This has been a very informative discussion. Thanks to everyone for your comments.
I too have been searching for new flooring. Need about 850 sq ft. I’ve decided to go with rigid core vinyl plank. Started searching at the beginning of last month and expect to finish by the end of this month. This is not a life or death decision like those faced by jurors.
I now have about 20 samples on hand with about 20 more on the way. In my opinion, the abrasiveness of the floor surface is only one of many relevant criteria to use to evaluate flooring. For families with young children, it could be (probably should be) a major criterion. For my wife and me who are retired, who never walk on our floors (mainly ceramic tile) in bare feet or socks, and who never get down on the floor for fear of not being able to get back up again, a slightly abrasive surface is not a problem. In fact, because abrasive surfaces are generally less slippery, it’s desirable. We may wear out the soles of some shoes a little earlier, but that is a low price to pay for a safer floor for us.
However, I am concerned about how an abrasive floor might affect the feet of our small dog. Does anyone have any experience with abrasive flooring surfaces adversely affecting the feet of dogs or cats?
I evaluate rigid vinyl plank flooring on the following factors most of which I can determine by searching online or contacting the manufacturing company.
Realistic appearance and general color that we want
Amount of color variation within and between planks
Edge detail - Nano bevel, Micro bevel, Pronounced bevel, Painted bevel, etc
Amount and type of surface texture
Surface Gloss - Matte, low gloss, high gloss, etc.
Total thickness of planks
Thickness of wear layer
Type of protective top finish layer - diamond dust, aluminum oxide, microscopic ceramic beads, UV cured urethane
Weight per square foot
Plank width(s)
Number of unique planks (pattern repetition)
Weight per carton - lower is better because it’s easier to carry
Quality of Attached Underlayment Pad - Includes thickness and type (cork, EVA, & IXPE)
Warranty
Customer Reviews
Quality of vinyl and locking system used - 100% virgin is best. Some locking systems are quicker and easier to use.
FloorScore or Greenguard certified
If I like the appearance of a sample and it rates well on the above criteria, I also test it for:
Resistance to staining from mustard, crushed dark sweet cherries, orange juice, chocolate syrup, & coffee.
Resistance to wear via a sandpaper wear test, a nail scratch test, a new quarter edge scratch test, a scuff test.
Resistance to Impacts and Dents, via a one minute compression test at about 10,000 psi and a separate pointed 3.5 lb steel bar vertical drop test.
Ease of Cleaning - I smear very fine particle red mud across a plank, let it dry, and see how easy it is to clean off.
I only run tests on samples that look promising. Using a spreadsheet, I create a total score for those samples much like is done by Consumer Reports.
I weigh each of the criteria as I deem appropriate for my situation and preferences. Half of the total score is based on my tests and half on the other factors above. In my case for example, the edge style accounts for 8% of the total score and the wear layer thickness accounts for 7%. The surface gloss accounts for only 3% but it would count much higher if I were young spending lots of time on the floor with my small children. Perhaps in that case the abrasiveness of the floor surface would account for 15% of the total score. Rather than rating each sample for the level of surface gloss, perhaps it would be better to test each flooring sample for how badly it wears out pieces of fabric rubbed against it. In my case, customer reviews count for only 1% of the total score.
In the preliminary testing that I have done, I have found a significant difference in the stain resistance, scratch resistance, and impact/dent resistance of various samples of rigid core vinyl plank flooring. These attributes are not highly correlated with the price.
In the beginning I included the type of core in the rating system., WPC vs SPC. I’ve since decided that the kind of core is not important to us. Supposedly WPC is warmer to the touch and softer under foot. As a practical matter it’s insignificant. Both are much warmer and softer than ceramic tile. Place 2 samples with SPC cores and 2 samples with WPC cores side by side on your kitchen counter for a couple of days to reach the same temperature. Now place the palm of your hand on an SPC sample and a WPC sample simultaneously. I’ll bet that you’ll have a hard time telling which feels cooler. (in fact they should be the same temperature.) If you have a stone countertop, place a hand on that for comparison. If not, use the bottom of a cast iron skillet. The difference between WPC & SPC flooring, in the rate of transfer of heat from your hand to the flooring surface, is too small to be significant. Try it on another pair of samples. The thickness of the wear layer and perhaps the texture may also slightly affect how warm it feels, but it’s not relevant to selecting a floor.
SPC is more dense and more resistant to dents. There may be a difference between WPC & SPC concerning how they sound when walked on with hard heeled shoes. I don’t know. We always wear soft spongy soled shoes in our house, so we don’t care how hard the floor is. As time goes on, I might eliminate some of the rating criteria if all samples rate nearly the same on a specific criteria.
A closing thought. I don’t disapprove of companies making flooring that is slip resistant and perhaps also slightly abrasive. I suspect that some of these companies want their products to be ADA compliant as it relates to slip resistance.They just should note the abrasive nature of their products in their promotional materials and spec sheets and train their sales reps accordingly.
Hopefully this post will give you some ideas on how to evaluate vinyl plank flooring for your case, based on your needs and preferences.
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