Fitting out a rental unit or a flip on a tight budget usually starts at the bottom of the price list, and on our SPC shelf that means two Riche lines: the 6mm Calgary Modified planks at $2.66 per sq ft and the 6.5mm Calgary planks at $2.77 per sq ft. Both have an IXPE pad attached, both click together, and both are listed as waterproof. For most tenant turnovers and resale refreshes they are good enough, as long as you accept one clear limit: a 12mil wear layer with a residential rating, and no 20mil version in either line. Below we compare the two on box coverage, installed cost and fit for rentals and flips, using live prices from our 6mm waterproof SPC vinyl plank collection and its 6.5mm sister line.
Short answer: good enough for a rental, with two limits
If the question is whether the entry-price Riche SPC can carry a rental or a flip, the answer is yes for ordinary residential rooms. Here is what you are buying and where it stops:
- Price: $2.66 per sq ft for the 6mm line and $2.77 per sq ft for the 6.5mm line. Of the 87 SPC products we have in stock, 20 cost less than $3.56 per sq ft, and all 20 belong to these two lines.
- Underlay: every plank in both lines comes with an attached IXPE pad, so there is no separate underlay roll to buy.
- Labour: our installation rate for vinyl jobs over 300 sq ft is $1.50 per sq ft in a house and $2.00 per sq ft in a condo.
- First limit: the wear layer is 12mil, and the listings carry a durability rating of "12mil - Residential".
- Second limit: neither line is made with a 20mil wear layer. In-stock 20mil SPC in our catalogue starts at $3.56 per sq ft.
That second point is the real decision for a landlord. If the rooms are bedrooms, living areas and hallways in normal residential use, the budget lines fit their rating. If you want a thicker wear layer for a unit you expect to turn over often, the step up costs $0.90 more per sq ft than the 6mm line. For the wider picture of the SPC brands and series we carry, start with our guide to SPC vinyl plank brands in Toronto.
Calgary Modified 6mm and Calgary 6.5mm, spec by spec
The product pages name the 6mm planks the Calgary Modified Collection and the 6.5mm planks the Calgary Collection. Each line has ten colours, and all ten of each were in stock when we checked. The 6.5mm colours sit in their own 6.5mm waterproof SPC collection. Put side by side, the two lines are closer than their names suggest:
| Spec | 6mm Calgary Modified | 6.5mm Calgary |
|---|---|---|
| Total thickness | 6mm | 6.5mm |
| Build listed on the product page | 4.5mm SPC core plus 1.5mm IXPE pad | 5mm SPC core plus 1.5mm IXPE pad |
| Plank width | 7.09 inches | 7.09 inches |
| Plank length | 48 inches | 48 inches |
| Wear layer | 12mil | 12mil |
| Durability rating | Residential | Residential |
| Installation | Click-lock, UniPush locking | Click-lock, I4F locking |
| Waterproof (as listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Colours in stock | 10 | 10 |
| Box price | $62.93 | $59.00 |
| Coverage per box | 23.64 sq ft | 21.27 sq ft |
| Price per sq ft | $2.66 | $2.77 |
Prices checked October 6, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue, and every colour within a line shares the same price and box size.
The extra half millimetre in the 6.5mm line is all core: the product pages list a 4.5mm core for Calgary Modified and a 5mm core for Calgary, with the same 1.5mm pad under both. Width and length match, so a finished room in either line shows the same plank size and the same number of seams. The visible differences are colour and the locking profile, and for a rental the colour range is often what settles it.
Why the cheaper box is the dearer floor
Shelf tags can mislead here. A 6.5mm Calgary box costs $59.00, which is $3.93 less than the $62.93 box of 6mm Calgary Modified. The 6.5mm box also covers 2.37 sq ft less floor, and that matters more than the sticker. Divide each box price by its coverage and the order flips:
- 6mm Calgary Modified: $62.93 ÷ 23.64 sq ft = $2.66 per sq ft
- 6.5mm Calgary: $59.00 ÷ 21.27 sq ft = $2.77 per sq ft
So the line with the lower box price costs $0.11 more for every square foot you lay. On a single bedroom that gap is small change. Across a whole unit it adds up, and you also carry more boxes, because each one covers less. A 1,000 sq ft floor takes 45 boxes of the 6mm line and 50 boxes of the 6.5mm line once the waste allowance is added.
Anyone pricing several pad-attached waterproof planks against each other can use our overview of waterproof vinyl with the pad included for that ranking. The rest of this page stays with the two Riche lines and what they cost on a real job.
Installed cost for a condo rental and a whole-house flip
Our quotes follow one formula, and you can repeat it with your own measurements:
- Area with waste = floor area × 1.05 (a 5% allowance for cuts).
- Boxes = area with waste ÷ coverage per box, rounded up to whole boxes.
- Material = boxes × box price.
- Labour = area with waste × labour rate ($1.50 per sq ft in a house, $2.00 per sq ft in a condo, for jobs over 300 sq ft).
- HST = 13% of material plus labour.
No underlay line appears, since the pad is already on the planks.
