What is WPC Flooring: Before You Buy

Looking to upgrade your floors? Have you considered WPC vinyl flooring? 

Contact us to discuss your requirements of wpc flooring. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

A member of the luxury vinyl family, WPC combines the best of durability and design, offering a softer, warmer underfoot experience compared to its relatives, SPC, and traditional LVP. 

Is WPC’s comfort and aesthetic versatility the right fit for your space, or does the unrivaled toughness of SPC better suit your needs? 

Here’s what you need to know about WPC vinyl flooring’s pros and cons, from its waterproof nature to easy maintenance.

What is WPC Flooring, Exactly?

WPC in kitchen

WPC vinyl flooring stands for wood plastic composite or wood polymer composite (both are right). It is a type of luxury vinyl flooring that combines wood fibers and plastic resins to create a rigid, waterproof core. This core is then layered with a vinyl design and wear layer. 

In construction, it’s similar to LVP, yet different. WPC includes a wood-plastic composite layer, that provides additional stability, comfort, and insulation compared to traditional LVP, which has a purely vinyl core. 

WPC is often compared to SPC (stone plastic composite) and traditional LVP (luxury vinyl plank). While all are durable and waterproof, WPC offers a softer feel underfoot compared to the harder, denser SPC. 

LVP, being the precursor to both, lacks the advanced “rigid” core technology found in WPC and SPC, making it less durable and stable. 

You could say WPC and SPC are the next generation of LVP, with WPC vinyl flooring being developed before SPC. This does not mean SPC is superior to WPC vinyl flooring, just different builds for different uses. 

How is it Made?

WPC vinyl flooring consists of four key layers and each serves a distinct purpose:

• Wear layer: This top layer protects against scratches, stains, and wear, maintaining the floor’s appearance and durability.
• Design layer: Situated below the wear layer, it features high-definition images that mimic natural wood, stone, or other materials, offering aesthetic versatility.
• Core layer: The heart of WPC flooring, made from a mixture of wood fibers and plastic resins, provides stability, waterproof properties, and comfort underfoot.
• Base layer: This bottom layer, often made of cork or foam, adds sound insulation and helps smooth out subfloor imperfections, enhancing comfort and ensuring a level surface.

The Pros of Choosing WPC Flooring

Durable but comfortable

WPC flooring is gaining popularity, but its recognition may lag behind more traditional options due to its relatively recent introduction and higher cost. However, its benefits are compelling:

• Comfort: WPC’s core provides a softer, more comfortable feel underfoot compared to harder surfaces like tile or stone.
• Waterproof: Its composition makes it completely resistant to water, ideal for bathrooms, kitchens, and basements.
• Durability: The wear layer offers protection against scratches, stains, and fading, maintaining the floor’s look over time.
• Easy installation: WPC flooring often features a glueless, click-lock design, making it DIY-friendly.
• Aesthetic versatility: Available in a wide range of designs, it can mimic the look of natural wood or stone.
• Low maintenance: Routine sweeping and occasional mopping is all it takes to maintain its appearance.

The Cons of Choosing WPC Vinyl Flooring

While WPC flooring has many advantages, it also comes with some drawbacks to consider:

• Cost: As we said, WPC flooring tends to be more expensive than traditional LVP due to its advanced construction and benefits. The initial investment might be higher, making it less accessible for tighter budgets.
• Weight: The composite core makes WPC planks heavier than standard vinyl, which could complicate the installation process, especially for DIY enthusiasts.
• Susceptibility to heavy loads: Despite its durability, WPC can be more prone to denting under heavy furniture or appliances if not properly protected, necessitating the use of protective pads.
• Limited outdoor use: While waterproof and versatile, WPC flooring is not typically recommended for outdoor use, as prolonged exposure to the elements can affect its longevity and appearance.
• Environmental concerns: The plastic content in WPC flooring raises concerns for those seeking eco-friendly building materials, as it’s not as easily recyclable as some purely natural options.

Why Choose WPC over LVP or SPC?

Did you know? There is WPC for everyone’s wallet!

People choose WPC flooring over LVP or SPC for several reasons, focusing on its unique blend of benefits:

• Enhanced comfort: WPC flooring provides a warmer and softer feel underfoot than SPC, thanks to its wood-plastic composite core, making it more comfortable for areas where you’ll stand or walk barefoot.
• Better sound insulation: The composition of WPC flooring provides better sound absorption, reducing noise levels, which is ideal for multi-story living spaces, apartments, and quiet environments.
• Aesthetic appeal: While both LVP and SPC offer a wide range of designs, WPC’s thicker, more robust structure allows for deeper embossing and more realistic textures that closely mimic natural wood and stone.
• Suitability for larger areas: WPC’s stable core composition minimizes contraction and expansion, making it suitable for larger rooms without the need for as many expansion joints as might be necessary with LVP or thinner SPC products.
• Underfoot warmth: WPC retains heat better than SPC, offering a warmer surface in colder climates or seasons, and reducing the need for additional floor heating in some cases.

