What are the differences between SPC and WPC vinyl flooring?
What is SPC Flooring?
SPC: stands for stone powder composite and is 70% stone powder and 30% PVC. PVC or polyvinyl chloride is a solid plastic made from vinyl chloride. The core itself consists of natural limestone powder, polyvinyl chloride, and stabilizers.
What is WPC Flooring?
WPC: This type of flooring stands for wood plastic composite, its core is made of plastic composites and recycled wood, both of these core layers are waterproof.
Both of these flooring types have the same makeup of layers.
Wear layer: This layer is at the top, transparent and thin and resistant to scratches and stains.
Vinyl layer: This is the next layer that you would be able to see because of the printed flooring pattern and color, the layer is strong and durable.
Core layer: This is basically the part that makes a WPC and SPC floor waterproof with either the WPC core or an SPC core like explained above.
Underlayment: EVA
Differences: WPC floors are going to have a thicker core compared to an SPC floor, meaning that generally, the plank thickness for WPC would look like 5.5 millimeters to 8 millimeters and SPC planks between 3.2 and 7 millimeters. WPC vinyl will also have a better feeling under your foot because it has a thicker core compared to SPC floor. The thickness keeps the floors warmer since it helps provide insulation. Sound insulation is beneficial with WPC floors for the same reason of the thickness, helping it absorb the sound. Although WPC vinyl has its benefits, so does SPC. As far as durability goes, SPC floors would be the upperhand in this one, the floor may not be as thick but it sure is a more durable product because it is much denser than WPC would be, making it more resistant to the impact of heavyweight. It is because of that denser core that SPC is more resistant to contracting and expanding than WPC floors would be. This tends to happen in extreme temperature changes, but both can be installed in any room with moisture exposure and temperature fluctuations. The price is something else you could consider with SPC flooring since it is a more affordable product other than being superior in performance.
Similarities: Both have a waterproof core, helping the floor prevent warping when exposed to moisture. Both of these could be used in areas such as kitchens, laundry rooms, basements, bathrooms where other moisture sensitive flooring types like hardwood are not recommended to be used. They can both hold up well to high traffic areas of the home with resistance to scratches and stains. Easy to install either one on just about any type of subfloor or existing floors. Since planks easily attach to one another, you won’t have to go through dealing with messy glues. They have a huge similarity in style options since the design is basically printed onto the top layer. You can get anything that looks similar to hardwood, stone, and tile because of the printing that is done on it.