A small restaurant, café, daycare or clinic can floor its public rooms with one of two things from our shelves: a 20mil SPC vinyl plank, or an AC6 laminate for the dry areas. This guide is a shortlist for those four kinds of space, built from the specs and prices in our catalogue. If you are weighing restaurant flooring options, the place to start is our 10mm SPC vinyl plank collection. Planning an office, retail unit or light industrial space instead? Our commercial flooring installation overview covers those. One limit applies to everything below: we do not publish slip-resistance, fire or health-code ratings for any product, so none are claimed here.
Which floor goes where? A quick matching table
Match the room first, then the product. The reasons in the last column come straight from the product listings.
| Space | Start with | Why, from the listing data |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant or café dining room, entrance | 10mm 20mil SPC | Waterproof listed as Yes, 20mil wear layer, durability field reads Commercial / Heavy Duty |
| Café seating and counter zone | 9mm 20mil SPC with EVA pad | Lower price per sq ft than the 10mm planks, and the pad is already attached |
| Daycare play rooms and common areas | 10mm or 9mm 20mil SPC | Same waterproof and wear-layer listing as above, in a choice of tones |
| Clinic waiting room and admin office | AC6 laminate or 20mil SPC | Laminate costs less than any SPC in the cost table below, but carries no waterproof listing |
| Clinic exam rooms and restrooms | 20mil SPC | Waterproof listing; plank joints need a check against your own requirements |
Cooking lines, floor drains and commercial dishwashing zones sit outside this shortlist. Send us photos of those areas with your quote request and we will tell you what we can and cannot supply for them.
How our 20mil SPC range breaks down
Every SPC plank we list carries a wear-layer value. Of our 95 SPC products, 45 list a 20mil wear layer with a durability label of Commercial / Heavy Duty, and the other 50 list a 12mil wear layer labelled Residential. For commercial rooms, only the 20mil group makes this shortlist. Within it, the box price and the coverage per box are the same for every colour of a given thickness, so the price per square foot depends on the thickness you choose.
| Thickness | 20mil SKUs | In stock | Box price | Coverage per box | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8mm | 10 | 10 | $59.00 | 16.55 sq ft | $3.56 |
| 9mm | 10 | 8 | $62.00 | 14.18 sq ft | $4.37 |
| 10mm | 25 | 24 | $59.00 | 11.82 sq ft | $4.99 |
Prices checked October 4, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
The 10mm planks cost $0.62 more per square foot than the 9mm ones, because each 10mm box covers less floor. Our 8mm planks cost less per square foot than either, and all three thicknesses list click-lock installation. That 8mm collection is outside the featured products below, but it follows the same wear-layer rule.
Restaurants and cafés: dining rooms, entrances and counters
A dining room takes chair movement, deliveries and spills across a full service, so the two things to look for in a listing are a high wear layer and a waterproof marking. Riche Greige Mist and Butterscotch Pine both pair a 20mil wear layer with 10mm thickness and 7 1/2" planks. Both are listed as waterproof, both install click-lock, and both cost $59.00 per 11.82 sq ft box, which is $4.99 per sq ft. For restaurant flooring options in a paler, more neutral tone, Greige Mist is the one to sample first.
In a café the choice is often between the 10mm plank and the 9mm plank with the pad attached. Let the budget and the box count decide: the 9mm product costs less per square foot, and a long counter run or a narrow seating strip needs fewer of its boxes, since each one covers more floor.
We do not publish a slip rating for any of these planks. If your insurer, landlord or inspector asks for one, request the manufacturer's documentation before you order instead of relying on a retailer's summary.
Daycares: a floor for play rooms and common areas
Daycare rooms ask for the same two listing features as a dining room, a 20mil wear layer and a waterproof marking, plus a tone that suits the room. Butterscotch Pine has the same specification as Greige Mist, so it costs the same $59.00 per box and $4.99 per sq ft, but its photo shows a warmer honey-oak tone. That makes tone the only variable between the two, and you can decide on a sample instead of a spec sheet.
Before you order, check whether your daycare's licensing or inspection process, or your landlord, sets any flooring requirements. Confirm anything that touches flooring with the people responsible for those requirements, because we make no compliance claim for any product. The same goes for cleaning: follow the manufacturer's cleaning instructions for the floor you choose.
Small clinics: waiting rooms, exam rooms and plank joints
A clinic usually has two kinds of floor in one lease: a waiting room that behaves like a retail space, and treatment areas with their own requirements. For the second kind, the first filter is the waterproof listing, which points to SPC. The 9mm Misty Grey Oak plank is a sensible candidate: it lists a 20mil wear layer, is marked waterproof, and costs $62.00 per 14.18 sq ft box, or $4.37 per sq ft. Its title says it comes with an EVA pad, so it does not need a separate underlay.
The second filter is the joints. A click-lock floor has a joint along the edge of every plank, and we make no claim about hygiene or health-code performance for any of them. If your clinic has infection-control or accessibility requirements that mention floor joints or transitions, ask the person responsible for them whether plank joints are acceptable in treatment rooms before you commit to a plank floor.
