What Makes Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Flooring Better Than Flexible?

If these two types of flooring are so similar, what makes rigid core luxury vinyl so much better than its flexible cousin? As it turns out… kind of a lot. After all, there’s a reason so many of the best vinyl plank flooring brands only sell rigid-core products.

Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Feels Better Than Flexible Core

The first reason might not be the most obvious—until the minute you step on your floor. Rigid core luxury vinyl flooring feels so much better than flexible vinyl. Think about it: with flexible vinyl, you’re essentially feeling your subfloor (and all the imperfections it might have)—because the flexible sheet molds to them!

And that means flexible LVP feels nothing like real hardwood or tile. So if you’re looking for something that’s going to fool the foot as well as the eye, rigid core luxury vinyl flooring is the way to go.

Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Flooring is Way More Durable

Need scratch-resistant flooring? Rigid core luxury vinyl flooring is the choice for you. You might think flexible vinyl will make objects bounce, the way rubber would. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Flexible cores aren’t bouncy—they’re just easy to penetrate.

Rigid cores can either reflect (SPC) or absorb (WPC) impact forces from steps and falling objects—meaning there’s something solid between the floor’s top layer and your subfloor.

Which Means it Comes With Better Warranties, Too

Because rigid core luxury vinyl flooring is so much more durable than flexible LVP, it tends to be backed by better warranties.

Take Stainmaster luxury vinyl. This flexible LVP product has an all-vinyl core and is backed by what we can only say is a horrendous warranty. Virtually anything you do to the floor—including walking on it too much—voids the warranty.

Most rigid core luxury vinyl warranties are better because brands know they’re less likely to have to replace those rigid core floors.

Rigid Core LVP Can Be Installed In More Places Than Flexible LVP

Flexible LVP can go almost anywhere inside your home, but it’s not intended as an outdoor flooring option. True outdoor vinyl flooring is actually pretty rare, but high-end EVP can safely be used for greenhouses or sunroom flooring.

The only thing we’d recommend: glue down your outdoor floors. One of the disadvantages of floating floors is that they can lift or warp in high heat. Bonus: if you were thinking about heating your rigid core luxury vinyl floors the same way you can heat wood floors, it’s totally doable!