Luxury Vinyl Plank for Kitchens: Wear Layers, Cores and What to Look For

Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) covers a wide span of products that look alike in a showroom and behave very differently on a kitchen floor. The printed wood image tells you nothing about how the plank is built. The spec sheet does. This page explains what to read on it. For how vinyl compares with wood and tile, see hardwood versus LVP versus tile.

How a plank is built

From the top down, a typical plank has:

1. A surface coating, usually a urethane cured at the factory, sometimes with ceramic or mineral particles for scuff resistance.
2. The wear layer, a clear vinyl film that takes the traffic.
3. The decor layer, a printed image of wood or stone.
4. The core, which gives the plank its stiffness and is the main difference between product types.
5. A backing or attached pad, on many rigid products.

SPC, WPC and flexible LVP compared

The Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) and its certifier describe rigid core flooring as a multi-layer product with a polymeric core. In an SPC (solid polymer core, often called stone plastic composite) plank the core has no intentional cellular structure. In a WPC plank the core is deliberately foamed.

The wear layer

Wear layer thickness is stated in mils. A mil is one thousandth of an inch, and it is not a millimeter, which is roughly forty times larger. A thicker wear layer gives more material to wear through before the printed image is reached, and manufacturers generally reserve their thickest wear layers for products rated for commercial use.

We have not found a single authoritative residential minimum to quote, so compare products on three things instead: the wear layer in mils, whether the product carries a commercial or only a residential rating, and what the surface coating is. The coating does much of the work against scuffs, and the wear layer does the work against years of grit. The industry specification for rigid core flooring, ASTM F3261, covers wear layer thickness among its tested characteristics, so a product certified to it has had that figure checked by someone other than the seller.

Click-together versus glue-down

Floating, click-together

Planks lock to each other and lie on the subfloor without being fastened to it. Installation is fast and the floor can go over many existing surfaces. A floating floor has to be free to expand and contract, which sets three rules in a kitchen:

• It is installed after the base cabinets and island, up to the toe kick, not under them.
• A gap is left at walls and fixed objects and covered by baseboard or trim.
• Long runs through several rooms may need a transition strip, according to the maker's limits.

Glue-down

Planks are bonded to the subfloor with adhesive. The floor cannot shift, it handles rolling loads and heavy furniture well, and single planks can be cut out and replaced. It can run under cabinets. The price is preparation: every ridge, seam and fastener head in the subfloor will show, so the surface is skim-coated smooth first.

Because the two methods fall on opposite sides of the cabinet installation, the choice affects the construction schedule. The sequence is explained in the overview of kitchen flooring options.

Subfloor flatness

Flat is not the same as level. A floor can slope and still be flat. Vinyl needs flat. On a floor with humps and dips, floating planks rock, the locking joints flex with every step, and in time they break or separate. Each maker publishes a flatness tolerance in its installation instructions, and warranties depend on it.

In practice that means checking the floor with a long straightedge, grinding or sanding high spots, filling low ones with a patching or leveling compound, and refastening loose panels. On a concrete slab, it also means testing for moisture and using the barrier the maker calls for. This preparation is often a larger share of the job than laying the planks.

Sunlight and heat

Vinyl expands when it warms and can soften at high temperatures. The problem areas in a kitchen are a patio door or large south or west window with sun falling directly on the floor, and the floor beside a range or in front of an oven vent. Symptoms are planks that peak or lift at the joints, gaps that open in cool weather, and fading in the sunlit patch.

What helps: an SPC or glued-down product in sunny rooms, the full expansion gap at the perimeter, window coverings or low-e glass on hard-hit openings, and following the maker's stated temperature range, including during installation. If you plan floor warming, the vinyl maker's maximum surface temperature governs. That is covered in heated kitchen floors.

Indoor air certifications

New flooring can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Two third-party marks are worth looking for on vinyl:

• FloorScore. An indoor air quality certification for hard surface flooring developed with the RFCI. According to the RFCI, earning it requires testing that shows compliance with emission limits for listed VOCs under California Section 01350, on-site audits of the factory, annual re-testing and a documented quality control plan. The RFCI notes that the certification does not cover the installation process, so the adhesive is a separate question.
• ASSURE Certified. An RFCI program specifically for WPC and SPC rigid core flooring. Its requirements include indoor air testing to the California Department of Public Health Standard Method v1.2, performance testing to ASTM F3261, limits on lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium, and a limit on ortho-phthalates of no more than 1,000 parts per million.

Both are verified by an independent certifier, and current certificates can be looked up by product. For glue-down floors, ask which adhesive will be used and whether it carries a low-emission certification as well.

What "waterproof" does and does not mean

It means the plank will not swell, warp or delaminate from contact with water. That is a real advantage over wood and laminate. It does not mean:

• The floor is sealed. Click joints are tight, not watertight. A leak can pass through joints and around the edges.
• The subfloor is protected. Water trapped between vinyl and plywood dries very slowly. The subfloor can swell, grow mold or rot under a floor that looks perfect.
• Leaks are covered. Read the warranty. Most cover the plank against water damage from above, not damage to the structure or problems from moisture coming up through a slab.

The sensible response is the same as for any floor: a leak sensor under the sink and by the dishwasher, good supply lines, and silicone at the perimeter where the maker allows it in wet-prone spots. The plumbing side is in kitchen sinks, faucets and plumbing.

What to check before you buy

• Core type: SPC, WPC or flexible.
• Wear layer in mils, and whether the rating is residential or commercial.
• Surface coating, and whether the texture is embossed to follow the printed grain.
• Number of distinct plank images in the pattern, so repeats are not obvious. Lay out a box before you decide.
• Installation method allowed, and whether the pad is attached.
• Subfloor flatness and moisture requirements in the installation instructions.
• Temperature limits, sunlight guidance and whether floor heat is allowed.
• FloorScore or ASSURE Certified status, checked against the certifier's listing.
• What the warranty excludes.
• Enough spare planks from the same lot for future repairs.

Who should choose which

• Most kitchens on a sound, flat subfloor: SPC click-together, installed after cabinets.
• A kitchen with a sunny patio door: SPC, or glue-down flexible LVP.
• You want the softest, quietest floor and the room stays shaded: WPC.
• Rolling loads, a wheelchair, or you want the floor under the cabinets: glue-down, with the subfloor preparation it requires.
• A rental or a quick refresh: a mid-range SPC, with spare planks kept on site.
• You want a floor that can be refinished or that adds the character of real wood: not vinyl. See hardwood floors in the kitchen.

JDI Construction checks the subfloor before recommending a flooring type, and puts the product, installation method and preparation in the written scope. To plan a kitchen floor as part of a remodel, see our Vancouver kitchen remodeling page.