Installation guides

The salesperson says "class 33" and the customer nods. Two years later the floor in the hallway is worn down to the backing, while the bedroom still looks new. Let's unpack what these numbers actually stand for, why the class matters more than the thickness, and how to avoid paying for performance you don't need.

Where the classes come from: EN ISO 10874

The classification of floor coverings by intensity of use is set out in EN ISO 10874 (before 2012, EN 685). It maps every space onto two axes: type of use and intensity of load.

The first digit of the class is the type of space:

• 2x — residential (domestic use);
• 3x — public and commercial premises;
• 4x — industrial premises.

The second digit is the intensity:

• x1 — moderate;
• x2 — normal;
• x3 — heavy;
• x4 — very heavy.

That is how the marking reads: 32 — commercial space with normal load; 34 — commercial space with very heavy load.

Table: which class your space needs

Class	Type of use	Example spaces	Wear layer (guideline)
21	Residential, moderate	Bedroom, dressing room	0.10–0.15 mm
22	Residential, normal	Living room, children's room	0.15–0.20 mm
23	Residential, heavy	Hallway, kitchen, corridor	0.20–0.30 mm
31	Commercial, moderate	Single office, hotel room	0.25–0.30 mm
32	Commercial, normal	Office, classroom, small shop, reception	0.30–0.40 mm
33	Commercial, heavy	Retail, school corridors, bar, gym	0.40–0.55 mm
34	Commercial, very heavy	Airport, supermarket, station, clinic	0.70 mm and above
41–43	Industrial	Warehouse, workshop, plant rooms	homogeneous / studded PVC

Note this: class 32 also covers residential use in full. Material certified for an office will not wear out in a flat at all — domestic load is well below what it was rated for.

The key point: the class is defined by the wear layer, not the thickness

This is the most common mistake when choosing. The buyer compares two products, 4 mm and 2 mm, and confidently takes the first one "because it's thicker".

A vinyl plank is a multi-layer sandwich. From the top down:

1. Polyurethane (PU) lacquer — protection against scratches and dirt, makes cleaning easier;
2. Wear (protective) layer of clear PVC — this is what determines the service life of the floor;
3. Decorative film — the wood, stone or concrete pattern;
4. PVC core layer — rigidity and geometry;
5. Balancing layer — stability, protection against cupping.

Only the wear layer abrades. Once it is gone, the decorative film is exposed and the floor "dies" visually, however many millimetres remain underneath. That is why "how thick is it?" is the wrong question. The right one is "what is the wear layer?".

Total thickness answers something else: underfoot comfort, footstep sound, resistance to point indentation and, with click floors, the strength of the locking joint itself. It has nothing to do with abrasion.

Hence a simple corollary. A glue-down LVT vinyl floor 2 mm thick with a 0.3 mm wear layer and class 32 will last longer in a home than a 4 mm click plank with a 0.15 mm wear layer and class 23 — at half the build-up height.

How the class is verified in the laboratory

Behind the class there are not marketing promises but tests:

• Abrasion (EN 660-2, Frick-Taber method) — determines wear group T, P, M, F. Commercial floors need group T, the most resistant;
• Residual indentation (EN 433) — indentation under static load: a table leg, a shelving unit, a gym machine. The smaller the residual mark, the better;
• Castor chair resistance (EN 425) — a test with a wheeled office chair, critical for offices;
• Dimensional stability (EN 434) — change of geometry under heat, a key parameter for sunlit rooms and underfloor heating.

If a supplier claims a class but cannot show a test report or a declaration with these figures, the claimed class exists only on the label.

How the class relates to other mandatory characteristics

The class covers wear only. In a public building that is not enough — there, two more parameters are checked, and both are mandatory under Spanish regulations:

• Reaction to fire — for commercial floors the requirement is class Bfl-s1 (hard to ignite, minimal smoke production). Required by the Technical Building Code, section DB-SI;
• Slip resistance — classes 1, 2 or 3 under DB-SUA, depending on the space and the moisture present. For a commercial kitchen or an entrance area, class 2–3 is mandatory.

Plus a hygiene parameter: volatile emissions E1 — minimal, safe for homes, schools and healthcare facilities.

These three points deserve exactly as much scrutiny as the class. A class 34 floor without Bfl-s1 simply cannot be used in a public building.

