LVP/LVT/WPC/SPC/ABC what do all these acronyms stand for?

Everyone knows what an acronym is right?  We have a couple of words we say often enough, then we decide that they need to be shorter, so we do things like NFL for National Football League, or TMI for Too Much Information, or VRBO for Vacation Rental by Owner.  And my personal favorite LMFAO for Laughing My                            Off.  You can fill in the blank.

In flooring, we have our own set of acronyms (like most industries).  If you have done any research or stepped into any of our stores, I am sure you have heard or seen some of these before.  But, if you are like most people, you probably look at some of our team members and wonder, “What the heck did he just say?”  To help clarify these, here is your own handy dandy reference guide for flooring acronyms.



CARPET
GARAGE’S FLOORING ACRONYM REFERENCE GUIDE

  • LVP – Luxury Vinyl Plank. This is a category of flooring similar to hardwood, laminate, carpet, etc.  Don’t get the name wrong though, most of the time there is nothing “luxury” about it.  These products are simply vinyl-based products that are not sheet vinyl (or linoleum for you baby boomers out there).  They typically are planks like 4″x48″ or 6″x48” and can be clicked together or glued down depending on the version you purchase.
  • LVT – Luxury Vinyl Tile. Same exact thing as above, just a ceramic tile type of visual instead of a plank visual.
  • WPC – Wood Plastic Core (OR sometimes called Waterproof Core). This is a baby brother to the LVP/LVT category.  This type of product still has vinyl on top of it, but at its center is a wood/plastic-based core.  So, think of how laminate looks but with layer of vinyl on top.
  • SPC – Stone Plastic Core. This is the 2nd generation of WPC, think WPC 2.0.  Built very similar to WPC, it still has the vinyl layer on top of the core, but instead of a wood/plastic core in the center it has a stone/plastic core in the center.  Why did they do this?  It is meant to be much firmer than WPC, making it more dent resistant.
  • ABC – A, B, C. Starting 3 letters of the alphabet. Duh.
  • PET – Polyethylene Terephthalate. Carpet fiber more commonly known as POLYESTER.  The long version is the chemical name.
  • PTT – Polytrimethylene Terephthalate. Another extraordinarily long and hard to pronounce chemical name for a carpet fiber.  You’d know it best as Triexta or SmartStrand, most commonly found in our Mohawk branded carpets.

I’m guessing there are bunch of other acronyms you’ve heard (or I’ve missed) in the flooring world.  We’ll continue to update this flooring-acronym-reference-guide for you as we can.  If you have a question on one (or want to us to add something!), let us know in the comments below.  We will do our best to decode it and let you know what the heck it stands for.

3 thoughts on “LVP/LVT/WPC/SPC/ABC what do all these acronyms stand for?

  1. SharonZieseniss

    Thank you. Is there an acronym for waterproof laminate flooring ?

  2. John Mackner Post author

    Sharon, not really. Most laminate floors are not waterproof. The main thing to look for is if the manufacturer will stand behind any water issues you may have. Some will claim to have waterproof laminate floors, but if you read the fine print they limit the amount of time that water can stay on it. As in, if water is on your floor for longer than 72 hours than the warranty is void. Just keep an eye on the manufacturer warranties and you should be fine.

Comments are closed.