A seam is where liquid and soil can collect. Decide how much each room can accept.
What "seamless" means
In sheet goods, a seamless floor starts as continuous rolls. The installer routes the seams between rolls and heat-fuses a PVC weld rod into the groove. The result is one continuous surface with no open seam. It can be coved 4 to 6 inches up the wall to remove the floor-to-wall joint. A heat-welded seam is the standard detail in human hospitals.
What modular means
Modular floors are planks, tiles or rolls with joints between the pieces. Rigid core planks click together and float, or glue down. A damaged plank comes out and a new plank goes in. Modular floors also skip the slab qualification that a resinous coating needs: moisture testing, manufacturer sign-off, profiling and cure time. You confirm that the slab is flat and clean, and start.
Side by side
| Point | Seamless (welded) | Modular (plank, tile, roll) |
|---|---|---|
| Joints | One continuous surface | Joints between pieces |
| Repair | A patch, or remove the full section | Replace one piece |
| Wall joint | Can be coved up the wall | Close it with a coved wall base |
| Installer | A heat-welding specialist | Click, glue-down or tape methods |
| Best fit | Surgical, sterile prep, isolation | Lobby, reception, exam rooms |
Send us the room list. We will tell you what we can supply for each room.
A sealed seam is not a welded seam
Seam sealer closes the joint where two sheets or rolls meet. A sealed seam resists water at the surface. A welded seam fuses the two pieces into one. For a surgical or sterile prep room, the weld is the specification.
The installer decides the result
Poorly welded seams can open within 2 to 3 years. This is almost always an installer problem, not a product problem. Specify a welded floor only when you have an installer who specializes in heat welding. If you do not, choose a different floor for that zone. A welded floor also has limits outside sterile rooms. In an exam room, it gives less design choice than LVT, and a repair means a patch, not a new plank.