LVP, It's Easy as 1=2=3!
Hey there, class is back in session! Ready to dive into Luxury Vinyl 101?! In the flooring industry we have made things WAAAY too complicated with all our 3 letter acronyms etc. It’s time to get back to basics!
As I’m putting this list of knowledge nuggets together, I can’t help but channel my inner MJ (be glad that you can’t hear my bullfrog like tone). I’m singing The Jackson 5’s famous: “A-B-C, it’s easy as 1-2-3!” the whole time. Sorry (not sorry). Now it’s stuck in your head, too.
Explaining flooring options to new homebuyers can be challenging. And as new home construction designers, we need to talk the talk and walk the walk especially with the #1 chosen flooring segment on the market – Luxury Vinyl Plank and Tile.
Luxury Vinyl has taken over the market and for good reason. This exciting category resonates with buyers from multifamily to single family and everyone in between. It’s durable enough to survive a stampede of kids & pets, easy to clean & maintain, waterproof from the top down, feels great underfoot, and looks gorgeous to boot! The visual realism and aesthetics have improved drastically since its introduction back in the early ‘00s that sometimes even my colleagues and I have been tricked with what’s real and what’s not!
To help clarify the different benefits of Luxury Vinyl, here are my cliff-notes to arm you with all the flooring jargon that you’ll need. The next time you come across that homebuyer who needs all the details under the sun, you’ll be ready! Trust me, we’ve all dealt with them and feel your pain. So, if you’re ready to rock your next appointment, get your pencils out and we’ll get started! First, let’s break a few popular terms down:
THE BASICS
LVP/LVT
Luxury Vinyl Planks or Tiles are luxury vinyl products that look like realistic hardwood planks or stone and ceramic tiles. These natural looking colors and surface textures look and feel like the real thing. They can be either glued down or floated depending upon the product that is spec'd or purchased. We highly recommend our floating Shaw Floors Floorte and COREtec collections for new home construction. The core of these products makes all of the difference which brings us to our next break out:
THE CORE
WPC
Waterproof Polymer Core. This vinyl plank flooring is best known for being 100% spill-proof from the top down. It is luxury vinyl flooring kicked up a notch with a special waterproof core that makes it perfect for just about any residential room. Plus, this floating floor is quieter and super comfy underfoot.
Supino HD + Natural Bevel is from our Shaw Floors Floorte Collection and is a WPC.
SPC
Similar waterproof attributes but different from WPC at the core; Solid Polymer Core is made from a stone polymer core. Limestone is literally mixed into the construction making it stiffer and sturdier, perfect for more commercial applications. But don’t let that fool you. It is a floating application as well and an excellent choice for new home construction.
Pride Plus is Made in the USA and is an SPC
THE VISUAL
EIR
Embossed In Register means touchable texture. EIR is when you have “natural variation” embossing on your vinyl plank that is realistic looking and feeling. This technology has been used to create a unique material which is remarkably similar to real wood. If there’s a knothole or a mineral streak texture, you can see and feel it on the actual plank or tile. It gives the flooring authenticity and mimics the grain of real wood and stone down to the smallest detail. If you see a knot, you feel the knot.
NB
NB stands for Natural Bevel. Look for this attribute to ensure that your planks rival real hardwood. The beveling emulates the edge detail of natural wood planks and looks more like real hardwood than any else on the market. This elevates the look of your floors. It might be my favorite attribute. Seeing is believing!
HD
High Definition is another detail you’ll see on some of our luxury vinyl floors. High definition gives you a beautiful, realistic visual where planks are designed to be more unique – think less cookie cutter and less repeats. Planks emulate the beauty of nature from sapwood to mineral streaks and knotholes. High definition helps to tell the story of the tree. It brings true authenticity to dazzle the eye.
THE SHAW DIFFERENCE:
When it comes to innovation and proprietary technology in the Luxury Vinyl category, Shaw is the leader in the industry. Here’s why:
Armourbead™
Rest easy friends with Shaw’s Armourbead™ your floors come with our quartz-enhanced urethane finish that adds enhanced wear resistance and durability. Floors with Armourbead™ finish offer 5x better performance than vinyl products with a standard polyurethane finish.
ScufResist®
From high heels to hot wheels, we’ve got you covered. We LIVE in our homes and want floors that we don’t have to fuss over. With ScufResist® even Little Johnny skidding through with his shoes on isn’t a match. Our ScufResist® does just what its name says and “resists scuffing” so that your floors are protected against everyday life.
Soft Silence Acoustical Pad
Look for the green attached pad. COREtec products featuring Soft Silence Acoustical Pad are warmer underfoot and have considerable noise reduction over other options. We all remember those loud clicky laminates, and we don’t want that! Soft Silence also fits with Shaw’s commitment to sustainability as the pre-attached pad is made of recycled materials. It’s a win across the board!!
Shaw Floors Pet Perfect with PAWDEFENSE®
We LOVE our fur babies and studies show that over 80% of homeowners have pets! Shaw Floors Pet Perfect with PAWDEFENSE technology is Shaw’s answer to paws and claws with a patented UV cured coating that protects against scratches. This technology completements our already incredibly Armourbead™ finish and adds a LIFETIME Scratch Resistant Warranty. We’re changing the industry as we know it and raising the bar on Luxury Vinyl performance. We all have enough to worry about from day to day. Our floors shouldn’t be one of them. Check out our new style, Renegade – which just so happens to be named after my own fur baby!! It features 9x60 planks with beautiful colorways and is just a beast of a product.
No matter what design you want to achieve with your luxury vinyl, Shaw Builder + Multifamily has you covered. Look for our most popular floors in long + wide planks and touchable textures in many distinctive styles. Are you looking for a driftwood visual because your customers lean modern coastal? How about a more rustic feel for a lake or cabin home? Do you see more minimal looks trending and love a clean white oak for a Scandinavian feel? Or are you wanting a more grounded boho mid-century modern design? We’re here for it all. Just ask your Shaw Builder + Multifamily rep, and we can help you identify which styles work best for homebuyers in your region. From a charred industrial look to saturated modern moody to airy light and bright, we’re here to help personalize your flooring line up. Let’s design from the ground up from trendy to traditional and everything in between.
Technology continues to advance, and the visuals continue to look more like the real thing. We haven’t even scratched the surface yet (pun intended!) Stay tuned, I’m sure there will be more to come. But for now, remember, “It’s as easy as 1-2-3, baby LVP!”
Mindi
