Ask the Builder: Save Thousands of Dollars by Installing Luxury Vinyl Plank

The LVP is so easy to install that the instructions can be followed by a child in middle school.

The staggered pieces of LVP will be snapped into position in less than 30 seconds per piece. If you can fog a mirror, you can install LVP. Tim Carter/Tribune Content Agency

I found myself driving through the breathtaking sheer granite walls of Franconia Notch in New Hampshire last Sunday. Cannon Mountain was on my left, and Mt. Lafayette was on my right. I was on my way to the quaint community of Sugar Hill to conduct an in-person consultation for a single mother.

The young woman was considering purchasing a house owned by two of her aunts. My job was to develop a list of must-do and should-do projects. I was then tasked with determining the labor and material costs required to complete each item on the two lists.