Luxury Plank, an innovative, *waterproof flooring, brings the natural beauty of hardwood and stone to any room in your home - even bathrooms and basements.
Designs for Luxury Plank with Glue or No Glue Installation and Rigid Core Technology include exotic, traditional, and rustic woods and slate, travertine, and concrete visuals.
In recent years, people in the flooring industry starts referring to WPC as a type of floor that has a basic structure of top vinyl veneer plus a rigid extruded core (the core can be made without any wood fiber). WPC is now an established product category within LVT.
What is WPC exactly?
The “w” stands for wood, but the fact is the majority of WPC-type products entering the market today do not contain wood. WPC is a composite material made of thermoplastics, calcium carbonate and wood floor. Extruded as a core material, it is marketed as being waterproof, rigid and dimensionally stable. In an effort to differentiate their products, suppliers are branding their WPC offerings with names such as enhanced vinyl plank, engineered luxury vinyl flooring and waterproof vinyl.
How does it differ from LVT?
The main differences are that WPC is waterproof and can go over most subfloors without much preparation. Traditional vinyl floors are flexible and any unevenness in the subfloor will transfer through the surface. Compared to traditional glue-down LVT or solid-locking LVT, WPC products have a distinct advantage because the rigid core hides subfloor imperfections. In addition, the rigid core allows for longer and wider formats. With WPC, it is not necessary to worry about the preparation LVT would require for use over cracks and divots in concrete or wooden subfloors.
What are its advantages over laminate?
The big advantage for WPC over laminate is that it is waterproof and suitable for environments in which laminate shouldn’t normally be used—typically bathrooms and basements that have potential moisture infiltration. In addition, WPC products can be installed in large rooms without an expansion gap every 30 feet, which is a requirement for laminate floors. The vinyl wear layer of WPC provides cushion and comfort and also absorbs the impact sound to make it a quiet floor. WPC is also suitable for large open areas (basements and Main Street commercial areas) because it doesn’t need expansion moldings.
Rigid Core Technology is ideal for homeowners with uneven subfloors. Its thick, sturdy locking planks and acoustic cork underlayment perfectly hide minor subfloor irregularities. Rigid Core can be installed right away with no acclimation time.