Three mistakes that cost real money

Mistake one: a single class for the whole project. In a 90 m² flat the load is distributed extremely unevenly. The hallway and kitchen take several times more footfall than the bedroom. The logical solution is class 32–33 in circulation zones and a more economical material in private areas. On a 300 m² project the difference in the budget is substantial.

Mistake two: overpaying for class 34 in an office. Class 34 means airports, stations, supermarkets. An office for 40 people is class 32, at most 33 in corridors and at reception. Class 34 material will do the job, but you will have paid for a service life that will never be used up.

Mistake three: cutting costs at the entrance. The first 5–7 metres from the door take up to 80% of the abrasive dirt brought in from the street. Here you either specify one class above the rest of the space, or set up a barrier matting zone — and then the whole remaining floor lasts noticeably longer.

What to choose for a specific job

Flat, house, apartments. Class 32 with a 0.3 mm wear layer covers every zone with margin to spare. Glue-down LVT vinyl planks 2 mm thick, bonded with adhesive, give a fully stable floor with no perimeter expansion gaps.

Office, private office, showroom, small shop. Class 32 in work areas, 33 in corridors, at reception and in the entrance area. Be sure to check the castor chair resistance figure (EN 425) — chairs on wheels kill cheap vinyl faster than feet do.

Retail, HoReCa, gym, clinic. Class 33–34 and a move to commercial sheet vinyl. Sheet material leaves a minimum of joints, and the remaining seams are welded with a rod into a watertight monolith — which is essential wherever water, grease or disinfectant solutions reach the floor.

Warehouse, production, plant areas. Classes 41–43: studded and homogeneous PVC floors designed for wheeled loads and chemical exposure.

How to read a supplier's documents

The minimum set you are entitled to request before buying:

1. Declaration of Performance (DoP) and CE marking to EN 14041 — mandatory for a floor covering to be sold legally in the EU;
2. Class to EN ISO 10874 stating the abrasion group;
3. Reaction to fire — Bfl-s1;
4. Slip class — to DIN 51130 (R9/R10/R11) and/or classes 1–3 of DB-SUA;
5. Emissions — E1;
6. Total thickness and wear layer thickness — as separate lines.

If the answer to this list is just a glossy catalogue, that is an answer in itself.

FAQ

Is class 32 suitable for a flat? Yes, with a large margin. Class 32 is rated for commercial load, which is higher than any domestic one. In a home such a floor barely wears at all.

Which matters more — 2 mm or 4 mm thickness? Neither, directly. Service life is set by the wear layer: 0.3 mm at 2 mm total thickness beats 0.15 mm at 4 mm. Thickness affects comfort and indentation resistance, but not wear.

How does class 33 differ from 34? In load intensity. Class 33 is a shop, a bar, a gym. Class 34 is an airport, a station, a supermarket — a continuous flow of people. For an office and for most retail outlets, 34 is overkill.

Do I have to look at Bfl-s1? For public buildings, yes — it is a building code requirement. For private homes there is no formal requirement, but the parameter is useful all the same.

How can I tell whether the declared class is genuine? Ask for the DoP and the CE marking. The declaration states the figures actually tested. A class written only in a catalogue is backed by nothing.

For more detail, see our article on vinyl flooring thickness and wear layer and our guide to industrial vinyl flooring for warehouses.

The cardio area, the free-weights area and the studio for group classes place mutually exclusive demands on the floor. A surface that is perfect under a treadmill will be destroyed by a dropped barbell. Let us go zone by zone.

Free-weights area: impact

What happens: a 30 kg dumbbell falls from a metre and a half. The impact energy goes into the floor. A 100 kg barbell dropped from chest height is another order of magnitude altogether.

Requirements: here vinyl flooring on its own is not the answer. You need a multi-layer build-up: rubber tiles or mats 20–40 mm thick over a stable substrate. Vinyl flooring is used in this zone as a base under the rubber, or in the walkways between racks.

In practice: the deadlift area is separated by a platform. The rubber under the weights is laid over a glue-down PVC floor, which provides a flat, waterproof and washable base.

Cardio area: point loads and vibration

What happens: a treadmill weighs 150–200 kg and stands on four supports with a small footprint. On top of that comes constant vibration in use. Cross-trainers and exercise bikes are the same story.

