# 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.

- Published: 2026-08-21
- Topic: Specification
- Reading time: 5 min
- Publisher: Shandong Home Top New Material Co., Ltd.

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## Key figures from this note

- A flooring quotation stating a millimetre figure alone is describing the core thickness, which says nothing about the wear layer that determines service life.
- Home Top SPC cores run 4 mm to 6.5 mm, and wear layers 0.2 mm to 0.7 mm; a quotation should state both.
- A click profile described as “compatible” is not the same as a licensed Unilin or Valinge profile; Home Top supplies licensed profiles.
- Plank size changes installed cost independently of material price, because larger formats lay faster.

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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](https://flooring.aisoft.cc/contact/) and we will answer all of them in writing.

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## Sources for the figures in this article

- Home Top SPC catalogue p.07-08 (layer build-up, thickness and pad options)
- Home Top SPC catalogue p.09 (plank sizes)

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**Shandong Home Top New Material Co., Ltd.**
SPC rigid core and HDF laminate flooring manufacturer, Chiping County,
Liaocheng, Shandong, China.
Telephone: +86 0635 2983818
Canonical: https://flooring.aisoft.cc/blog/reading-a-flooring-specification/