Construction and Specifications of Luxury Vinyl Planks
Search for the perfect flooring
Many times when people are shopping for products they are not familiar with, the specifications can look a lot like a foreign language; flooring is no exception to this common phenomenon! You walk in Lowe’s or Home Depot and ask the associate where the flooring is, they point you on your way, and from there you figure it out! The poster for the selection you like says Pet Proof & Waterproof Flooring, what more could you want!! Well, you want to know you are getting a quality selection that will hold up over time!
What am I buying?
In order to choose something that will hold up over time, you will need to understand the make up of the product you are choosing. Luxury Vinyl Plank consists of 4 material layers. An attached backing, a core, an image layer, and a wear layer. The backing is typically a foam cushion or cork; the plank will either consist of a stone composite core or a wood composite core; the image is the look of the plank, and the wear layer is what protects your image. Once you understand the 4 layer make up of the plank, you will be able to choose a flooring that can withstand the lifestyle and traffic within your space.
Construction of Luxury Vinyl Plank
Attached Underlayment, Core Structure, Luxury Vinyl Image, Wear Layer
Four Layer Construction
Luxury Vinyl Plank Backing
Attached pad
Before Luxury Vinyl came around, people were prone to use Laminate which required an underlayment to act not only as insulation, but a moisture and sound barrier. At Miller’s Wholesale Flooring we carry LVP with various types of backing already attached to the plank, meaning any underlayment beyond this would be an EXTRA barrier, further protecting your investment. We offer planks with an iXPE, cork, and action back padding. IXPE is a premium acoustical underlayment made up of sound dampening high-performance cross-linked foam with an overlapping film for extra moisture protection at its joints. A premium natural cork backing, found on Coretec products, provides a quieter, warmer, softer floor, which is also mold and mildew resistant. Action back padding offers ridges within the foam backing, providing more stability for the movement across the floor. We have found these 3 types of attached pads to uphold the best over time.
Luxury Vinyl Plank Core
WPC AND SPC
The next layer of your plank will be the core of your board. This is the part that determines the comfortability, and density of your product before the image is added. There are many composite core flooring materials, but LVP options consist of either SPC or WPC. Fun fact: These are trademarked terms, so you will find these specs explained differently throughout different brands, but it all ends up being either a stone or wood compressed core. Wood cores are typically warmer, quieter, and softer; whereas stone cores are more dent resistant and can withstand heavy items and high traffic. Again, all things to take into consideration when choosing the best flooring for your lifestyle!
The look of luxury vinyl plank
the image
The image is what makes the flooring look like wood, without being wood. Companies usually take an image and span it across 60+ square foot in order to print boards that have a cohesive, but non repetitive look. You may find there are some LVP that have textures, knot holes, bevels, and other features that mimic real hardwood. This all falls back to the imaging of the product. At Miller’s Wholesale Flooring we offer a hand full of flooring products that are embossed in register, which is a process that produces textures that follow the pattern of your image, making it not only look, but feel like wood!
what makes it water and pet proof
The wear layer (mil)
Luxury Vinyl Plank Pictured: Authentic Mix
Craftsman Manor x Southwind
The top layer of your plank is the wear layer, aka the MIL. We strongly believe this layer is the most important factor in the specifications for your choice on luxury vinyl! The wear layer can be anywhere from 2mil to 40mil, the higher the better. This is the specification you will want to consider your lifestyle for! If you live alone and have low traffic, you will be okay with a lower MIL, but if you have pets, children, or high traffic areas you are better off going with one of the higher MIL choices. With trial and error over the course of 50 years, we have found that 12 MIL can still withstand pets and high traffic. Miller’s Wholesale Flooring sells only products with a 12 MIL and up due to the quality.
Shop With Confidence
Now that you are knowledgeable on the product you are shopping for, you will be able to find something that not only looks great, but performs as it is marketed, and withstands the test of time!