650 sq ft condo rental at the condo rate
| Line item | 6mm Calgary Modified | 6.5mm Calgary |
|---|---|---|
| Area with 5% waste | 682.5 sq ft | 682.5 sq ft |
| Boxes | 29 | 33 |
| Material | $1,824.97 | $1,947.00 |
| Labour at $2.00 per sq ft | $1,365.00 | $1,365.00 |
| Subtotal | $3,189.97 | $3,312.00 |
| HST 13% | $414.70 | $430.56 |
| Total | $3,604.67 | $3,742.56 |
The 6.5mm column needs four more boxes, and one of them is down to rounding: 682.5 ÷ 21.27 comes to just over 32 boxes, so a 33rd box is ordered for a fraction of its coverage. That is why the gap on this unit, $137.89, is larger than the $0.11 per sq ft difference alone would suggest.
1,000 sq ft house flip at the house rate
| Cost line | Calgary Modified (6mm) | Calgary (6.5mm) |
|---|---|---|
| Floor area plus 5% waste | 1,050 sq ft | 1,050 sq ft |
| Boxes | 45 | 50 |
| Material | $2,831.85 | $2,950.00 |
| Labour at $1.50 per sq ft | $1,575.00 | $1,575.00 |
| Subtotal | $4,406.85 | $4,525.00 |
| HST 13% | $572.89 | $588.25 |
| Total | $4,979.74 | $5,113.25 |
Spread over the 1,000 sq ft of floor, that is about $4.98 per sq ft installed with tax for the 6mm line and $5.11 for the 6.5mm line, a difference of $133.51 for the house.
Neither budget includes taking up the old floor, delivery, baseboards, transitions or stairs. Those depend on what is already down and how the unit is laid out, so we confirm them at quote. Jobs under 300 sq ft are also priced after viewing rather than at the per-square-foot rate. For general installed-cost budgets across all of our vinyl, see our vinyl plank installed-cost guide for Toronto and the GTA.
Where a 12mil residential rating fits, and where it stops
Every colour in both lines lists the same wear layer, 12mil, with the durability field reading "Residential". Plan around that rating rather than around marketing copy. A rented apartment or a house being refreshed for sale is residential use, so bedrooms, living rooms, hallways and kitchens sit inside what the listing describes.
The rating stops being a match once a space is used commercially, such as a shop floor, an office or a room that doubles as a business. A landlord who simply wants more surface protection between tenants can also step up: the 20mil SPC we stock starts at $3.56 per sq ft. What a mil measures, and how the two wear layers compare, is covered in our explainer on 12mil and 20mil wear layers. If you are also unsure whether the core itself is thick enough, our comparison of thinner and thicker SPC cores deals with that separately.
Flippers sometimes weigh a budget SPC against real wood for the listing photos. That trade-off has its own page: our Riche 6mm against European Oak engineered review.
Choosing a line and a colour for the unit
With the specs this close, the choice usually comes down to a few practical rules:
- Pick the 6mm Calgary Modified line for large open areas where the per-square-foot price drives the budget. It is $0.11 less per sq ft and its bigger box means fewer boxes to haul up to a unit.
- Pick the 6.5mm Calgary line when one of its ten colours suits the space better. On the 1,000 sq ft example the difference is $133.51 with tax, small enough that colour can reasonably decide.
- Pick by box rounding on small orders. Work out both box counts before you commit, since one line can need an extra box that the other does not.
- Step out of both lines if the space has a commercial use or you want a 20mil wear layer.
On colour, the 6mm line includes light, warm shades such as Blonde Sand Oak and Cream Ivory Oak. The 6.5mm line includes Olive Sand Oak, described on its product page as a greige with subtle green undertones, and Linen Drift Oak, a soft beige-grey. For a unit whose next occupant you have not met yet, a neutral shade from the lighter end of either range is the easier one to furnish around.
Before you order for a rental or a flip
- Measure each room and add the areas together, then add the 5% allowance before counting boxes.
- Count boxes for both lines and compare the material totals, not the shelf price of one box.
- Check your building's own rules before you order if the unit is in a condo.
- Note what is on the floor now, and send photos with your quote request so removal can be priced.
- Order every box for the unit together, so the whole job is in hand before installation day.
Riche Calgary vinyl plank questions from landlords and flippers
Is 6mm vinyl flooring good for a rental?
For residential rooms, yes. A Riche Calgary Collection vinyl plank or its 6mm Calgary Modified cousin has a residential-rated 12mil wear layer, an attached pad and a click-lock joint, which covers what most rental bedrooms, living rooms and hallways ask of a floor. Choose a 20mil product instead if the space has a commercial use.
Is Richie or Riches flooring the same as Riche?
Yes. The brand is spelled Riche, and our catalogue lists it as Riche Flooring; Richie and Riches are common misspellings of the name. The 6mm and 6.5mm lines on this page are both Riche Flooring products.
Do these planks need a separate underlay?
No. Each product title in both lines includes the words "with IXPE Pad", and the product pages describe it as a 1.5mm pad attached at the factory. Our quote formula adds underlay rolls only for laminate and engineered click floors, so a vinyl quote for these planks carries no underlay line.
How many boxes cover a 500 sq ft apartment?
Add 5% to get 525 sq ft. That works out to 23 boxes of the 6mm line ($1,447.39 in material) or 25 boxes of the 6.5mm line ($1,475.00). Installation, tax and any removal sit on top of those figures.
Is the 6.5mm line worth the extra $0.11 per sq ft?
Only if you prefer one of its colours. The two lines share width, length, wear layer, rating and pad; what the extra money buys is a 5mm core in place of 4.5mm and a different palette.
Get a Riche Calgary flooring quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send us your room sizes and the colour you have in mind through our flooring quote request form, and we will price material and installation for your rental or flip with both lines side by side.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819