Where AC6 laminate fits, and where it does not
Our catalogue holds 4 laminates with AC6 in the title, all Swiss Krono and all in stock. They run from $2.99 to $3.39 per sq ft, with boxes from $39.71 to $45.00, and every box covers 13.28 sq ft. Wilderness Oak, model K223, sits in the middle at $41.04 per box, or $3.09 per sq ft. We list the AC rating exactly as the product title gives it and do not define or certify it here.
None of our laminate listings carries a waterproof marking, while our 20mil SPC listings do. That settles where laminate belongs in a commercial plan: dry rooms such as a clinic waiting area, an admin office, or a seating zone away from the entrance and the counter. Our quote process also adds an underlay line for laminate, so ask for it when you request pricing. Considering AC5 instead? Our AC5 laminate brand guide covers those options.
Material cost for 1,000 sq ft: SPC against AC6 laminate
Here is the material budget for a 1,000 sq ft space, which is a reader-chosen size and not a typical one. The steps are the ones our quotes use:
- Add the 5% waste allowance: 1,000 sq ft × 1.05 = 1,050 sq ft.
- Divide by the coverage per box and round up to whole boxes: for the 10mm SPC, 1,050 ÷ 11.82 = 88.83, so 89 boxes.
- Multiply boxes by the box price: 89 × $59.00 = $5,251.00.
- Add 13% HST: $5,251.00 + $682.63 = $5,933.63.
Running the same steps for the other floors gives this comparison:
| Floor | Coverage per box | Whole boxes | Material before HST | With 13% HST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10mm 20mil SPC (Greige Mist, Butterscotch Pine) | 11.82 sq ft | 89 | $5,251.00 | $5,933.63 |
| 9mm 20mil SPC with EVA pad (Misty Grey Oak) | 14.18 sq ft | 75 | $4,650.00 | $5,254.50 |
| 8mm 20mil SPC (any of the 10 colours) | 16.55 sq ft | 64 | $3,776.00 | $4,266.88 |
| AC6 laminate (Wilderness Oak, K223) | 13.28 sq ft | 80 | $3,283.20 | $3,710.02 |
The 10mm SPC costs $1,967.80 more than the AC6 laminate before HST, which is about $1.97 per sq ft of floor. These totals are for boxes only. Installation, removal of the old floor, trim, delivery and underlay are quoted separately once we know the space, and anything involving levelling or subfloor repair is priced after we see the floor.
For a different area, change only the first step. Because boxes are sold whole, a small change in area can add a box, so measure the rooms before you order. The part of the last box you do not use is useful to keep for later repairs. If a figure in the table lands close to your budget, ask for a quote on your own measurements before choosing a thickness, since coverage per box matters as much as box price.
Checks before you order for a commercial space
- Read your lease and ask your landlord whether it sets any flooring rules. We do not state compliance for any product.
- Ask for the manufacturer's written warranty terms for commercial use. We quote no warranty terms here.
- Count whole boxes after the waste allowance, as in the table above, instead of rounding the area.
- If your contractor is sorting out tools for the job, see our guide to flooring nailers and staplers for GTA contractors.
- Buying for several locations or on a trade account? Our supplier overview for contractors describes warehouse pricing and in-stock inventory.
- Comparing vinyl lines before you commit? Our SPC vinyl plank brand comparison covers the Riche SPC range.
Frequently asked questions about small commercial floors
Which of your floors can a small restaurant or café use?
We shortlist the 20mil SPC planks, which come in 8mm, 9mm and 10mm. Of the 45 that list a 20mil wear layer, 42 are in stock today. Every one is listed as waterproof and installs click-lock, so for dining areas they are the group to start with.
Is laminate or SPC the better choice for a daycare?
The listings point toward SPC for rooms where spills are likely, since the 20mil SPC planks carry a waterproof marking and our laminates do not. Laminate costs less per square foot, so it suits dry rooms such as an office or a quiet seating area. Pick on the room, not on the material name.
What does the Commercial / Heavy Duty label on your vinyl mean?
It is the durability value on the product page, set alongside a 20mil wear layer. It is not a certificate. Our 12mil vinyl carries a Residential label instead. If you need documents on slip resistance, fire or health codes, ask for the manufacturer's paperwork directly.
Do the material totals include installation?
No. The figures cover boxes and HST only. Installation, old-floor removal, trim, delivery and underlay depend on the space, so we price them after reviewing your plan.
Can these floors go in a commercial kitchen?
This shortlist is for dining rooms, seating areas, play rooms and clinic spaces. Cook lines and dish areas fall outside it, so send photos of the area when you ask for a quote and we will say what we can supply.
Get a quote for your small commercial space in Toronto and the GTA
Send us your room sizes and a few photos, and we will run the box math above for your actual floor plan. You can request a quote online or use our contact page.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819