Requirements: the key parameter is residual indentation to EN 433. The floor must recover once the load is removed rather than keep the dents. For commercial sheet vinyl this figure is 0.33 mm — a machine can be moved and no mark is left behind.

The second parameter is dimensional stability: 0.4%. Neither vibration nor local heating should cause the covering to shift.

In practice: class 34, glue-down installation (a floating build-up under vibration is unacceptable), load-spreading pads under the machine feet. Vibration isolation from the structural slab is handled by a separate anti-vibration mat if the gym is not on the ground floor.

Group class studios: a combination of requirements

What happens: jumping, lunges, work barefoot and in trainers, sweat, mats, small equipment. Plus intensive cleaning after every class.

Requirements:

• shock absorption, to protect joints under jumping loads;
• slip resistance R10 — the floor gets wet with sweat and users work in trainers or barefoot;
• hygiene — sweat reaches the surface constantly, and the finish must withstand daily disinfection;
• welded seams, otherwise moisture gets under the covering.

In practice: sheet vinyl of class 33–34 with welded seams, on a resilient backing where required. For yoga and Pilates, a softer-surfaced covering or zoning with mats.

Functional training and CrossFit areas

The most aggressive environment there is: ropes, slam balls, sleds, kettlebells on concrete. Here vinyl flooring is used only as a base under rubber — direct use is not designed for such loads.

Changing rooms, showers, walkways

They often fall out of the specification, yet in accident terms these are the most dangerous zones of all.

• Changing rooms: R10, waterproofing, welded seams, coved skirting.
• Walkways from the showers: R11 is mandatory — wet feet on a smooth floor give the highest fall risk in the whole club.
• Corridors and stairs: class 34, R10, anti-slip nosing on the steps.

Slip classes in detail, and where each one is mandatory, are covered in a separate article.

Acoustics: the main source of disputes with neighbours

A gym on the first floor of a residential building means guaranteed complaints if acoustics were not designed in from the start.

Two different phenomena:

Impact noise — jumping, dropped weights, footfall on the treadmill. It travels through the building structure. The only fix is elastic isolation: an anti-vibration underlay beneath the covering and, in impact zones, a floating screed on vibration mounts.

Airborne noise — music, voices, equipment in use. It is dealt with through wall and ceiling finishes and has almost nothing to do with the floor.

A practical benchmark: a thin covering bonded directly to the slab does not reduce impact noise at all. A stated reduction of 15–18 dB comes from the whole build-up, not from the wear layer. This has to be designed in, not retrofitted after the first complaint.

Cleaning: sweat is an aggressive medium

Sweat contains salts, acids and organic matter. Daily cleaning is essential; otherwise the floor loses its appearance within a single season.

Daily: damp cleaning with a pH-neutral product, disinfection of contact areas.

What not to use: abrasives, solvents, strongly acidic and strongly alkaline products. A steam cleaner only with the manufacturer's approval.

A separate issue — rubber. Dark rubber from mats, footwear and equipment in prolonged contact with PVC causes plasticiser migration: permanent dark stains are left on the floor. The answer is light-coloured or unpigmented rubber wherever contact is permanent.

Every 6–12 months: renewal of the polymer protective layer in circulation areas.

Zone summary table

What to order

The backbone of the project is commercial sheet vinyl of class 32–33 with Bfl-s1, 2 m wide, with welded seams. For reception and lounge areas, where a warmer interior is wanted, use glue-down LVT planks.

A calculation based on your own plan, broken down by zone, is available through the quotation request form. Attach the floor plan showing the zones and the storey: the acoustic part of the solution depends on it.

FAQ

Can vinyl be laid under the free-weights area? Only as a base under rubber tiles. Direct use beneath falling weights is not intended.

Will the floor take treadmills? Yes, in class 34 and glue-down installation. Check residual indentation to EN 433 and use load-spreading pads under the feet.

How do we solve the noise problem for the neighbours below? Structurally only: an anti-vibration underlay and, in impact zones, a floating screed on vibration mounts. The floor finish alone does not reduce impact noise.

What slip class is needed in the changing room? R10 in the changing room itself and R11 in the walkway from the showers.

Why have dark stains appeared under the mats? That is plasticiser migration from dark rubber into the PVC. The stains cannot be removed. Use light-coloured rubber wherever contact is permanent.

