4 Major Difference between LVT & SPC Flooring Planks
Luxury Vinyl floorings has been a popular floor covering products that is applied in both commercial and residential spaces. It is well accepted by the market and as it has a significant cost advantage compared to hardwood floorings, the market has been expanding rapidly over the global market.
However, as the luxury vinyl flooring continues to innovate with newer materials being applied, there are now various of types of vinyl floorings available for consumers to choose from. Two of the flooring products under the vinyl tile flooring category is Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) and Strong Plastic Composite tiles (SPC), where one is semi-rigid and the other in rigid core respectively.
Consumers are very often not aware of the difference between LVT & SPC Flooring Planks. Therefore in this article we look at the fundamental difference between LVT and SPC floorings, and how this difference could influence consumer decisions in purchasing.
LVT & SPC Flooring Planks’ Structure Make Up.
Before we get into the difference between LVT and SPC flooring planks, it is worth noting that even through the two products are uniquely different, it has very similar structure make up, hence both are categorized under resilient vinyl floorings. In resilient vinyl floorings, the flooring is generally made of PVC materials with hybrid layer structure to provide functional performance that is intended for the use as floating floorings. LVT and SPC tiles are also structurally the same where both type of floorings has a top wear layer, a decorative print layer, a base core layer and an underlayment.
1. Material Difference Between LVT & SPC Flooring Planks
Both the LVT & SPC flooring planks are made of Polyvinyl Chloride PVC plastics. Though, the major difference between the two types of resilient floorings is that LVT has higher ratio of PVC content allowing it to have a semi-rigid hardness, where as in SPC, it has much lower PVC content and higher calcium carbonate proportions to make it rigid core.
SPC floorings benefited from having improved hardness but also making it more brittle where as LVT being a semi-rigid form has better ductility. There is no definite answer to say which flooring planks works and perform better as LVT is considered more comfortable to walk on, and is able to bear more weights while SPC has improved indentation performance.
From our experience in supplying resilient vinyl floorings, we have found that for commercial grade applications, brands and flooring distributors are more likely to choose semi-rigid LVT, where for residential applications rigid core SPC are more preferred.
2. Density Difference Between LVT & SPC Flooring Planks
As vinyl floorings can have different formulated composite of PVC, the densities in different vinyl floorings are in fact variant even in the same manufacturing. In general, rigid core SPC would have higher density compare to LVT as it has higher contain in calcium carbonate. The weight difference between LVT & SPC flooring planks can be as much as almost 30% difference depending on the formulated composite of LVT & SPC, though it general the industry has considered a 10% weight difference when comparing quality performance LVT & SPC flooring planks. (No super cheap knock offs).
While the flooring planks’ density would not have a significant impact to consumers once floorings are installed, flooring importers are affected by as the weight difference means importers able to load more if the flooring has lower density weight when importing floorings from China. As LVT are approximately 10% lighter than SPC, importers can load 10% more LVT floorings. This is also another reason why in construction projects, semi-rigid LVT is generally more preferred over SPC.
3. Structural Difference Between LVT & SPC Flooring Planks
In our previous paragraph about the similarities between LVT & SPC structure make up, we have explained that both type of vinyl flooring tiles has multiple layers (hybrid layers) each provide different functionality to the overall performance of the tiles. The major core difference is in the base layer material where LVT is a more semi-rigid with higher contain in PVC polymers while SPC has a more rigid core property with higher contain in calcium carbonate. PVC polymers are more vulnerable to expansion and contraction from temperature change compared to calcium carbonate materials, therefore SPC naturally has better dimensional stability performance compared to LVT planks.
The expansion and contraction issue is especially obvious for thin LVT that is under 2.5mm total thickness, therefore some brands will choose to add another layer, normally fiberglass layer, into the vinyl tiles to reinforce and improve its dimensional stability. This type of design is generally not seen in SPC vinyl planks as calcium carbonate already has excellent dimensional stability even in high temperature fluctuations.
4. Material Cost Difference Between LVT & SPC Flooring Planks
PVC polymers are more costly compared to calcium carbonate, therefore higher contain in calcium carbonate means the cost of vinyl planks are reduced. Under the same product specifications (Core thickness, Wearlayer Thickness, Underlayment Thickness and Other features), SPC vinyl planks will have lower cost and price to LVT vinyl planks.
Conclusion for Importers & Flooring Brands & Distributors
It is important for flooring importing businesses to understand the products they are purchasing from inside out. This means a qualified sourcing manager would have proficient understanding from Material performance, vinyl flooring’s construction, and cost all associated with.
It is worth noting that due to the difference flooring performance, installation method and costs, different type of consumers (whether in commercials or residentials) will have various preferences over their vinyl flooring product choice. Therefore it is important to know what market and type of customers you are facing to determine what type of vinyl floorings and what product specifications are best for your business.
Conclusion for Importers & Flooring Brands & Distributors
It is important for flooring importing businesses to understand the products they are purchasing from inside out. This means a qualified sourcing manager would have proficient understanding from Material performance, vinyl flooring’s construction, and cost all associated with.
It is worth noting that due to the difference flooring performance, installation method and costs, different type of consumers (whether in commercials or residentials) will have various preferences over their vinyl flooring product choice. Therefore it is important to know what market and type of customers you are facing to determine what type of vinyl floorings and what product specifications are best for your business.
Buy Vinyl Floorings from China
Now that we understand the 4 major difference between LVT and SPC, your businesses might be considering buying resilient vinyl floorings directly from China to improve business competitiveness in your market. Buying vinyl floorings directly from China has 3 major advantages, for one it improves your cost of goods inventory, second it improve your product offerings as you have wider access to different designs directly from manufacturers, last but not least, your flooring business can better establish product brands to support expanding in different sales channel and business models.
To learn more about how our Sreelance Team can support your business, please feel free to reach out to us at info ( at ) sreelance.com or leave us a message at Contact Us.
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