Provenza describes its click vinyl as designed for a floating installation, and its own removal instructions start with separating an entire row by carefully lifting it up and releasing it. That is why a floor built this way can sometimes be taken up and used again. Whether you can reuse vinyl plank flooring after a leak, a subfloor repair or a move to another room still comes down to three things: the state of the locking lips, the pad on the back of each plank, and how long the floor sat in water. Here is how to judge it, how to work the joints, and what a relay costs against a new floor, using current prices from our vinyl flooring collection.
Quick answer: which click floors can be lifted and relaid
- Floating click vinyl (SPC or LVP): possible, but the maker does not promise it. Allure states that click lock vinyl planks and tiles are not designed to be installed and taken apart multiple times, and that a disassembly costs the locking joints some connective strength.
- Click laminate: the same joint and often better odds. Krono Original's click laminate instructions describe a floor sealed with Clickguard as one that can be removed later and newly installed.
- Glue-down, nailed or stapled floors: we treat these as a tear-out rather than a relay. Nailed hardwood and engineered floors have their own removal rate, and glued floors are priced after we see the floor.
- A floor that has been under water: plan on replacing the wet zone, not relaying it.
- Attached pad: looked at plank by plank as the floor comes up.
Relaying is charged as the removal rate plus the installation rate for that floor type. There is no separate relay price, and nothing to pay for the planks you already own.
How the joint releases, and why the angle matters
Click joints release the way they locked, with an angled lift rather than a straight pull. EGGER's laminate guide says to use a pry bar to lift the first plank at an angle to disconnect it from neighbouring planks, then pull it up and away and set it aside. Provenza's vinyl guide goes row by row, lifting the short ends upward, and warns that folding a plank up damages its locking profile. The same logic applies when you lift a floor: release the row as a unit, at an angle, instead of dragging planks apart flat.
Vinyl plank: what usually survives a lift
When a plank comes up, the locking edge decides what happens next: a clean lip and a flat board can go back down, while a chipped lip or a bent core turns that plank into a spare. The 6mm Riche Dusk Greige Oak also carries an IXPE pad bonded to the back, and that pad is the part no photograph can settle. It is checked as the planks come up, and anything compressed or torn is replaced. If planks are lifting on their own, that is a different problem, and our guide to why vinyl floors lift covers the causes.
Laminate: better odds when the floor stayed dry
The two laminate planks in the price table below are click-lock, and a dry floor is the better candidate for a lift. The limit is water: Krono Original states that its laminate is not suitable for wet rooms such as a bath or sauna, so a floor that has been sitting under a leak is judged plank by plank, with the wet zone replaced and the dry boards further away often saved.
How to lift click planks without breaking the locks
- Clear the edges: take off baseboards or quarter round and the transition strips at doorways so the floor can lift.
- Start where the installation finished, usually the last row laid, and work backward.
- Get a pry bar under the first plank at an angle and release the whole row at once.
- Open the short ends by lifting them upward rather than folding a plank over its face.
- Label each row and position with painter's tape, or photograph the layout before the first plank moves.
- Stack the boards flat and in order, away from direct sun.
- Sort the planks as they come up: chipped lips, crushed corners and bowed boards go to the spare pile.
- Fix the reason for the lift while the floor is open, and check the subfloor is flat and dry before anything goes back down.
Putting a click floor back follows a normal installation: first row against a straight wall, the same stagger as before where the planks allow it, and each row checked for a tight seam before the next one goes on.
What the planks cost if the old floor does not survive
If the lift finds more damage than the floor is worth, these are four click floors we stock, priced per box and per square foot:
| Floor | Box price | Coverage per box | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riche Dusk Greige Oak SPC, 6mm | $44.68 | 23.64 sq ft | $1.89 |
| Riche Heavy-Duty SPC, 8mm | $37.24 | 16.55 sq ft | $2.25 |
| Sunshiny SL588 laminate, 15mm | $18.25 | 13.75 sq ft | $1.33 |
| Krono K6775 laminate, 12mm | $32.53 | 13.61 sq ft | $2.39 |
Prices checked October 23, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue, and price per square foot is the box price divided by the coverage.
The arithmetic is simple. A 23.64 sq ft box of the 6mm SPC is $44.68, which works out to $1.89 per sq ft: 44.68 divided by 23.64 sq ft. A 13.61 sq ft box of the 12mm Krono is $32.53, or $2.39 per sq ft. Coverage matters as much as the box price, which is why a $44.68 box is still the cheaper floor per square foot than a $37.24 box. Our guide to how many square feet are in a box walks through the box sizes by product line.
Relay or replace: a 400 sq ft comparison with HST
Take a 400 sq ft room in a house with an old click floor coming out either way. These steps match how we build a quote. Delivery is charged only when new material comes to the house; baseboard and trim sit outside these totals and are priced separately:
- Waste: 400 sq ft plus 5% gives 420 sq ft of material and labour.