In a healthcare facility the floor is part of the infection control system. What it has to deliver is dictated not by looks or even by wear resistance, but by whether the surface can be reliably disinfected. Let's look at what that means technically.

The key principle: a continuous surface

Any seam, gap or internal corner is a place that cannot be cleaned completely. Organic matter builds up there, biofilm forms there, microorganisms survive treatment there.

Hence the three mandatory elements of a healthcare floor:

1. Welded seams. Sheet vinyl is laid in 2 m wide runs and every joint is welded with welding rod using a hot-air gun. The result is a sealed surface without a single capillary.

2. Coved skirting (sanitary cove). The flooring is not cut off at the wall — it runs up it by 100 mm over a radiused cove former. The 90° internal corner where dirt collects simply does not exist. The top edge is finished with a cap profile and sealed.

3. Sealing of every penetration. Pipes, posts, the feet of fixed equipment — every point where something enters the floor is treated with sanitary sealant.

Ceramic tile with grouted joints fails this principle by design: grout is porous, it absorbs biological fluids and over time darkens and breaks down under the action of disinfectants.

Resistance to disinfectants

In a clinic the floor is treated daily, and in treatment rooms several times per shift:

• chlorine-based products (sodium hypochlorite);
• alcohols (ethanol, 70 % isopropanol);
• quaternary ammonium compounds;
• hydrogen peroxide;
• peracetic acid in surgical areas.

Many floorings look fine for a month or two, then lose their protective layer, yellow or go cloudy. What you need from the material is manufacturer-confirmed resistance to a specific list of disinfectants, not a general claim that it is "resistant to cleaning agents".

PVC floorings with a polyurethane protective layer handle this better than most alternatives — which is exactly why they became the standard across European healthcare.

Emissions: the parameter that matters more in a clinic than anywhere else

Patients in a healthcare facility are in a weakened state, often for long periods and in enclosed rooms. Formaldehyde emission class E1 — the minimum acceptable level of volatile release — is not a formality here.

All our commercial floorings are certified to E1, with confirmation in the declaration of performance. Exactly which documents to demand from a supplier is covered in the article on DoP and CE marking.

Antibacterial properties: what is true and what is marketing

The phrase "antibacterial flooring" comes up often and means different things.

What actually works: a non-porous, seamless surface that gives microorganisms nothing to attach to and that can be treated through to full decontamination. That is a structural property, not an additive.

Bacteriostatic additives (silver ions and similar) in the polymer suppress bacterial growth on the surface. A useful function, but a supporting one: it does not replace cleaning and does not make up for an unwelded seam.

The right order of priorities is sealing and smoothness first, additives second. Flooring with silver ions laid with open joints will not be any more hygienic.

Requirements by area

For reception and waiting areas, where atmosphere matters more than sterility, glue-down LVT planks with wood decors work well — they take away the "hospital" feel while staying waterproof and washable. In clinical rooms, only sheet vinyl with welded seams.

Homogeneous or heterogeneous

Short answer: homogeneous for high-demand clinical areas, heterogeneous is enough for everything else.

Homogeneous PVC is uniform through its full thickness. The pattern does not wear off because it is not printed on the surface — it runs all the way through. Local damage can be sanded out. It is the standard for operating theatres, laboratories and high-traffic corridors.

Heterogeneous PVC is multi-layer, with a decorative film and a clear wear layer. Cheaper, with a wider range of decors, and its service life is set by wear layer thickness. Sufficient for consulting rooms, receptions and administrative areas.

A detailed comparison is in a separate article.

Repairs without shutting the clinic down

A practical argument that often decides a tender. A damaged area of welded flooring is cut out as a rectangle and a new piece is welded in its place — the job takes an hour to an hour and a half in a single room. The clinic keeps seeing patients.

The same repair in porcelain tile means a breaker, dust across the whole floor, wet trades and a minimum of two days with the room out of use.

Maintenance

Daily: damp mopping with a disinfectant from the list agreed with the flooring manufacturer.

Periodically: machine cleaning with a soft pad and renewal of the polymer protective layer every 6–12 months in high-traffic areas.

Never: abrasives, solvents, acetone, products based on strong acids. Watch the rubber pads on furniture — dark rubber in contact with PVC leaves a permanent plasticiser migration stain.

