The Many Faces of Vinyl Flooring (aka resilient, linoleum)
Vinyl flooring remains one of the top choices for home and business owners today. While the benefits have remained consistent, its composition and construction continue to evolve, making it one of the most popular and versatile product categories in the floor covering industry. Also referred to as, “resilient” flooring, the vinyl category can be separated into three major categories: Sheet Vinyl, Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) and Engineered Vinyl Click (EVC).
(for both Standard and Luxury flooring)
Plank Vinyl Flooring was developed to give your floors the appearance of authentic wood floors without the hefty price tag. Vinyl planks also provide more stain-resistance and durability than traditional hardwood planks.
Tile Vinyl Flooring consists of individual squares of various size that, when assembled, give the appearance of stone tile. One of the many benefits of individual tiles is that they’re easier to replace when one is damaged. It also allows for pattern arrangements.
Vinyl Sheet Flooring is a single roll of flooring about 6 to 12 feet wide. Vinyl sheets minimize the number of seams and is great for high-moisture areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens. Engineered Vinyl Click (EVP) burst onto the scene in 2012 and has been the fastest growing product category in the flooring industry. EVP is waterproof, durable and quiet. Beginning with WPC (Wood Plastic Composite), also known as, Waterproof Core, the category has already evolved with the development of SPC (Stone Polymer Core), also referred to as Rigid Core.
WPC Vinyl
Wood Plastic Composite, also known as wood plastic core or waterproof core.
Performance Wear Layer: a high-density layer engineered to withstand and protect against everyday wear and tear, adding more durability and resistance to high-traffic spaces. A urethane finish is added to the surface, ensuring the floor retains its aesthetic and is standard with most luxury vinyl products.
Decorative Film Layer: a decorative film with realistic, high resolution reproduction of wood and tile visuals.
Core Layer: for WPC, this layer consists of polyvinyl chloride, calcium carbonate, plasticizers and a foaming agent. WPC is softer, quieter and more flexible than SPC.
Locking System: allows float installation to go over subfloors with minimal float preparation.
Backing Layer: a layer that typically provides additional protection and durability. Similar to the core layer, with many options available for vinyl products.
SPC Vinyl
Stone Polymer Core, also referred to as SPC and Rigid Core.
Performance Wear Layer: a high-density layer engineered to withstand and protect against everyday wear and tear, adding more durability and resistance to high-traffic spaces. A urethane finish is added to the surface, ensuring the floor retains its aesthetic and is standard with most luxury vinyl products.
Decorative Film Layer: a decorative film with realistic, high resolution reproduction of wood and tile visuals.
Core Layer: SPC removes the plasticizers and foaming agent, while adding limestone content, thus creating a core that is more dense and dimensionally stable than WPC. This allows the product to span long distances without transitions and withstand vast changes in temperature.
Backing Layer: a layer that typically provides additional protection and durability. Similar to the core layer, with many options available for vinyl products. Some offer cushion that lowers ambient noise, and assist with minor subfloor irregularities.
The Long Evolution
There was little interest in resilient materials like rubber in the 1800’s. However, in 1845, linoleum was invented and grew in popularity by the end of the century.
