The waterproof flooring story isn’t just about the latest rigid core/SPC offerings hitting the market. As FCNews’ 2021 Ultimate Waterproof Guide bears out, other categories—including laminate, tile and engineered wood—are benefiting by the waterproof/water-resistant craze that is clearly resonating with consumers.
FCNews research showed resilient flooring was up 21.3% in 2020 vs. 2019. With numbers continuing to flourish, it’s no wonder that flooring companies continue to ramp up their R&D efforts to meet the insatiable needs of consumers who desire a waterproof solution in their homes.
This year’s waterproof guide reflects today’s market: an increasingly crowded field with many newcomers vying for showroom display space. Of course, they will all have to follow behind category leader COREtec, which continues to impress with products that provide warmth and comfort underfoot as well as dent resistance and sound abatement. And while COREtec continues to add new products to its vast repertoire, that hasn’t stopped existing companies and newcomers from marketing their own versions of waterproof flooring.
As for the standard-bearers, Mannington is offering select lines of WPC, SPC and traditional LVT through its heralded Adura collections. Adura Max, Rigid and Flex now include Microban protection to keep floors cleaner, as well as ScratchResist, its proprietary scratch-resistant surface protector.
SolidTech, Mohawk’s most durable luxury vinyl product, is now available in wood and stone collections across multiple price points to meet any consumer’s budget needs. Mohawk’s sister company, Daltile, is featured in this guide thanks to its StepWise technology.
With a passion for luxury vinyl product design, Karndean Designflooring’s rigid portfolio spans four product ranges—from entry-level Knight Tile to premier Korlok Select—allowing retailers to showcase a full spectrum of Karndean rigid core visuals and price points. Two ranges offer a variety of colors available in both rigid and glue-down options, allowing the homeowner to choose the color that best suits her décor in the construction format that addresses her needs.
Speaking of needs, Wellmade’s HDPC/SPC rigid core flooring solutions are suitable for all areas of the home or office, including those prone to moisture, such as kitchens, bathrooms and basements. Its HDPC waterproof hardwood features a real bamboo veneer mounted on an HDPC rigid core—one of the industry’s first fully waterproof wood floors.
Improved dimensional stability is a hallmark of Axiscor’s Pro, Prime and Trio collections of SPC flooring. The products are designed to perform well in extreme temperature situations while also offering high-impact and scuff resistance.
Some featured companies in this issue focused on acoustical properties. CFL, for example, developed NovoCore Q to be the sound choice in waterproof floors. Q (for “quiet”) is an engineered vinyl flooring that champions the quest for a high-performing hard surface solution that isn’t noisy underfoot. NCQ features a patent-pending construction that uses multiple distinct layers from different materials that each block specific frequencies of sound that greatly improves acoustic performance.
No waterproof guide would be complete without several first-timers. This year’s list includes a name recognized by millions: Christina Haack. The star of HGTV’s “Flip or Flop” and “Christina on the Coast” used her expertise in design and flooring to launch her new waterproof line, the Christina Collection.
Within these pages, readers will learn more about a range of waterproof hard surface options—how the products are constructed, how they perform and what flooring dealers can expect in the coming months. The objective is to arm store owners and retail salespeople with the product knowledge and information on trends in waterproof flooring so they will be better equipped to respond to a variety of customer inquiries.
