Do a proper waterproofing membrane and tile if you want an actually waterproof floor. Not a marketing hype fake waterproof that allows liquids between the individual pieces.

Vinyl is PVC...PVC is vinyl. That means you need to stay away from vinyl of ANY sort if you want to stay away from vinyl.

There is an entire thread dedicated to the HORRORS of Inhaus Sono. It appears there are DOZENS of Houzzers who have had to deal with this brand...and all of them needed full refunds because of the issues with Inhaus. Go ahead and plug in the word Inhaus into the Houzz search bar. You should come up with SEVERAL threads complaining about this product.

If you must have water proof without PVCs you are looking at tile, stone, concrete, epoxy or sheet linoleum (marmoleum).

The vast majority of these 'water proof' floating floors have PVC (aka vinyl) in their profiles.

thank you for your response. so why do people opt for PVC despite all the chemical dangers? Do they ignore it or are the dangers blown out of proportion? I have small children so obviously trying to avoid any exposure to such things. Thanks again.

SJ Mccarthy-

so I did just do a search, and back in 2018 it looks like you were raving about Inhaus sono. Seems like it has changed. what happened? And did you replace your flooring with anything else?

There are SPC floors that are GreenGuard certified. http://greenguard.org/en/index.aspx

I purchased SuperCORE by We Ship Floors. We have had no off gassing, as far as I can tell, and I'm a canary when it comes to off gassing and mold.

1) What would be considered a low priced vinyl product? I am looking at a brand my general contractor is recommending, made in China, around $2.50 /sq ft. I asked for a specification report. Since I am living in California, due to Prop 65, these flooring with tested. It showed 100%virgin PVC with no phthalates. This test evaluated for the various multiple kind of phthalates, none of them detected. Even though they were manufactured in China, since they were tested and do not show phthalates, I'm thinking we can proceed with peace of mind. What do you think?

2) I'm being nit picky, but when you say that PVC is not issue "usually", are there cases where PVC can be an issue? (ie I heard if there's a fire in the home, it can cause the PVC to release chemicals).

Thank you again.

When talking about "cheap vinyl" we are talking about anything LESS than $3/sf. When we talk about THIN vinyl planks we discuss anything that is LESS than 7mm thick. Virgin vinyl is the most stable product we have. It is to be used for flooring. As much as 'recycled content' sounds nice, it is notorious for delamination, shrinkage, warping, etc. And most vinyl comes out of China. It is almost impossible to avoid. So long as it has the CARB II requirements you are fine.

And yes, "usually" means during daily use. In a fire, most of us do not stand around inhaling the chemicals in our flooring. We run like the dickens to get out of the house. And in a house fire, the vinyl is one of THOUSANDS of products that give off chemicals.

If you are concerned about chemicals, off-gassing and release of chemicals during I fire, I highly recommend a site finished waxed hardwood or porcelain tile. Man-made products may not be for you.

And please be aware of vinyl's LONG history of instability in direct sunlight/heat. Please assess your windows for UV blockage. A low-priced vinyl (anything less than $3/sf) is going to have issues with discolouration, warpage and shrinkage when exposed to pools of sunlight. So long as your windows have 70% (or more) of UV blockage, you should be fine. Anything less and you risk a problematic floor.

If you buy direct from the manufacturer, $3 is not cheap. IMHO. Cheap vinyl planks from the big box store are going above $3 a square foot these days. You need to be able to compare apples to apples when it comes to pricing.

$2.50 from your builder is probably cheap. Almost all vinyl plank is made in China these days. SPC is less likely to be a problem with sun, but it must be true SPC. There are products being sold as SPC that are *not*. Check the manufacturer's recommendations for installation. If the temp ranges that are quite extreme. FE, my flooring be in temps ranging from -30F to 155F.

You will have to decide what you are comfortable with regarding vinyl and phthalates. Some people will not be comfortable. I have children living in my home with allergies, and I think it's fine. In fact, I think that the vinyl product I chose is way better than any carpet I could choose.

Suseyb-

what SPC brand did you purchase ?

John Oh, suseyb has the same flooring that I have—-SuperCORE from WeShipFloors.com. I suppose I should say I have the same floor that she does since hers is installed and mine sits in the garage. You can message her if you have questions. Hope that’s ok suseyb.

Check it out. I have Krypton from the Originals line and suseyb has Oak Natural from the Originals. There is some good info on their webpage about SuperCore. If you will look at the thread here on Houzz “Adura Max vs CoreTec“, you will find more info on SuperCORE along with reviews and install photos from “real” customers.

Thank you everyone for your response. Has anyone heart of Benest? They're a Korean company selling SPC.