We've done hundreds of installations of vinyl plank product over the past couple of years. We don't always sell the product so we install customer purchased product and there have been some amazing products to some that we've actually turned down installing because we wouldn't warranty the product because of the poor locking method. Overall we did a few LifeProof installations and overall that is a fairly decent product. It might be a little overpriced but if you are buying in bulk you would get a discount but at 500 sf you won't be getting it. The locking system is on par with good products and overall I would say it's an okay product to go with. More on reddit.com

Armstrong. I've installed entire houses with it and have never had a call back. More on reddit.com

About a year ago we had this installed in our kitchen and two bathrooms: https://tarketthome.com/Products/Hard-Flooring/Luxury-Sheet/Easy-Living It's been excellent - really soft and padded but still very durable and I love the finish, which is just slightly textured (not rough, but matte so that it's never slippery). It replaced a 36-year-old linoleum sheet floor, and is so much nicer and seems like it will last a really long time. We didn't use big box stores - we went to a local independent carpet & tile store. More on reddit.com

LVP can be laid for about $1.75-$2/sq ft from Lowe's or a local handyman but around $45/sq ft for the areas that need leveled. This means that's areas where there are dips in your floor, they will come and put down a liquid underlayment/cement kinda product on your subfloor to help make your floor flat. Honestly. DIY is the way to go. , First, silicone all the cracks/gaps/holes in your subfloor, then mix up/level your floor with liquid underlayment - make it thin, really thin, kinda like you're making crepes, pour, let it set for 48 hours, then lay a quite sound underlayment or something similar as long as it's not foam, then click in your LVP ( good LVP should be about >$2.40/ sq ft) (3 guidelines on which direction to lay - lay them perpendicular to the front door, lay them on parallel to the longest walls, lay them perpendicular to the windows of your house that provide the most sunlight for aesthetic appeal). It will take time an effort but it's about easy - medium difficulty, and you can buy a better product to save money if you're putting it in yourself Edit: To answer your question more formally. Wing it duddddeee/dudddeeetttteeee. Risk it for the biscuit. If you have questions, feel free to PM me, I'm about to do 1000 sq ft in the upcoming week More on reddit.com