Specification
Reading a flooring specification without being misled
How to compare quotations from different factories when one quotes total thickness, another quotes wear layer, and a third quotes a click-system brand name.
Comparing flooring quotations is harder than it should be, because factories quote different numbers and the numbers are not interchangeable. Here is what to normalise before you compare price.
1. Total thickness is not a quality figure
“6 mm SPC” tells you about rigidity and about how the floor sounds underfoot. It tells you nothing about durability. Two 6 mm boards can have a 0.2 mm and a 0.7 mm wear layer, and they are not the same product or the same price.
Worse, the number is sometimes quoted including the attached underlay. A board sold as 6 mm may be a 4.5 mm core with a 1.5 mm IXPE pad. Always ask for the pure core thickness separately.
We run cores at 4, 4.2, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6 and 6.5 mm and pads at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mm, and we quote them as two separate figures.
2. Ask what the backing actually is
An attached acoustic pad can be IXPE, EVA or cork. They are not equivalent:
- IXPE — closed-cell, the usual choice; consistent, does not absorb water.
- EVA — cheaper, softer, tends to compress more over time under point loads.
- Cork — natural, good acoustically, higher cost.
A quotation that says “with underlay” and stops there is hiding a real price difference.
3. Click system: licensed or “compatible”
We use Unilin (Uniclic) and Välinge profiles under licence. A quotation that says “Unilin-type” or “Välinge-compatible” is telling you it is neither.
Beyond the legal question, this matters practically: an unlicensed profile is usually a copy of the geometry without the tolerancing, and it shows up as joints that need persuasion during installation and open up later. If the project is a tender with a warranty attached, ask for the licence.
4. Plank size changes the installed price
Larger formats install faster and produce fewer joints. Our wood-design sizes:
| Metric | Imperial |
|---|---|
| 128 × 640 mm | 5” × 25.20” |
| 184 × 1220 mm | 7.24” × 48” |
| 228 × 1220 mm | 9” × 48” |
| 228 × 1524 mm | 9” × 60” |
| 228 × 1800 mm | 9” × 70” |
Marble-design tiles run 300 × 610 mm and 450 × 900 mm.
Comparing a 128 × 640 mm quotation against a 228 × 1800 mm one on m² price alone misses that the second will be laid appreciably faster.
5. Emissions: get the standard, not the adjective
“Eco-friendly” and “green” mean nothing on a spec sheet. The classifications that mean something are E0 / E1 for formaldehyde and FloorScore for indoor air quality. SPC’s PVC-resin core contains no added formaldehyde at all, which is a different and stronger claim than a low-emission rating on a wood-based board — worth being precise about, because the two get conflated.
A short checklist
Before you compare two prices, make sure you have, for both:
- pure core thickness, excluding pad
- wear layer thickness in mm
- pad material and thickness
- click system and whether it is licensed
- plank size
- formaldehyde class and any indoor-air certification
- reaction-to-fire class if it is a public building
If a supplier will not give you all seven, that is itself information. Send us the list and we will answer all of them in writing.
Need this applied to a live project?
Send the area schedule and traffic class and we will specify the build-up and return a container loading plan.