Floating Floor Surfaces

Specifying vinyl floor tile and plank without using adhesives
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Sponsored by EarthWerks®
Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP
This test is no longer available for credit

All of these design attributes make locking floating vinyl floors well suited to a variety of building types but this is particularly true in high foot traffic areas such as corridors, assembly spaces, meeting rooms, classrooms, etc. With more thickness and more flexibility, it lives up to the overall intent of being truly resilient flooring.

Physical Characteristics

Material Make-up
Premium vinyl flooring is typically made from all virgin PVC material without the use of any recycled content. The material itself can be 100% recycled at the end of its service life, but in order to maintain consistent quality manufacturers start with new material. ASTM F1700-04 Solid Vinyl Floor Tile is the governing quality control standard. The specifications in this standard establish the material and performance characteristics that determine serviceability and recommended applicability in commercial, light commercial, and residential buildings. Flooring tile is classified with Class I used for monolithic vinyl tiles, Class II for surface-decorated vinyl tiles, and Class III for printed film vinyl tiles. Furthermore, these classes are sub-grouped as Type A for tiles with smooth surfaces, and Type B for those with embossed surfaces. The manufactured tiles or planks are tested based on their compositions of binder, filler, and pigments plus lubricants and processing aids, the composition for all of which is dictated by their respective classes. So, for example, a vinyl tile or plank that is printed and embossed to look like wood or stone would be a Class III, type B under this standard. When tested, the tiles must meet physical requirements for binder content, dimensional consistency (including size, thickness, squareness, and dimensional stability), residual indentation, flexibility, resistance to chemicals, resistance to heat, and resistance to light. Therefore any tile or plank that has been tested and met this ASTM standard has risen to a high level of quality. In fact, many interlocking floating floor tiles and planks have been found to provide superior dimensional stability within the product beyond the testing standard which is improves the useful life and maintenance ease of the flooring.

Loading
In terms of static loading on the flooring, ASTM F970 Standard Test Method for Static Load Limit is the testing standard that applies. This test method is used to determine the recovery properties of resilient floor covering after a 24 hour indentation test under a specified load. The resulting value indicates residual indentation which is the depth of the depression still remaining 24 hours after the specified load is removed. It is realistic to specify up to 2000 psi load performance with minimal or no indentations remaining.

Fire Safety
All interior flooring products need to be concerned with fire and smoke ratings and that includes vinyl flooring. Flammability ratings need to be specified and products that pass ASTM D2859 - 06(2011) Standard Test Method for Ignition Characteristics of Finished Textile Floor Covering Materials are usually required by building codes. Similarly, smoke density performance under ASTM E662 - 09 Standard Test Method for Specific Optical Density of Smoke Generated by Solid Materials is required. It is possible to specify ratings at less than 450 under this test. Finally, ASTM E648 - 10e1 Standard Test Method for Critical Radiant Flux of Floor-Covering Systems Using a Radiant Heat Energy Source is a relevant and commonly required standard for determining overall fire safety. The fundamental assumption inherent in the test is that critical radiant flux is one measure of the sensitivity to flame spread of floor-covering systems in a building corridor. The imposed radiant flux simulates the thermal radiation levels anticipated on the floors of a building whose upper surfaces are heated by flames or hot gases, or both, from a fully developed fire in an adjacent room or compartment. The standard was developed to simulate this important fire exposure component of fires that commonly develops in corridors or exit ways of buildings. This test is not intended or applicable for areas other than corridors or exit ways. Therefore, if the vinyl flooring being specified is called for in egress corridors and exit ways, then this ASTM standard is relevant and should be specified at levels greater than or equal to 0.45.

Interlocking floating plank (left) and tile (right) floors meet stringent testing requirements for indentation, fire, and smoke safety.

Photo courtesy of EarthWerks

 

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Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in May 2013

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