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SPC and LVT look alike but behave differently. A practical guide to which belongs in a kitchen, a bedroom and everywhere in between.
Start with the room, not the floor
The most common mistake is choosing a floor you like the look of and then discovering it is wrong for where it is going. A bathroom, a busy hallway and a first-floor bedroom all ask different things of a floor, and the right answer changes with each.
Before comparing products, be clear about three things: how much foot traffic the room sees, whether it gets wet, and whether the subfloor is level.
SPC: rigid, stable, forgiving
SPC has a stone-composite core, which makes it dimensionally stable. It barely moves with temperature, so it suits conservatories, rooms with underfloor heating and anywhere with large glass areas.
That rigidity also means it bridges small imperfections in the subfloor rather than telegraphing them through, which saves preparation work on older properties.
- Best for kitchens, hallways, commercial spaces and wet areas
- Underfoot firm, with a slight acoustic click unless underlay is fitted
- Thickness typically 4 mm to 6.5 mm including the wear layer
LVT: softer, quieter, more forgiving underfoot
LVT is a flexible vinyl. It is warmer and quieter to walk on, which is why it tends to win in bedrooms and living rooms where comfort matters more than resilience.
The trade-off is that it follows the subfloor closely. An uneven floor needs levelling first, or every dip will show through within months.
A quick way to decide
If the room is busy, wet, or the subfloor is less than perfect, choose SPC. If the room is quiet, dry and the subfloor is sound, LVT will feel better underfoot and usually costs less.
Where a project spans both — an open-plan kitchen running into a living area — most people fit SPC throughout for a single continuous surface, since the visual join matters more than the marginal comfort gain.
What about the wear layer?
Whichever you choose, the wear layer does more for longevity than the core. A 0.3 mm wear layer suits a domestic room; anything commercial should start at 0.5 mm. This single number is a better predictor of how a floor ages than the price.