Wear Layers and Their Importance

Wear Layers in Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring is easily one of the most popular categories of flooring due to its many amazing consumer friendly qualities. It’s an incredibly forgiving floor for any sort of water or liquid based accidents as it's completely water proof, along with being hard to break with its many layers adapted for strength and durability. These feats help it stay a better suited floor for homes, staying in better shape longer than other floors that would wear out quicker.
However, while looking for a vinyl that suits you and your lifestyle best you might come across some odd technical terms, one of the most important ones being “wear layer”. But what exactly is the wear layer? 

What is a wear layer?

The wear layer is one of the most important parts of a vinyl flooring, and you need to understand what it is in order to make a properly informed decision when buying your floor. The wear layer is the top layer of the floor. Vinyl floors are constructed with 4-5 layers, all very important to the design and overall viability of the floor. As a quick rundown, it includes: the wear layer, design layer, core layer and backing layer. There's a more in-depth blog post about the layers of vinyl (and even more about laminate!) here!

The wear layer is a clear, protective layer that works to protect the other layers underneath, and by extension the rest of your floor. This protective coating helps keep the printed design layer in a pristine and beautiful condition, being made of mainly clear PVC. The PVC wear layer is usually made of recycled materials too.  This allows the wear layer to be able to take the scuffs and scratches, the wear and tear of daily use, without it harming the most important parts of your floor!

Why does it matter so much?

The wear layer, as previously mentioned, takes the heavy load of daily wear and tear. Being able to take the large impact of the relatively small damages over the years helps keep your floor as close to as pristine as the day it was installed! The wear layer is basically the “life-span” of your floor! Though along with keeping your floor’s look preserved over long periods of time, it also can contribute to making the maintenance of your floor a lot easier. 

Wear layers can make maintenance a lot easier due to the fact they give the floor extra stain resistance, along with not allowing dirt and grime to get trapped. Also, the PVC wear layer is most likely and commonly enhanced with urethane or aluminum oxide to make it easier to wipe up spills, stains, or dirt thus making it easier to maintain. These enhanced materials can also be enhanced with UV resistance, making sun fading less of a problem and giving your floor a more vibrant look for longer.

Wear Layer Thicknesses

Common thicknesses for wear layers typically are: 6 mil, 8 mil, 12 mil, 20 mil, 28+ mil (the last two typically being reserved for commercial grade floors). Mil refers to 1/1000th of an inch. Typically, 12 mil is considered optimal for residential floors, and 20+ mil floors are common and preferred for commercial properties. But how do you choose which wear layer thickness is correct for you?  Well, it depends on the use your floor will go through. Remember, thicker layers are not always better!

The reason 20 mil and above thicknesses are recommended for commercial properties is because it's ideal for high-traffic areas. However, houses with pets and children might also benefit from a thicker wear layer due to the mess children and pets are typically known for.

Conclusion
Wear layers are one of the most important parts of vinyl flooring, so make sure you take extra care when you're buying your new vinyl floor!  Make sure to make an informed decision, and also take into consideration the specs of your floor, as well as the design and feel of it!

FAQ

What to look for when buying vinyl flooring?

It's important to make a smart and informed decision. Here are some essential things to look out for when purchasing your flooring!
-Ask for detailed specifications or spec sheets on your desired product
-Take into consideration the traffic your floor might go through, which wear layer is best?
-Check the warranty!

Does a thicker wear layer mean a better durability?

Not always, even though thicker wear layers like 20mil or even 28 mil can be more resistant to everyday wear, the core and contruction of the floor is also very important. A 12mil layer on a floor with a higher qaulity contruction can outpreform a floor with a thicker layer.

Are all floors with the same mil the same?

No! Two floors, even with the same wear layer thickness can vastly differ in performance depending on many factors. Such as, brand, materials, and manufacturing process.