Planning an SPC floor: what to decide first
Before you choose SPC flooring, decide four things: the area, the room’s use, the look (wood, stone or pattern) and the direction the planks will run. Then compare samples against your other finishes in the same light.
First, what SPC is
SPC flooring (stone plastic composite) is a vinyl floor with a rigid core made from limestone powder, PVC resin and stabilisers. A printed decorative film and a clear wear layer sit on top, and the planks and tiles click together edge to edge. Planks are about 225 × 1220 mm and 4 to 6 mm thick.
Measure the area
Measure each room and note the total in square feet. Mark doorways, steps and where the floor meets another material. This tells you how many planks or tiles to plan for and where thresholds will sit.
Measure rooms separately, even in a compact Chennai flat, rather than the whole home at once. A plan with each room’s area lets us work out the plank count with you, and shows where a pattern or direction change might go.
Know the room’s use
SPC is suited to dry indoor rooms: living rooms, bedrooms, studies, dining areas, offices and cabins. List each room on your plan with what happens in it. For clinics and retail floors that want one continuous surface, look at vinyl sheet flooring as well, and compare the two at the showroom.
Decide the look
Wood grains suit living rooms and bedrooms. Marble-look tiles suit lobbies and formal living rooms. Moroccan patterns suit entrances, cafés and one feature room, such as the foyer. In open-plan homes, one look carried through every room makes the space feel larger.
- Pale oaks keep a small or north-facing room bright.
- Natural and honey woods sit with most wall colours and furniture.
- Walnut and teak give a darker, more formal floor.
- Stone looks such as travertine and Kadappa greys suit a plain scheme with few colours.
Straight plank or herringbone
Straight planks give a plain, continuous floor and let the wood grain lead the eye down the room. Herringbone gives a classic parquet pattern with more movement, and suits a living room, a study or an entrance hall where the floor is meant to be noticed. Some homes use both: herringbone in the main room, straight planks in the bedrooms.
Choose the direction
Planks running along the longest wall, or towards the main window, make a room feel longer. Across a narrow corridor, they make it feel wider. Decide this on the plan before you choose a shade.
When planks run towards the window, daylight travels along the grain rather than across the short joints, so the joints are less noticeable.
Plan the thresholds
Mark every point where SPC meets another floor: a marble passage, a tiled kitchen or bathroom, a balcony. Decide whether the change of material happens at the door or at the line of the wall, and choose a shade that sits well beside the floor next to it. Note any change in floor level at doorways on the plan.
Compare in the same light
Bring your wall colour, laminate or tile samples. Wood tones shift between daylight and warm evening light, so look at both at the showroom before you decide. Lay two or three planks side by side rather than judging a single piece, because the pattern of the grain shows across several.
Questions people ask
What should I bring to choose SPC flooring?
A floor plan or phone photo of the plan, approximate areas, photos of the room and its light, and samples of finishes you have already chosen.
Which way should SPC planks run?
Usually along the longest wall or towards the main light source. Across a narrow corridor, planks make it feel wider.
How do I work out how much SPC flooring I need?
Measure each room in square feet and share the plan. We will work out the number of planks or tiles with you, room by room.
Should I choose straight planks or herringbone?
Straight planks give a plain, continuous floor. Herringbone gives a parquet pattern with more movement, for a room where the floor should be noticed.
Which rooms is SPC flooring suited to?
Dry indoor rooms: living rooms, bedrooms, studies and dining areas at home, and offices, cabins and shops.
Can one SPC floor run through an open-plan home?
Yes. One look carried through the living, dining and passage areas makes the space feel larger.
Should the floor or the walls be chosen first?
Choose them together. Bring the wall colour, laminate and tile samples you are considering, and look at them beside the SPC planks in daylight and in warm evening light.