How to Design Product Specifications for Luxury Vinyl Floorings?
Why its important to choose the right product specifications for luxury vinyl floorings?
As a product supplier in luxury vinyl floorings, Brands and Private Label have to decide and choose product specifications that is right for their market positioning. As better specifications and standards can greatly increase the overall cost in luxury vinyl tiles. Brands and private labels can choose and implement different levels of product specifications to target different market levels, therefore it is important to understand the different specifications that makes up a vinyl flooring tiles. By understanding these aspects, brands and private labels can better implement its product strategies.
Below, this article explains the make up structure of luxury vinyl tiles and every steps in selecting specifications.
Specification Explained: Structure Make Up of Luxury Vinyl Flooring Tiles
Luxury vinyl flooring is made of multi-layered structures materials. In generally, there are considered 4 or 5 layers in vinyl floorings, each layer material provides different functionality and purpose that make up the overall performance in vinyl flooring tiles and planks. In short, these 5 basic structures is the base elements of product specifications for luxury vinyl floorings.
| Structure | Functional Purpose |
| UV Acrylic Coating | Protect UV damage to vinyl floorings and add extra stain resistant |
| Wear Layer | Protect vinyl floorings against scratches and wear |
| Print or Image Layer | Provide realistic image and appearance of hardwood, stone, or carpet designs |
| Core Layer | Provide stability and support to the vinyl flooring. It is the main layer that structures the whole tile and can be a composite of 100% PVC or composite of PVC with calcium carbonate |
| Underlayment | Provide additional soft form layer to additional support to subfloors. It adds extra-comfort and stability. Underlayment layer is optional. |
Design your own specifications for your brand and product portfolio
Below are steps in designing and selecting your own SPECS (Made to Customized)
- Select Type of Vinyl Floor Core (LVT/SPC)
- Select Print Layer Designs
- Select Installation Method (Glue Down/Loose Lay/Click&Lock/Self-Adhensive)
- Select Pave Style and Decide Tile Dimension Size
- Select Wear Layer Thickness
- Select Core Layer Thickness
- Select Underlayment Thickness (Optional)
1. Select Type of Vinyl Floor Core (LVT/SPC)
The major difference between a Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) and a Stone Plastic Composite (SPC) is its material content within its core layer. The LVT are made of 100% PVC material and are generally semi-rigid and therefore has slightly softer touch and less sound. The SPC are made of composite of PVC material and Calcium Carbonate which not only increases its overall density, but also improve its hardness. SPC is considered a material improvement based on LVTs.
Its worth noting that with the latest development for vinyl free resilient floorings, there are now different base materials can be choose from. The two mainstream trend is in PET polymers and Polypropylene polymers as alternative composite to replace PVC materials.
2. Select Print Layer Designs
Selecting a pattern design for the vinyl flooring is some of the most important step as it determines the style of the collections. Consumers are also affected as the pattern design can generate different atmosphere and impression to the over interior design. There are vast Ready to Launch pattern designs available for brands to quickly establish its vinyl flooring collections, as well as made by exclusivity where a pattern design is generated from scratch by real craftsmanship. The exclusivity made designs are designate to make premium brand positioning. In general, the pattern designs can be categorized into three: Wood Grain Styles, Stone Grain Styles and Carpet Grain Styles.
3. Select Installation Method (Glue Down/Loose Lay/Click&Lock/Self-Adhesive)
There are specific specifications which are offered for different method of flooring installations. Specifically the four most commonly mentioned installation method are Dry Back Glue Down, Loose Lay, Quick Click & Lock and Self-Adhesive installations. Each of these installation method, as it also reflect back to the flooring tiles’ specification, offers different product performance in flooring overtime.
4. Select Pave Style and Decide Tile Dimension Size
5. Select Wear Layers Thickness
Wear Layer is considered the most important factor in determining the use lifetime of vinyl floorings. The wear layer protects the floor in daily wear & tears and keeping the print layer from being damaged. Once the wear layer is worn off and print layer is damaged, the floor will no longer have its best appeals and replacement of tile is required. Therefore, the thicker the wear layer, the longer its lifetime is.
| Thickness Of Wear Layers | Performance Level |
| 6 mil (0.15mm) | Residential use |
| 12 mil (0.30mm) | Residential or light commercial use |
| 20 mil (0.50mm) | Low to medium foot traffic levels |
| 30 mil (0.75mm) | High foot traffic levels or rolled traffic |
| 40 mil (1.00mm) | Heavy-duty commercial use |
6. Select Core Layer Thickness
In general, the thickness of the core layer does not greatly effect the life time of vinyl floorings. However, it is considered that thicker core layer will have greater stability in flooring, particularly with contraction & expansion issue that many other types of floorings have due to change of temperatures.
This is where SPC (Stone Polymer Composite) comes into play, as the next generation of Luxury Vinyl Floorings (LVT). The mix composite of calcium carbonate and PVC has created an innovative material with significantly greater performance in dimensional stability and curling compared to Luxury Vinyl Floorings Tiles (LVT) that is made up of 100% PVC composite. SPC’s dimensional stability performance are also greater when compared with Hardwood, Ply-Woods and Laminate Woods, and therefore a great choice for decorative floating floors. In general, we recommend core layer is at minimum 4 times thicker than the selected wear layer thickness for product stability.
To learn more about thickness of SPC planks, feel free to read “Ultimate Guide to Best Thickness for SPC Plank Product Design” article for more information.
7. Select Underlayment Thickness (Optional)
The underlayment provides an extra comfort and sound reduction to the vinyl tiles. The underlayment material is generally made of foamed EVA or foamed IXPE, and are available in 1.0mm, 1.5mm, and 2.0mm thickness. It is an optional choice to have an added underlayment to vinyl tiles.
Please note, as Underlayment is optional, in semi-rigid vinyl floorings, such as LVT flooring, underlayment is generally not used.
Conclusion
Now that we have covered all the steps in how to select product specifications for luxury vinyl floorings, you are now ready to explore more opportunities in creating your own product portfolio collections in vinyl floorings. Here at Sreelance, we provide total sourcing solutions in luxury vinyl floorings. Our service include due diligence in auditing, tracking and inspecting to ensure best quality delivery and services for Brands and Distributors (Private Labels).
Reach out to our sales team for more information and free samples via Contact Us, or email us at info(at)sreelance.com.
Great services. Ethan really provided professional service. We have received the floorings