Ten years ago the choice for a Bangkok condo floor was tile or laminate, and laminate lost every time it met a wet mop. Now there is a third option that has quietly become the default, and it is worth understanding why before you spend ฿50,000 on a floor.
The four options in one table
| SPC | Laminate | Vinyl (LVT / sheet) | Tile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterproof | Yes, fully | No — swells at joints | Yes | Yes |
| Over existing tile | Yes, click-lock | Yes, but risky if wet | Glue-down needs flat floor | Remove first |
| Feel underfoot | Firm, warm-ish | Thicker, warmer | Thin, soft | Hard, cold |
| Install time (70 m²) | 1–2 days | 1–2 days | 2–3 days | 5–7 days |
| Cost per m² installed | ฿990–1,400 | ฿650–1,100 | ฿550–1,000 | ฿1,490+ (after survey) |
| Kitchens & bathrooms | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Lifespan in Bangkok | 15–20 years | 5–10 years | 8–12 years | 30+ years |
SPC: what it is and why it wins for condos
SPC stands for stone-plastic composite. The plank is a rigid core of limestone powder and PVC with a printed vinyl layer on top and a clear wear layer over that. It looks like timber or stone from a metre away, it click-locks together like laminate, and it is completely waterproof: spills, wet mopping, Bangkok humidity and the occasional overflowed washing machine do nothing to it.
For a condo the practical advantages stack up:
- It goes over the existing tile. No demolition, no dust, no skip in the lobby. The old floor stays as a solid base. Read SPC over existing tiles for the checks that matter.
- No glue, no smell. Click-lock over a thin underlay. You can walk on it the same day and sleep in the room that night.
- One to two days for a whole condo. Which is why it is the floor of choice for rentals between tenants.
- It does not move with humidity. Laminate expands and contracts as the air changes; in Bangkok that means gaps in April and peaking in October. SPC is dimensionally stable.
The trade-offs: it is thinner and firmer than laminate, so it feels closer to tile than to timber underfoot (a thicker plank with an attached pad fixes most of that), and it is not real wood, if that matters to you. Deep scratches from dragged furniture will show, as on any floor with a printed surface.
RenoRova's SPC flooring is ฿990 per m² installed and up, with underlay, skirting, thresholds and door trimming included.
Laminate: fine in a dry bedroom, a gamble anywhere else
Laminate is a compressed wood-fibre board with a photographic top layer. It is thicker and slightly warmer than SPC, and it is cheaper. The problem is the core: wood fibre absorbs water. One overflowed bathroom, one wet season with the balcony door open, one leaking AC drain, and the joints swell into little ridges that never go back down.
In a bedroom with no wet room nearby, and with a household that never mops with more than a damp cloth, it lasts. Everywhere else in a Bangkok condo we recommend SPC instead, and we say so at the survey even when the client asked for laminate. If you want the thicker, warmer board and the room is genuinely dry, we install laminate properly with expansion gaps and underlay.
Vinyl: two very different products
"Vinyl" covers two things. Glue-down LVT (luxury vinyl tile or plank) is a thin, flexible waterproof plank stuck to the subfloor with adhesive. It is excellent when the subfloor is perfectly flat and terrible when it is not — every tile joint, every high spot, telegraphs through within months. It also means adhesive fumes and a day of curing. Loose-lay vinyl sheet is the cheap roll-out product: it lifts at the edges, dents under furniture and is what the ฿300 per m² adverts are selling.
For a condo with an existing tiled floor, SPC does everything glue-down LVT does without needing the floor skimmed flat first.
Tile: the durable, cold, slow option
Porcelain tile outlasts everything on this list and shrugs off water, heat and dogs. It is also cold, hard, loud, and installing it in an occupied condo means stripping the old floor, re-screeding, laying, grouting and curing — five to seven days of dust and noise, and juristic-office paperwork in most towers. It is the right choice for balconies, wet rooms and anyone who wants large-format stone looks. It is quoted after a free survey because removal and levelling vary so much.
What actually decides how long a floor lasts
Whichever product you choose, three things matter more than the brand: the subfloor must be flat and solid (loose old tiles fixed, high spots ground), there must be an expansion gap at every edge and doorway under the skirting, and the planks must be laid in the right direction with staggered joints. A floor laid badly fails in a year regardless of the plank. See how RenoRova prepares and lays a floor on the SPC page, and the guide prices by home size on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is SPC flooring good for Thailand's humidity?
Yes — it is the best-suited floating floor for it. The stone-plastic core does not absorb water, so humidity, spills and wet mopping have no effect, and it does not expand and contract the way laminate does. It can be used in kitchens and bathrooms as well as living areas.
What is the difference between SPC and laminate?
Laminate is a compressed wood-fibre board with a printed top layer; SPC is a rigid limestone-and-PVC core with a vinyl top layer. Laminate swells if water gets into the joints; SPC is waterproof. SPC is thinner and firmer, laminate is thicker and slightly warmer underfoot in a dry room.
How much does SPC flooring cost in Bangkok?
In 2026, ฿990–1,400 per m² installed, including underlay, skirting and thresholds, depending on plank thickness and wear layer. RenoRova's guide price for a whole 45 m² one-bedroom is ฿47,900; a 70 m² two-bedroom ฿72,900.
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Written by the RenoRova Team
We're Bangkok's documented renovation crew — everything we write comes from real painting, regrouting and flooring jobs across condos, homes and short-stay rentals.
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