Vinyl Flooring Singapore

"Vinyl flooring" covers a few different products. The right one depends on the room, your budget and what is underneath.

For homes, a 5 to 6mm SPC plank with an attached underlay is the most common choice. It is thick enough to bridge small grout lines and quiet enough for flats. Look at the wear layer as well as the total thickness: a thicker wear layer stands up better to chairs, pets and sand from shoes.

If you prefer the look of a wood-pattern board with a harder surface, compare with laminate flooring.

• Bedrooms and living rooms. The main use. Vinyl over old tiles changes the look of a flat quickly, without hacking.
• Kitchens. SPC handles spills well, but standing water at the edges can still seep under. Many owners keep the cooking area tiled and lay vinyl in an open dining area.
• Bathrooms and showers. Not recommended. Keep wet areas tiled, with proper waterproofing.
• Balconies and sunny windows. Strong direct sun can fade vinyl and make planks expand. Use blinds or curtains on west-facing windows; see blinds.
• Over hollow or cracked tiles. Fix them first. Vinyl over loose tiles can crack, click or lift when the tile below moves. See tile repair.
• Homes with pets. SPC with a thicker wear layer resists scratches better than softer vinyl.

Typical 2026 market prices, supplied and installed over existing tiles. The final price depends on the product, the floor area, the room layout and the condition of the floor underneath.

A worked example: 600 sq ft of mid-range SPC at $6 per sq ft is about $3,600, plus about 110 feet of skirting at $4.50 per foot (about $500), for roughly $4,100 in total. Hacking out the old tiles first would add several thousand dollars, which is why most owners overlay. Use our hacking cost calculator if you are weighing up both options.

Based on HDB's renovation guidelines for building works:

• No permit for vinyl. Laying vinyl finishes, carpet or linoleum does not need an HDB permit. This also applies inside the household shelter.
• Replacing tiles needs a permit. Removing and replacing ceramic, homogeneous, marble or other tiles is permit work. The total thickness of floor finishes and screed must not exceed 50mm, and bathrooms need a waterproofing membrane and screed before new finishes.
• Overlaying tiles on tiles. New floor finishes laid over existing ones with adhesive only need no permit, but there must be only one existing layer, and the new layer including adhesive must not exceed 13mm.
• New flats. Bathroom and toilet floor and wall finishes cannot be removed in the first 3 years after the block is completed.

Vinyl flooring itself is done by our own team. If you decide to hack and re-tile instead, renovation works are carried out by our partner V On Construction Pte. Ltd., listed in HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors. Our HDB flooring guide compares tiles, vinyl and SPC, and our HDB renovation permit guide explains the permit process.

1. Check the floor. We tap-test the tiles for hollow spots, check the level and look for damp. Loose tiles are re-fixed before anything goes on top.
2. Prepare. The floor is cleaned, deep grout lines or dips are levelled, and doors are checked for clearance.
3. Lay the planks. Planks are laid with an expansion gap at the walls, cut around door frames and fitted at the room transitions.
4. Finish. Skirting and transition strips go on, doors are trimmed if they scrape, and the area is cleaned.

Most bedrooms take half a day to a day; a whole flat usually takes 1 to 3 days. Common problems we see on older vinyl floors, and what usually fixes them:

• Gaps opening between planks. Often caused by a floor that was not level or planks laid without enough expansion gap. Small areas can be re-clicked; widespread gaps usually mean relaying.
• Planks peaking or lifting. Usually trapped against a wall, cabinet or door frame with no expansion gap. Trimming the edge often solves it.
• Swelling or soft spots near the kitchen or toilet. Water has got underneath. Find the leak first, then replace the affected planks.
• Doors scraping after installation. The floor has risen. The door can be trimmed or planed; see door repair.

If only a few planks are damaged, replacing them is cheaper than a new floor, as long as you have spare planks or the product is still available.

1. The rooms to be done and the floor area, or your flat type (for example 4-room HDB).
2. Photos of the existing floor in each room, including any cracked or hollow tiles.
3. Photos of the doors and door frames, and the floor at each doorway.
4. The vinyl product you like (a link or sample), or your budget per sq ft.
5. Whether the home will be empty or occupied, and your target move-in date.

Moving into a new place? Our move-in packages combine flooring with curtains, blinds and small installations.

We take vinyl flooring jobs islandwide. Our workshop is at Mandai Estate, so Woodlands, Yishun, Sembawang and Admiralty are the quickest for us to reach, and we regularly cover Punggol, Sengkang, Ang Mo Kio, Tampines, Bedok, Jurong and the rest of Singapore.