Hello,
We have a mass timber purpose-built rental project specifying flooring at the moment and are trying to find a healthy flooring option while managing acoustics with CLT floorslabs. We don't typically spec vinyl flooring due to the health concerns around PVC, but the project is budget-conscious, and our flooring supplier is suggesting that all they can offer that meets acoustic requirements is Floorscore certified LVT (with backing).
Does anyone have non-PVC flooring solutions that allow for Code compliant acoustics when combined with CLT slabs? Particularly for affordable housing projects.
Thanks all!
- Linoleum: Forbo and Tarkett both have good options.
- Rubber: Nora, American Biltrite, Johnsonite/Tarkett, Mohawk and Expanko all have options here.
- Other polymers: Mohawk, Armstrong, Inhaus Surfaces, Handsome Plastics, Hallmark Floors, Congoleum, Mannington Mills, Teknoflor and Shaw.
Hallmark floors Voyager PVC-free flooring, Mannington Mills Cirro, Congoleum Cleo and Mohawk Pivot Point are all products that look like LVT and are PVC free. And there are acoustic underlayments available for use with any resilient or hard surface flooring products that can resolve acoustic issues. Pliteq GenieMat RST is a decent product, although it is made of tire-derived recycled rubber, so I am breaking my own rule, but a girl's gotta manage sound. None of this answers the cost issue though. We used to be able to fight VCT with the maintenance savings, but the LVT's don't need the waxing and stripping that VCT required, so that probably won't work here. I don't know what the cost comparisons are for those products, but that would give you some alternatives to the dreaded LVT. Good luck!