Click WPC Vinyl Plank Flooring vs Loose Lay Vinyl Plank Flooring

Both click and loose lay are styles of floating floors. These two types of vinyl plank flooring share looks and styles equally with a very realistic wood finish. There is no need for nails, staples or glue, although glue can be used for loose lay. Both are 100% waterproof floors. This means that the flooring cannot be harmed by water, or even full flooding. Whatever you choose to do after a water emergency, both types of planks can be lifted and reinstalled after your sub floor has been dried out.

WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) click vinyl plank flooring is the newest innovation in the vinyl flooring market. The planks are thicker. Usually 5.5 mm or more. Installation directly onto the sub floor without the need for any underlay is the norm. However, if you have any areas on your sub floor which may accumulate water or moisture, it is recommended to use a moisture barrier underlay. This will prevent any mold or mildew developing from trapped moisture under the planks. Placing underlay under your planking can also assist with covering up minor imperfections and slight unevenness with your sub floor. 

It is important to be aware of the limitations of using underlay with click vinyl plank flooring. Stress can be placed on the locking system and cause your floorboards to separate. So if you do choose to use underlay to mask imperfections in your sub floor, then a very thin underlay is best. You should not use underlay with loose lay planks.

Loose lay vinyl is the easiest to install and can be installed without glue or a locking system, directly onto the sub floor. 

One of the major differences between click and loose lay is stability. The click flooring planks are locked tightly together, creating a tight seam between each plank, which results in a far more stable floor and making it difficult for liquid spills to penetrate into the sub floor. With loose lay, any spills are likely to penetrate the seams between the planking. 

If there is a need for maintenance of the sub floor, or replacement of individual planks, loose lay flooring is the easiest to lift and reinstall. With click floor you will have to uninstall to the required spot and then reinstall back to the wall. In a situation where a single plank only is in need of replacement, the simple option is to remove the damaged, or faulty plank and glue a replacement plank in place.

To summarize, the major benefit of the loose lay planks is ease of installment and replacement. The benefits of click flooring is increased waterproofing between the planks, due to the tightness achieved by the locking system and secondly, far more flooring stability, again due to all the individual planks being locked tightly together.