# Vinyl Flooring — LVT, Homogeneous and Heterogeneous

> Vinyl flooring is PVC-based resilient flooring supplied as LVT planks and tiles, homogeneous sheet with colour through its full thickness, or layered heterogeneous sheet. The wear layer, the transparent top film that alone resists traffic, decides its service life, and a dry, flat subfloor decides whether the adhesive bond holds.

## What it is

PVC-based resilient flooring, supplied in three broad forms:

| Type | Form | Typical use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **LVT** | Planks and tiles | Offices, retail, hospitality |
| **Homogeneous sheet** | Roll, heat welded | Hospitals, labs, clean areas |
| **Heterogeneous sheet** | Roll, layered | Education, general commercial |

## Specification at a glance

| Property | Typical specification |
| --- | --- |
| Classification | EN ISO 10874 use class, e.g. 33 for heavy commercial |
| Wear layer | 0.3 / 0.55 / 0.7mm and above — **state it** |
| Total thickness | 2mm — 3mm typical |
| Backing | Dryback, loose lay, or click |
| Fire and slip | Class stated per application |

## What the specification must cover

Use class · wear layer thickness · installation method, since loose lay, dryback
adhesive and click systems behave very differently under rolling loads ·
subfloor moisture limit and test method · welding requirement for sheet · skirting
and coving detail · transition and threshold details.

## Where projects go wrong

- **Wear layer unspecified**, so a thin residential-grade product is laid in a
  commercial corridor.
- **Laid on a damp slab.** Bubbling and lifting appear months later and the
  whole floor comes up.
- **Subfloor not flat.** Every undulation reads through resilient flooring, and
  it cannot be corrected afterwards.
- **Heavy point loads** from cabinets and racking on a thin wear layer,
  indenting permanently.
- **Sheet joints not welded** in wet or hygienic areas, leaving open seams.

## Standards referenced

Resilient floor covering classification under **EN ISO 10874**. PVC floor
covering requirements under **EN 649**. Concrete subfloor requirements under
**IS 456:2000**.

## Frequently asked questions

### What wear layer thickness is needed for an office?

The wear layer is the transparent top film and it is the only part that resists traffic, so it determines service life. Roughly 0.3mm suits light residential use, 0.55mm suits general commercial areas, and 0.7mm and above suits heavy commercial traffic such as corridors, receptions and retail. Specifying LVT by pattern and not by wear layer is the standard way projects end up with flooring that looks worn within two years.

### Why is homogeneous vinyl used in hospitals?

Because the colour and structure run through the full thickness, so surface wear does not expose a different layer, and sheets can be heat welded and coved up the wall to form a continuous impervious surface with no joints for bacteria to sit in. That hygienic detailing, not the material itself, is the reason it dominates healthcare flooring.

### What subfloor preparation does vinyl need?

More than most trades allow for. The screed must be flat, sound and, critically, dry — residual moisture in a concrete slab will push through and break the adhesive bond, causing bubbling and lifting months later. Moisture testing before laying is not optional, and it is the single most common cause of vinyl floor failure on Indian projects where programmes compress the drying time.

## Sources

- [EN ISO 10874](https://www.iso.org/standards.html) — Resilient floor coverings — classification
- [EN 649](https://standards.cencenelec.eu/ords/f?p=CEN:105) — Homogeneous and heterogeneous PVC floor coverings
- [IS 456:2000](https://standards.bis.gov.in/website/published-standards/department-wise) — Plain and reinforced concrete

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/materials/vinyl-flooring-lvt