Choosing WPC flooring comes down to prioritizing comfort, acoustic management, and a realistic look and feel, alongside the inherent waterproof and durable qualities of luxury vinyl products.

Is WPC Flooring Right for You?

As we said, WPC flooring shines for its comfort and aesthetic versatility, which is ideal for homes where warmth and a cozy feel underfoot are desired. 

However, if you need something even more durable, especially in high-traffic areas or commercial spaces, then SPC flooring might be the better choice. SPC’s core, enriched with limestone, offers unmatched toughness, making it resistant to heavy loads and extreme wear. 

Are you interested in learning more about Mineral Core Flooring? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Each type of flooring has its unique strengths, making them suited to different environments within a home or commercial setting. Weighing these factors can help you decide if WPC flooring aligns with your specific needs and priorities for your flooring project.

WPC is an ideal choice for the majority of people when it comes to flooring aesthetics or detailed functionality. The major benefit of WPC flooring is that it replicates wood though it is plastic suitable for both commercial and residential spaces, not just this it is also suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments making it more comfortable underfoot and also absorbs moisture. WPC flooring is a combination of wood mixed with PVC making it more durable and stable along with comfort. So in this blog lets understand the benefits and disadvantages of WPC flooring.

Advantages of WPC Flooring

WPC is considered to be an ideal choice when it comes to flooring, so let's deep dive into it and study the advantages of WPC flooring in detail.

Moisture Resistant: One of the major advantages for WPC flooring is that it absorbs moisture, the process is such that the plastic composite that is used in making it absorbs moisture and keeps the flooring water resistant.

Comfortable: The other major benefit for WPC flooring is that its comfortable underfoot, the wood pulp used makes the flooring comfortable and keeps the warmth within. This is actually softer when compared to other wood flooring tiles options available in the market.

Designs and Patterns: The other advantage of WPC flooring is that it has a huge variety to offer with respect to designs and patterns along with different styles, textures and colors that allows customers to choose from a variety of options available.

Easy to Install: WPC flooring is easy to install, this also comes with DIY kits where you need to use the appropriate tools and adhesives to fix this flooring tile. The installation methods to fix this flooring tile is similar to others available in the market such as click-lock flooring or glue down flooring method.

Non-Slippery: WPC flooring is non-slippery, it replicates exact wood and is resilient to plastic which makes it non slippery. Even though the floor is sprinkled with water, you can easily walk comfortably on this flooring tile and we assure you that you won’t slip or fall.

High Load Resistance: WPC flooring can carry high load on its flooring tile by not breaking the flooring tile and ensuring that the furniture or any other heavy object moves comfortably on it.

Durable and Stable: WPC flooring is highly durable and stable, this tile has the capacity of lasting it for a longer duration of time. Although it appears like wood, it is 100% recyclable and dermite free.

Disadvantages of WPC flooring

We went through the advantages of WPC flooring, every coin has two sides so why not for a flooring tile, so let’s now understand disadvantages of WPC flooring.

Costly: WPC is costly when it is compared to other flooring tile options. It is a replica for wood so it is going to be costly for sure. The raw materials used to make WPC flooring is quite costly compared to other flooring tiles.

Appearance: Since it is a replica of wood, the majority of people find it difficult to understand whether it is wood or WPC flooring tile. Ofcourse, they do understand but sometimes it creates confusion with grain and texture.

Absorbs Heat: WPC flooring absorbs heat more often compared to other flooring options available in the market when compared to longer duration it makes the product weak and fades when extreme heat is thrown on it.

Environment Impact: WPC flooring is 100% recyclable but there could be a possibility that if the manufacturer has used low quality plastic or a mix material of plastic then there are chances that it won't be recycled.

Conclusion

We went through the advantages and disadvantages of WPC flooring and we can assure you that WPC is not bad at all, every tile has its own benefits and limitations and we believe that the limitations when opted correctly can surely be converted into an advantage or benefit. WPC is long-lasting, durable and stable, not just this it is also slip- proof and water resistant. What else do a normal human being want when exploring the flooring section for residential or commercial spaces. If you have a specific set of project defined basis your requirements and trust us WPC is an ideal choice for your defined project.

For more LVP flooring manufacturerinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.