the treads carry the same color and grain up to the first floor, so the two read as one surface rather than two decisions.