Wear Layer On Vinyl Planking

While these planks are also close in size the difference again lies with the wear layer.

Wear layer on vinyl planking.

After all the wear layer is basically a bodyguard for your flooring. Some manufacturers incorporate additives into the wear layer including aluminum oxide nylon or ceramic beads and claim to provide extra protection against scratches. However if your vinyl flooring will be in the midst of your rough and tumble life then definitely thicker is better. Lifeproof s lvp only has a quarter of the wear layer found on karndean s plank but is around 3 20 per square foot compared to around 5 00 per square foot for the korlok select.

The composition of the wear layer wear layers of many luxury vinyl floors are composed at least in part of pvc. Put simply the wear layer is the top surface that provides the durability stain and scratch resistance of vinyl flooring. You re gonna want the beefiest bodyguard right. If you have an active family or an assemblage of pets consider buying 20 mil or higher.

What the luxury vinyl wear layer does is protect your floors from scratching and denting keeping them looking their best for a lot longer. If you re using vinyl planks for a low traffic area you might not need the thickest wear layer. The wear layer is simply an extra layer of protection placed between the printed design of your vinyl plank or tile flooring material and the protective finish that goes on the very top. With new technology some vinyls now offer added uv or durability layers on top of the wear layer for even more surface protection.