I. PVC Plastic Flooring: Basic Category Definition
To understand the essence of LVT, SPC, and WPC flooring, we need to start with the earliest PVC flooring. PVC flooring has a wide range of applications, including homes, hospitals, schools, office buildings, factories, supermarkets, and various public places."PVC flooring" refers to flooring made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Its specific production process is as follows: using polyvinyl chloride and its copolymer resin as the core raw materials, adding fillers, plasticizers, stabilizers, colorants and other auxiliary materials, and making it on a sheet continuous substrate through processes such as coating, calendering, extrusion or compression.
"PVC flooring" is a broad term that includes all flooring made primarily of polyvinyl chloride. LVT, SPC, WPC and other new types of flooring are essentially PVC flooring, but they have become their own independent subcategories due to the addition of different auxiliary materials. After years of market testing, the environmental safety of PVC flooring has been fully recognized.
Advantages: Inexpensive, suitable for temporary use such as rental property renovations and simple renovations of old houses; easy to install, some products come with adhesive backing, making installation simple.
Disadvantages: The thickness is usually around 2mm, which is relatively thin and the underfoot feel is not good; if the ground is not flat, it is easy to have a bumpy and uneven surface after installation.
II. LVT Flooring: An Early Representative of Resilient Flooring
LVT flooring is the "predecessor" of SPC flooring. It's a type of flexible, resilient flooring, professionally defined as "semi-rigid sheet plastic flooring," and can even be rolled up for storage. In the early days, LVT flooring was mostly used in commercial projects. It requires a high degree of surface flatness and professional installation. From a cost control perspective, it is more suitable for large-area uniform paving. However, for rental properties or ordinary offices where surface flatness requirements are less stringent, LVT flooring offers both aesthetic appeal and cost-effectiveness, making it a good choice. With the upgrading of materials, LVT flooring is gradually being replaced by SPC and WPC flooring.
Advantages: Economical price, environmentally friendly, wear-resistant and durable, excellent elasticity and impact resistance, while also being waterproof, flame-retardant, moisture-proof, and mildew-proof. Daily maintenance is extremely convenient. Therefore, it is often used in schools, kindergartens, children's playrooms, and other places, and there are also many applications of it in family children's rooms.
Disadvantages: The thickness is usually no more than 5mm, and the texture is relatively thin and soft; when laid over a large area, arching is likely to occur due to the material characteristics.
III. SPC Flooring: A Practical Choice Among Rigid Plastic Flooring Options
SPC flooring is a type of rigid plastic flooring. While it can bend slightly, its bending range is far less than that of LVT flooring. This flooring not only boasts a high-end appearance but also excellent waterproof and moisture-proof performance. Compared to traditional tiles, its installation cost is lower and installation time is shorter. As a type of stone-plastic flooring, it uses a click-lock installation, making replacement extremely convenient. However, care should be taken when moving furniture to avoid dragging and scratching the surface.
SPC flooring is produced using a one-time heat-bonding process, eliminating the need for glue throughout, giving it a significant advantage in environmental friendliness.
Advantages: No formaldehyde, heavy metals, or other harmful substances released; significant waterproof, moisture-proof, insect-proof, and moth-proof effects; excellent fire resistance and sound absorption; not prone to cracking or deformation, and largely unaffected by temperature changes; affordable price and convenient and efficient installation.
Disadvantages: The high density of the material results in a relatively high weight and transportation costs; the thinness requires a certain degree of flatness of the ground to be laid.
IV. Comparison with Wood Flooring and Tiles
Compared with traditional wood flooring, PVC, LVT, and SPC flooring have the biggest advantages of "no formaldehyde release" and "100% waterproof". Wood flooring cannot be completely waterproof—its natural properties make it susceptible to moisture, which may cause rot or discoloration in humid environments. In contrast, these PVC-derived flooring options perfectly avoid this flaw.
When compared to ceramic tiles, their core advantage lies in "easy maintenance." Once ceramic tiles are damaged, they cannot be repaired. Additionally, due to production batch differences, each batch of tiles may have color variations—even if a damaged tile is removed and replaced, the new tile will inevitably have a different color if it is not from the same batch.
Post time: Dec-13-2025