What to order for a healthcare project

Clinical areas — commercial sheet vinyl in class 33–34 with Bfl-s1 and E1, always with welded seams and coved skirting. Reception and administrative rooms — LVT planks. Plus welding rod matched to the flooring colour.

With every delivery we provide the full pack: declaration of performance, CE marking to EN 14041, use class to EN ISO 10874, Bfl-s1 and E1. For tender documentation this set is sufficient.

FAQ

Is coved skirting mandatory? In clinical rooms, yes — it is the standard hygienic detail. In reception and administrative areas a conventional skirting is acceptable.

Will the flooring survive daily chlorine treatment? Yes, provided the concentrations specified by the manufacturer are respected. Exceeding the concentration destroys the protective layer faster than it damages the PVC itself.

Is antistatic flooring necessary? In operating theatres, intensive care and rooms with sensitive electronic equipment, yes. In ordinary consulting rooms it is not required.

Can the floor be laid over existing tiles? Yes, on a sound substrate with the joints filled or a self-levelling compound poured over. That makes it possible to refurbish room by room without closing the clinic.

What documents are needed for a tender? Declaration of performance (DoP), CE marking to EN 14041, the use class test report, Bfl-s1 and E1. We supply the complete set for every item.

The same room-by-room approach over the existing substrate applies to other high-traffic premises: in shops and retail spaces the challenge is similar — refurbishing the floor without stopping trading or closing to the public.

Office flooring is usually chosen on price per square metre and looks. Three years later the carpet under the chairs is worn down to the backing and the laminate in the meeting room has swollen after the water cooler leaked. Let us do the sums differently — on the cost of ownership over ten years.

What actually destroys an office floor

Castor chairs. The main enemy. Over a working day one person makes hundreds of micro-movements within a one-metre radius. Over a year that is tens of thousands of rolling cycles over the same patch. EN 425 is exactly about this — the loaded castor chair test. A floor without proven castor resistance wears into local patches around every workstation.

Point loads. Desk legs, shelving, safes, filing cabinets. Assessed to EN 433 — residual indentation after static load.

Grit from outside. Sand and dust on shoe soles. The first few metres from the entrance take up to 80% of the whole building's abrasive load.

Moisture. Water coolers, coffee machines, spilled cups, mopping by the cleaning contractor.

Three options compared

Carpet tiles

Pros: the best acoustics, pleasant underfoot, a damaged tile is replaced individually.

Cons: absorbs everything — coffee, dust, odours. Needs professional deep cleaning every 6–12 months. Under chairs it wears faster than anything else. It is a dust reservoir, a problem for staff with allergies. Realistic service life in an open-plan office: 5–8 years.

Laminate

Pros: low purchase price, familiar wood look.

Cons: it fears water — a single leak means replacing the area with a strip-out back to the wall. Floating installation requires expansion gaps and transition profiles in doorways and on areas over 100–150 m². Impact noise is high, and in open plan that is noticeable. Chair castors destroy the lacquer layer. Service life in an office: 6–8 years.

LVT vinyl flooring

Pros: fully waterproof. Castor resistance is confirmed by test. Repairable plank by plank. Glue-down installation needs no gaps or profiles — a 400 m² open-plan floor is laid as a single field. A thickness of 2–2.5 mm allows it to be laid over the existing floor covering without building up the level. Fire class Bfl-s1 — a mandatory requirement for public buildings.

Cons: hard underfoot; impact noise needs a separate solution, an acoustic underlay beneath the adhesive. Demanding about substrate flatness.

Service life of class 32 with a 0.3 mm wear layer in an office is 15–18 years; class 33 with a 0.4 mm wear layer, over 20 years.

Cost of ownership: a 300 m² office over 10 years

Indicative calculation: material at our prices, labour at average market rates in Valencia. We do not carry out installation ourselves, but we can pass the enquiry on to our installer partners.

The most expensive option at the outset turns out to be half the price of carpet over ten years — and that is without counting the office downtime during the second refurbishment.

How to zone an office properly

A single floor covering across the whole area is a simple solution, but not an optimal one. It is more sensible to plan by load:

Entrance and reception. Class 33. The first 5–7 metres plus a barrier matting system — a grating outside, a moisture-absorbing module inside. This is the cheapest possible investment in the service life of all the rest of the floor.

Corridors and circulation areas. Class 33. Transit loads are higher than in the working areas, a demand similar to hospitality flooring, where foot traffic never stops.