- Boxes: 420 sq ft divided by 23.64 sq ft per box rounds up to 18 boxes of the 6mm SPC; the 15mm laminate needs 31 boxes at 13.75 sq ft each.
- Material: 18 boxes x $44.68 = $804.24, or 31 boxes x $18.25 = $565.75. Relaying the old floor means no material line.
- Underlayment: the SPC has its pad attached, so nothing extra; the laminate takes 3 rolls at $50.00 each.
- Installation labour: 420 sq ft x $1.50 per sq ft = $630.00. That is the 301 sq ft and up rate; a smaller room is priced after viewing.
- Removal: 400 sq ft x $1.30 per sq ft = $520.00, with no waste added.
- Delivery of new material: $150.00 flat for an M postal code, or $200.00 for an L postal code. A relay of your own floor has no delivery charge.
- HST at 13% on the subtotal, then the total.
| Line | Relay the existing floor | New 6mm SPC | New 15mm laminate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Removal (400 sq ft) | $520.00 | $520.00 | $520.00 |
| Material | None | $804.24 | $565.75 |
| Underlayment | None | $0.00 | $150.00 |
| Installation labour (420 sq ft) | $630.00 | $630.00 | $630.00 |
| Delivery | None | $150.00 | $150.00 |
| Subtotal | $1,150.00 | $2,104.24 | $2,015.75 |
| HST (13%) | $149.50 | $273.55 | $262.05 |
| Total | $1,299.50 | $2,377.79 | $2,277.80 |
Relaying the floor you own comes to $1,299.50 for 400 sq ft in a house, about $3.25 per sq ft with HST in. The new 6mm SPC lands at $2,377.79, which is $1,078.29 more, and the new 15mm laminate at $2,277.80, or $978.30 more. Both replacements carry the same removal and labour as the relay, so the difference is the material, the delivery and, for the laminate, the underlay. Where the old floor gives up most of its planks, that gap shrinks quickly.
Condo versus house: same job, different rates
The figures above use house rates. A condo relay on the same 400 sq ft is priced at $1.60 per sq ft for removal and $2.00 per sq ft for installation, so removal becomes $640.00 and labour $840.00. A relay has no delivery charge, so the subtotal is $1,480.00, HST $192.40, and the total $1,672.40, or $372.90 more than the house figure. Check your building's own rules on access and work hours before the job is booked.
When to stop lifting and plan a replacement
Some floors tell you early that a relay is the wrong spend:
- Water: the wet zone is replaced, and the boards around it are judged once they are up.
- Adhesive or fasteners: a glued or nailed floor is a tear-out for us, not a lift.
- Widespread lip damage: once a large share of planks has chipped locks, chasing replacements costs more than a new box lot.
- A different room or layout: planks cut for the old perimeter will not fit a new one, so some new material is needed even when the old floor is sound.
- A compressed pad: a pad that has flattened or torn is not something we would lay a floor back over.
If two or more of those apply, price a replacement before you spend a day on the lift. Our old flooring removal costs by floor type explains how tear-out is priced when the old floor is scrap, and flooring installation costs in Toronto covers the rest of the budget, including what changes from room to room.
Questions about reusing click vinyl and laminate floors
Can you reuse vinyl plank flooring after taking it up?
Often some of it, rarely all of it. A floating click floor can go back down when the locking lips and the pad are intact, but click vinyl is not rated for repeat disassembly, so plan on losing a few planks and keep the spares from the original order.
How many times can click lock flooring be reused?
Allure's guidance points the answer: the joints lose strength each time a floor is taken apart, so one careful lift and relay is realistic while a second one is a gamble.
Can laminate flooring be removed and reinstalled after water damage?
Not in the area that got wet. Krono Original's laminate is not suitable for wet rooms, so the affected boards are replaced, while boards that stayed dry can be lifted, checked and reused.
How do you lift vinyl plank flooring for reuse?
Work backward from the final row, release each row as a unit at an angle, and separate the short ends by lifting each one upward. Tape a row number on every piece before it leaves the floor; matching them up later is what takes the time.
Is it cheaper to relay the old floor or buy new planks?
A relay is cheaper, because the planks are already paid for: the house example comes to $1,299.50 with HST, while the same room in a new laminate floor reaches $2,277.80. If many planks are damaged, the material you have to buy closes that gap.
Get a click-floor relay or replacement quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send your measurements and a few photos, including a close-up of a joint and the edge at a doorway, and we will tell you whether a lift is worth trying, then price the relay and the replacement so you can compare them. You can request a quote or bring a loose plank to the showroom and we will look at the locking edge with you.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819