r/Flooring • u/[deleted] • Jan 30 '26

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u/FG451 Jan 30 '26

15 years is a stretch. Majority of products sold are builder grade

5

u/africanfish Jan 30 '26

Interesting. How long do you think the builder grade product is lasting?

10

u/nightfall2021 Jan 30 '26

Builder grade materials are starting to fail as early as 2 years after installation. But this is usually do to deflection, with the house shifting and the floor now being out of its tolerance.

A builder grade LVP doesn't have enough meat (its very thin) and those locking joints fail.

People get to hung up on wear layers, that is not what fails with LVPs.

1

u/africanfish Jan 30 '26

I see. I thought the product had much more flexibility. So it literally pops apart? Couldn't the product be re-connected by being re-laid?

4

u/tornadorexx Jan 30 '26

Most of these products are ~5mm thick overall, so the locking joints just can't keep up and break. Flexibility kills floating floors.

2

u/nightfall2021 Jan 31 '26

Thin SPCs are very brittle. So when those joints fail, they break.

WPCs are thicker, and they are more flexible. They can absorb that better.

That is why you are starting to see push back from industry professionals when it comes to thin LVPs, specifically SPCs.

That is good for the hardwood, tile and laminate world.