Open plan and private offices. Class 32 with a 0.3 mm wear layer. Castor resistance to EN 425 is essential.

Meeting rooms. Class 32. Here it is worth spending on acoustics: an acoustic underlay beneath the adhesive, or carpet inserts under the table.

Kitchen and coffee machine area. Class 33 and, without exception, a slip-resistant version — a wet floor by the coffee machine is a regular occurrence.

Server room, archive. Point loads from shelving — look at residual indentation to EN 433. For server rooms, antistatic performance is checked as well.

On-site medical room or doctor's office. If the building has its own medical room, the floor requirements are closer to healthcare than to office standards — homogeneous PVC with welded seams and resistance to disinfectants. More detail in the article on flooring for clinics and healthcare.

Acoustics: what to do about impact noise

The main complaint about hard floor coverings in open plan. Three solutions that work:

1. An acoustic underlay beneath the glue-down installation — cuts impact noise by 10–15 dB, adds 1–2 mm to the height and a noticeable sum to the budget.
2. Carpet islands in break-out areas and under meeting tables — targeted and cheap.
3. Felt pads on furniture and soft castors on chairs — costs next to nothing and removes half the problem. Soft castors, incidentally, also extend the life of the floor itself.

Installation without stopping the office

A practical argument that often proves decisive. Glue-down vinyl is laid in zones: one floor or wing at a time, with staff moving to the neighbouring section. The substrate is prepared at the weekend, laying goes on during the week, and after 24 hours the floor can already be walked on.

With the removal of an old floor covering that scenario is impossible — the office closes entirely. That is why in working offices installation over the existing floor covering is almost always the choice.

Maintenance

Daily: dry sweeping or a damp mop with a pH-neutral product. Quarterly: machine cleaning with a soft pad. Every 3–5 years in high-traffic areas: renewal of the polymer protective layer.

What not to do: abrasive powders, solvents, acetone, steam cleaners. Furniture on felt pads only.

What to order for an office project

For working areas — glue-down LVT in class 32; for corridors and the entrance area — the 2.5 mm class 33 version. If the project involves large areas and a minimum of seams, it is worth considering commercial sheet vinyl: 2 m wide, laid as a continuous sheet.

A calculation for your area with a zone-by-zone breakdown is available through the quotation request form. Indicative figures for material and labour are given in the article on prices.

FAQ

What class is needed for an office? 32 for working areas and private offices, 33 for corridors, reception and the entrance area. Class 34 is excessive for an office.

Will vinyl stand up to castor chairs? Yes, provided castor resistance to EN 425 is confirmed. We also recommend soft castors — they reduce the load on the floor covering.

How noisy is it in open plan? Harder than carpet. It is solved with an acoustic underlay beneath the adhesive, carpet islands and felt pads on furniture.

Can the floor be laid without moving staff out? Yes, in stages, zone by zone. A section can be walked on 24 hours after laying, and furniture can be moved back after 48–72 hours.

What about fire requirements? In public buildings the floor covering must have a reaction-to-fire class of Bfl-s1. All our commercial ranges meet it; the confirmation is in the declaration of performance.

Short answer: yes, vinyl flooring is compatible with both water-based and electric underfloor heating, and it works with it better than most alternatives. But there is a hard temperature limit and a mandatory commissioning procedure — breaking it costs you a reinstallation.

Why vinyl works well with underfloor heating

Low thermal resistance. A 2 mm layer barely blocks the heat. For comparison: 8 mm laminate plus a 2 mm underlay creates several times the resistance — the system takes longer to reach its operating point and consumes more.

Low thermal effusivity. The floor feels warm even at a moderate flow temperature, so the system can be kept at a lower setting, which translates directly into heating savings.

Waterproof. A leak in the circuit will not swell the floor covering the way it does with laminate and wood.

Glue-down installation leaves no air gap. Air is a thermal insulator, and in a floating installation there is always some.

The key limit: 27 °C

The floor surface temperature must not exceed 27 °C. Permanently, not on average.

This is a limitation of the material itself, not a cautious recommendation. Above it:

• the plasticiser migrates faster and the covering gradually loses elasticity;
• the adhesive bond softens and planks can shift under load;
• dimensional movement increases;
• prolonged overheating can alter the colour of the decor.

