What is WPC flooring with Pros and Cons compared to SPC

WPC flooring is gaining popularity fast being very durable and low cost option for your floors. Beside this, it has several advantages that might make it the perfect choice for your home.

What are the WPC flooring pros and cons?

WPC flooring main Pros are low price, resistancy to stains and scratches and it’s 100% waterproof. Cleaning and installation is very simple. You can order it in variety of designs and wood imitations. The con of WPC flooring is synthetic look, it does not add any home value and its not environmentally friendly.

First I would like to describe you what WPC material is more in detail and then I will dive deeper in to each of pros and cons.

What is WPC Flooring?

WPC Flooring is an acronym for Wood Plastics Composite flooring. It is generally comprised of four layers.

• Top layer is called wear layer with protective coating which provides stain and scratch resistance properties.
• Beneath we have vinyl layer that provides the planks with their color and design pattern.
• Under the vinyl layer is the wood plastics composite core, which is comprised of recycled wood particles and plastic. This layer will provide stability and waterproof feature to overall plank.
• At the end we have bottom layer called under-pad which is attached to provide cushion and insulation.

Pros of WPC Flooring

I cover main advantages of WPC flooring and describe them:

Economical (Low priced)

When we talk about WPC flooring being economical, we look at the cost of it mostly in comparison to hardwood flooring. Depending on the design and brand of WPC flooring you choose, it may be even cheaper than some laminate varieties.

100% Waterproof

As indoor material, This is an immense advantage, particularly if you live in a climate with a lot of rain. Water and mud can get dragged in, especially if you have young children. Lots of other hard flooring types tout being water resistant, but water resistance is not the same as waterproof.

Due to its waterproof nature, you can install WPC flooring in rooms where other hard floor types are not recommended such as in the bathroom, the kitchen, the basement, the laundry room, or a mudroom.

As outdoor material WPC is excellent choice for your terrace flooring and around the pool if you are planning to have it. As you can see on the picture below we don’t need any protection against the rain. It has high degree of UV stability and can whitstand temperatures from – 40 up to 60 degrees.

You can find neat square patio deck tiles on Amazon for really low price.

Check my 10 best modern house with swimming pool and you will see WPC on some of the pictures.

Stain and Scratch Resistant

WPC flooring has a clear hardened protective layer that helps to resist stains and scratches.

Some types have even been engineered with the color all the way through the plank so that if it is scratched, the color remains the same as the color of the surface of the plank.

If you have a busy and active household or in-door pets, then stain and scratch resistance is definitely an important feature you are searching for your floors.

Easy Cleaning

WPC ais super easy to maintain and clean overall.

For indoor frequent dust mopping and weekly damp mopping with an appropriate floor cleaning solution will keep your new floors looking great, without requiring a ton of effort.

If you are interested more about dust and damp mopping, check out my post “10 Best Dust Mops for Hardwood Floors + Related Q&A“.

For outdoors you need to maintain them even less. Monthly wash them with water to ramove any dirt and rocks gathering.

WPC for outdoors usually comes with 20 year guarantee against water and sun damage. It’s perfect choice also for vacation homes where you can’t clean your floors on regular basis.

Simple Installation for indoor and outdoor

Its thick core makes WPC planks very rigid. Typical vinyl flooring is very thin which may inadvertently showcase subfloor imperfections. The rigid WPC planks can actually disguise these imperfections.

You can purchase WPC click and lock planks that don’t require a glue or nails for installation. This characteristic comes in handy if you have a plank that is damaged or deeply stained; you can simply replace the damaged plank with a new one.

Additionally, most WPC flooring doesn’t require an underlayment upon installation. If you decide you want an underlayment anyway for increased cushion or sound absorption, check out my extensive guide of the “10 Best Underlayment for Vinyl Flooring“.

Outdoor installation is easy as well

When it comes to outdoor instalation. There isn’t click clack instalation but planks are installed on special support sticks. (black on the picture) if your floors such as concrete are leveled perfectly you can put this sticks directly on the ground.

But in most cases we need to put special circle shaped adjustable supports underneath to align floor perfectly even with uneven ground.

Variety of Designs and colors

This indoor and outdoor material has a wide variety of styles and colors. If you love the look of hardwood, you can find WPC planks that mimic very closely the appearance of hardwood. It will still look synthetic but only with sharp eyes.

You can find the look of tiles as well or simple stripes as seen on the picture above. WPC flooring color options are quite wide, so I believe you won’t have hard time finding best for you.

Cushion, Quiet, Warmth

Foam is injected into the core layer of the WPC planks. This serves to make a very solid durable product lighter weight. The foam and the underpad of the plank also allow this flooring type to allow a bit of cushion underfoot and provide some sound absorption.

With WPC flooring you shouldn’t experience that hollow clicking sound you may normally associate with vinyl. Additionally, WPC traps some heat and is warmer than other hard floor types such as tile when used indoors.

Cons of WPC flooring

Nevertheless, when choosing your floor type, it is important to have a solid understanding of the disadvantages to determine how much they weigh into your decision. Having fewer disadvantages than advantages doesn’t mean it’s the right floor for you. So, let’s dive deeper into the disadvantages.

Less or no added home value

Some people when installing new flooring place a lot of importance on the idea that they are investing in their home and adding monetary value to it.

Hardwood floors have historically been a type that people appreciate for their appearance but seem to appreciate just as much (if not more) the fact that they add value to their home.

WPC flooring can be selected in design and color to have the same appearance as a hardwood floor, however a home appraisal will not show added value to your home with a WPC floor like it would with a hardwood floor.

Not environmentally friendly

WPC is an engineered hard floor that does have wood components but also has plastic and adhesives. Some types of WPC flooring are more environmentally conscious than others, so if this aspect is a priority for you, you’ll need to do research.

Digital pattern repeats – synthetic look

As discussed above in the “pros” section, WPC flooring can mimic various floor types and designs. It can look much like stone, hardwood, or tile.

However, stone, hardwood, and tile all have natural imperfections: knots, color swirls, or other such randomly occurring blemishes.

The digital engineered design for WPC floor planks does a wonderful job to capture those difference appearances but there is a tendency for there to be pattern repeats and it just looks synthetic.

What is Difference between WPC and SPC Flooring?

At the end I want to cover one more frequent question ask and this is difference between WPC and SPC. This two materials are very similar with slight differences between each other. I designed neat table below to point main features.

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