Click floor, real wood or tiles: which floor suits your home?
Three kinds of floor, three ways of living with them. What each one is made of, where it works, and how to choose without a showroom talking you into it.
By the Ajusteur team4 minute read
What is an SPC click floor?
SPC stands for stone plastic composite. The core of each plank is mostly limestone, up to about three quarters of it, bound with PVC and made without foam. That makes the plank dense and stiff. The trade press credits that density with better resistance to dents and knocks than softer cores.
On top of the core sits a printed layer with the wood or stone pattern, under a clear wear layer. So the look is a picture, a very good one, and the surface you walk on is the wear layer. The planks lock together at the edges and float over the floor beneath.
Because the core is rigid, small flaws in the floor beneath do not show through the way they can with a thin, flexible vinyl. That is what lets it go over existing tiles.
Source: Floor Focus: LVT evolution, what are the key differences between WPC and SPC? (December 2017)
What is engineered wood?
Engineered wood is real wood where it counts. A top layer of hardwood, between 2 and 6 mm thick, is bonded to a core of plywood or other wood layers. The board is usually 10 to 20 mm thick in total. What you see and touch is real timber, with real grain.
Because the surface is wood, it can be sanded and recoated when it wears. A vinyl wear layer cannot. The same wood is why it does not belong in wet rooms.
Source: Wood and Beyond: Engineered wood flooring or LVT? No nonsense explanation
Why does real wood care about your cooling?
Wood takes in and gives off moisture with the air around it. Flooring suppliers ask for the room to be kept between 35% and 55% relative humidity for the life of the floor. Below 35%, the top layer can shrink, crack and come away from its core. Too humid, and boards swell and cup.
In a UAE home that means the cooling matters. A room that is cooled all year sits in a steady range. A villa that is shut up for the summer with the cooling off does not. If that is your home, say so at the visit. It may decide the floor for you.
Source: Hurst Hardwoods: Hardwood flooring, moisture control and acclimation guidelines
Where do porcelain and stone tiles win?
In bathrooms, on balconies and anywhere water stands. Tiles are bedded in adhesive and grouted, so they are part of the building once they are down. They are also the longest job of the three: the old floor often comes up first, and adhesive and grout need time before you walk on them.
The three, side by side
One line each on the questions that usually decide it.
Sources: Floor Focus: LVT evolution, what are the key differences between WPC and SPC? (December 2017), Wood and Beyond: Engineered wood flooring or LVT? No nonsense explanation
How to choose in five minutes
Renting, or moving within a few years? A click floor, because it goes over the tiles and comes out again. Want real wood and a home that is cooled all year? Engineered wood in the living room and bedrooms. Bathrooms and balconies? Tiles. Many homes end up with two of the three, and that is fine. A threshold strip joins them.
Then look at samples in your own rooms, in your own light, next to your own furniture. A plank that looks warm in a showroom can look orange at home. That is why we bring the samples to you. See our floors.
Quick questions
Is SPC the same as vinyl or LVT?
It is a kind of vinyl floor with a rigid core. The core is mostly limestone bound with PVC, which makes it stiffer and denser than flexible vinyl planks.
Can engineered wood go in a bathroom?
No. The top layer is real hardwood, and it is not suited to wet rooms. Use tiles there, or a waterproof click floor where we confirm it suits the room.
Can a click floor be sanded like wood?
No. The surface is a wear layer over a printed look. A damaged plank is replaced. Engineered wood can be sanded and recoated.