Luxury Vinyl Flooring is increasingly recommended by interior experts. Robust, warm, versatile, and reliable, it is a popular and affordable choice for an array of spaces and environments. Being the fastest growing segment in the flooring market, homeowners and professional designers alike are recognising its vast benefits.
However, there are a lot of different variants and categories of engineered vinyl flooring and here we will explain all the jargon and what it means, to make it easier for you to choose the product that is right for your project.
What is Luxury Vinyl Flooring?
You’ve heard of vinyl flooring, sure. But what’s luxury vinyl flooring? It has a different composition entirely to traditional vinyl flooring, with a multi-layer structure creating planks and tiles, much more similar to laminate flooring but with greater advantages. Traditional or standard vinyl flooring is also known as sheet vinyl. It is quite literally a roll of vinyl flooring – this might even be what you think of when you hear the words ‘vinyl flooring’.
The multiple layers of luxury vinyl flooring offer a wide range of benefits over cheaper sheet vinyl. Depending on the product, the composition can be anything between 4 and 8 layers of different materials. The boards range from 2mm – 5mm in depth, making luxury vinyl flooring on average 5 times thicker than standard vinyl flooring and this naturally adds more durability and comfort underfoot.
In addition, under a robust, clear wear layer is a photographic layer and this is what gives the flooring a realistic wood, tile, or stone appearance, plus the breadth of colour choice available.
Although luxury vinyl flooring is considered excellent for use in areas subject to water spillage, it is important to bear in mind that, the more expensive the flooring, the more waterproof it is. The cheaper the flooring the more likely it is to be more water resistant than waterproof.
LVP
LVP stands for Luxury Vinyl Plank. With a wide range of finishes and colours available on the market, LVP flooring is an excellent cost-efficient alternative to real wood with all the benefits of vinyl flooring. It is normally glue down installation which can be time consuming for both preparation and fitting.
LVT
LVT is essentially the same as LVP but stands for Luxury Vinyl Tile. Realistically imitating stone and tile designs and waterproof, LVT flooring is a great alternative to colder, harder ceramic or other tiles floors, making it a popular choice for rooms with likely spillages or increased humidity, such as bathrooms, kitchens and conservatories.
EVP
EVP stands for Engineered Vinyl Plank. This is a great option if you want something very closer to hardwood in terms of look and feel. It is 100% waterproof and very durable as it has a strong core of high density fibreboard as part of its multi-layered construction.
With similar click lock installation to laminate flooring, EVP flooring’s installation is even easier than other luxury vinyl flooring variants.
SPC
SPC stands for Stone Plastic Composite. SPC vinyl flooring has added limestone and stabilisers in its core layers, SPC flooring offers great levels of stability and strength. This is the ideal choice for high traffic areas, especially with heavy furniture or lots of movement in commercial or residential environments. SPC flooring withstands extreme temperature conditions making it the faultless option for all types of underfloor heating.
WPC
Similar to SPC, WPC engineered vinyl flooring has a wood plastic core, which is a lighter material than the SPC core overall. Still offering a high protection against spills and extremely robust, WPC flooring tends to have a greater number of layers than SPC and is considered a premium option.
If you are looking for premium quality luxury vinyl flooring, then check out our collection of Pro-Tek engineered vinyl flooring, a premium EVP collection including both WPC and SPC vinyl flooring. 100% waterproof, there are 48 different types of finishes, styles and colours to choose from, plus a full range of matching, high quality flooring accessories to complete any project.
To find out more please call 020 3697 6812 , or email info@onestepbeyondflooring.co.uk.