Practical conclusion: the system is designed for a low-temperature regime. Flow temperature is usually no higher than 35–40 °C — the exact figure is calculated by the designer from the pipe spacing and screed thickness.

A separate word on local overheating. A rug on an underfloor-heated floor, or a sofa standing flush with no clearance, creates a heat trap: underneath, the surface can go well past 27 °C even though the room sensor reads normal. This is the most common cause of localised defects.

Electric underfloor heating — with a caveat

A water circuit embedded in the screed heats evenly. An electric cable or mat laid close to the surface produces uneven heating: hot above the cable, cooler between the runs.

For a thin vinyl covering this matters: overheating stripes show through on the surface.

Requirements with an electric system:

• a mandatory distribution screed layer of at least 10 mm over the cable;
• a thermostat with a floor sensor, not just an air sensor, with a hard upper-limit setting;
• infrared film systems are not suitable under a glue-down covering: there is no distribution layer and no reliable substrate to bond to.

Commissioning protocol — a mandatory procedure

Ignoring this sequence is the second most common cause of problems after overheating.

Before installation

1. The screed cures for the required period: cement — at least 28 days; anhydrite — as specified by the manufacturer.
2. Heat-up cycle for drying. The system is switched on at its lowest setting, the temperature is raised in 5 °C steps per day up to the maximum operating value, held there for several days, then lowered in the same stepwise manner.
3. Moisture measurement after the heat-up cycle. Cement screed — no more than 2% by the CM method; anhydrite — no more than 0.5%. The measurement is taken specifically after the heating cycle, because the cycle drives residual moisture out to the surface.
4. Switch the system off 48 hours before installation.

During installation

Substrate temperature 15–18 °C, air temperature no lower than 15 °C. The material acclimatises in the room for 24–48 hours.

Adhesive — with confirmed suitability for underfloor heating. A standard dispersion adhesive performs worse through heating and cooling cycles; for this job you use a formulation with higher heat resistance.

After installation

Period	Action
7 days	the system is not switched on at all
after 7 days	start at minimum, raise by 5 °C per day
reaching operating point	no faster than over 3–4 days
permanently	monitoring: no higher than 27 °C at the surface

What not to do

Do not lay an underlay or "insulation". Under a glue-down covering an underlay is not needed at all, and over underfloor heating it is outright harmful — it cuts the heat transfer the system was installed for in the first place. In this context, the search "insulation under vinyl flooring" means the opposite of what is actually required.

Do not switch the system straight to maximum. A sudden heat-up is a thermal shock to a fresh adhesive bond.

Do not force-dry the screed with the underfloor heating. That means cracks in the screed and, after that, defects in the covering.

Do not place furniture without clearance and do not lay dense rugs permanently.

Click SPC over underfloor heating

It works, but less well:

• an underlay is mandatory, and the underlay is itself an insulator;
• the air gap reduces heat transfer;
• heating and cooling cycles mean constant micro-movement — the most demanding situation for click joints;
• perimeter expansion gaps have to be increased.

If the underfloor heating is already installed, the glue-down option is more practical.

What to order

Glue-down LVT planks at 2 or 2.5 mm are optimal over underfloor heating thanks to their minimal thickness. For large areas and wet zones — sheet vinyl.

Choose an adhesive with explicitly declared suitability for underfloor heating: the manufacturer states this on a separate line in the technical data sheet.

If you have a project underway, send us the system type (water-based or electric), the screed thickness over the circuit and the planned operating regime, and we will help with the selection.

FAQ

Can vinyl flooring be laid over underfloor heating? Yes. The limits are no more than 27 °C at the surface and compliance with the heat-up protocol before and after installation.

What is the maximum temperature for vinyl flooring? 27 °C at the surface of the covering, permanently. The flow temperature is set so that this threshold is never exceeded.

Is infrared film suitable? Under a glue-down covering — no: there is no distribution layer and no substrate the covering can be bonded to.

When can the heating be switched on after installation? No sooner than 7 days later, raising the temperature by 5 °C per day.

Is an underlay needed over underfloor heating? No, and it is harmful — it reduces heat transfer. Underlay is not used with glue-down installation.

Which is more efficient over underfloor heating — vinyl or laminate? Vinyl, by a clear margin: thinner, more conductive, and with no insulating underlay.