What earns a vinyl floor a place here
Luxury vinyl is made from PVC, and we say so on every product. What earns a vinyl floor a place on this site is an independent emissions certification, FloorScore or GREENGUARD Gold, listed on the product page with the rest of the facts: the core, the wear layer, where it is made and what is in the carton.
WPC planks and tiles
Mannington ADURA APEX is an 8 mm WPC floor on Mannington's waterproof HydroLoc core, with a pad attached, a 20 mil wear layer and FloorScore certification. The planks are Antiquity, Nordic Oak, Mokuzai, Spalted Wych Elm and Lineage; the stone-look tiles are Rapolano, Artemis and Luxxe.
COREtec Originals put a foamed WPC core on a cork underlayment, and the collections are GREENGUARD Gold certified. CR504 Retro Revival has 2 mm of cork and a 22 mil wear layer; CR506 Coastal Luxe and CR507 Lakehouse Luxe have 3 mm of cork and a 30 mil wear layer.
Glue-down hexagons
Artemis Hexagon and Luxxe Hexagon are a different build: 5 mm flexible luxury vinyl tile with no pad, glued to the subfloor. They suit powder rooms, entries and bathroom floors, and they need a smooth subfloor; see subfloor preparation.
Reading the spec sheet
Wear layer is the clear top layer, measured in mil, thousandths of an inch: 20 mil on ADURA APEX, 22 mil on CR504 and 30 mil on CR506 and CR507. Underlayment comes attached on every floating floor here, a pad on ADURA APEX and cork on COREtec. Waterproof describes the core. The seams of a floating floor are not sealed, so full bathrooms get a sealed perimeter, and a basement slab is tested for moisture before anything goes down; see basement flooring.
If you would rather avoid PVC
Waterproof floors without vinyl exist: Wicanders WISE and Wood Inspire on cork cores, COREtec Scratchless on a mineral core, Mohawk PureTech on a plant-based core, and Marmoleum Cinch Loc Seal. All are on the PVC-free flooring page, and our WPC vs SPC vs PVC-free guide compares the cores.
Common questions
Is luxury vinyl the same as WPC?
WPC is one kind of luxury vinyl: a plank or tile with a foamed, waterproof core. Luxury vinyl also includes stone-based SPC and flexible glue-down tile, such as the ADURA APEX hexagons. All of them contain PVC.
What emissions certifications do these vinyl floors carry?
Mannington ADURA APEX is FloorScore certified and the COREtec Originals collections are GREENGUARD Gold certified. Both limit what a floor releases into indoor air; neither makes a vinyl floor PVC-free.
