Two vinyl floor samples sit side by side on the counter. Same wood pattern, same tone, even the texture feels identical under your fingertips. The price tags, though, tell a completely different story - the gap can be double. The customer looks up and asks: "But why?" We hear this question often in the showroom, and it is a fair one - online, almost nothing answers it except the price itself.
Most people choose a floor once or twice in a lifetime. It is not an impulse purchase, and basing the decision only on the number on the price tag is risky precisely because a mistake does not show up in the shop - it shows up a year later, under your feet.
"Vinyl" is not a single material - it is a shared label for at least two completely different solutions. Glue-down vinyl (LVT) is fully bonded to the subfloor and becomes one solid, motionless floor. Click vinyl with an SPC core floats above the subfloor and locks together without any glue at all. The construction is different, the amount of raw material is different - so the price is different too, even when the picture shows the same wood grain.
This difference is not just theoretical. Walking on glue-down vinyl, the floor feels stable and quiet - none of the "hollow" sound you sometimes hear on a floating floor. Click vinyl gives up a little here - the feel underfoot is slightly hollower - but it makes up for that with simpler, faster installation and the option to take the floor up again later. Neither is "better" - they are two different products with a different cost structure that can look identical from the outside.
Even within one type, price is shaped by things a photo does not show: core density, the thickness of the protective wear layer, the manufacturer's warranty. A thinner wear layer can look just as good in the showroom but wears through faster under daily use - and that shows up not on the price tag, but a few years later, in the floor. That is not a marketing trick, it simply is not written on the label - but it is a question you can ask directly.
And a warranty is only worth as much as the company that issued it will still be around. A ten-year warranty from a seller founded five years ago is a hope, not a promise - and you can check it simply by asking how long the company has actually been operating in the market.
To make sense of the numbers you will see in the showroom, it helps to know what typically stands behind each price level:
Up to roughly €20/m2 - a thinner wear layer and a simpler pattern. Fine for lower-traffic rooms or when budget is the main constraint, but wear will show sooner.
Roughly €20-35/m2 - the most commonly chosen segment. A thicker wear layer, a wider choice of decors, durable enough for everyday living spaces.
Roughly €35-60/m2 - a heavier wear layer, a more realistic surface texture and pattern, built for a longer service life and higher traffic.
€60+/m2 - the top segment, often with extra durability features, a broader design choice and a longer warranty.
These ranges are only a guide, and they do not always include the same things - delivery, consultation and professional installation may be included in some offers and charged separately in others. That is one more reason why two visually identical products with a similar price tag can, in reality, mean a completely different deal.
Next time you compare two similar offers, instead of asking "why is this one cheaper", ask:
Is it the same construction - LVT or click/SPC?
What does the warranty cover, and for how many years?
How long has the company been operating in the market - will the warranty realistically hold up?
Does the price include consultation and professional installation, or only the material?
These questions are easiest to ask in person, with both samples in hand - not across two open browser tabs.
Visual similarity and price difference are two different stories. You can only make sense of the second one once you see what you are actually paying for - not just what it looks like.
At Decco Centrs, the Anitra showroom lets you place several vinyl floor options side by side, touch them, listen to how they sound underfoot, and work out with a consultant exactly what you are paying for.
Anitra showroom at Decco Centrs, Katlakalna iela 6, Riga.
Glue-down vinyl is fully bonded to the subfloor and forms one solid, motionless, quiet floor. Click vinyl with an SPC core, by contrast, floats above the subfloor and locks together without any glue - it is simpler and faster to install, but the feel underfoot can be slightly hollower.
The price difference comes from things a photo does not show - the construction type, core density, the thickness of the wear layer, and the manufacturer's warranty. A thinner wear layer can look just as good in the showroom but wears through faster under everyday use.
The simplest way is to ask how long the company has been operating in the market. A warranty is only worth as much as the company that issued it will still be around, so a ten-year warranty from a very new company is more of a hope than a promise.
