Hybrid flooring is the latest and greatest flooring innovation. It's primary aim and focus was to bridge two previously unbridgeable aims in flooring and that was:
1. Have a beautiful timber looking floor
2. Have a floor that can stand up to water, mopping, kids, spills

However a common initial misconception, hybrid flooring is not timber flooring or made from timber.

Hybrid flooring is of two types:
1. WPC - Wood Plastic Composite; a mixture of recycled wood and plastic composite
2. SPC/RCB - Stone Plastic Composite; a mixture of compressed limestone and plastic composite

In both WPC and SPC hybrid formats, hybrid boards are made up of four layers which are:
1. A top protective polyurethane layer, this is the wear layer. Entry level hybrids have this at 0.3mm thickness, higher level hybrids at 0.5mm thickness.
2. Decorative layer. The decorative film impressed onto the core layer to create the wood/timber appearance
3. Core layer. This will be either the WPC core or SPC. The thicker and purer (materially) the core, the better dimensional stability.
4. Underlayment barrier/layer. The last layer is the underlayment that is fused to the back of the core layer, is either cork or rubber/IXPE layer.

The overall layers come together to make an overall board thickness of between 5.5mm - 8mm in some cases more. Overall thickness does not make too much of a difference, especially in residential applications. However the thickness of the top protective layer should be paid attention to, it is considered a heavy duty flooring solution if this thickness is 0.5mm or more.

So what makes hybrid flooring so popular then? Hybrid flooring over the last few years has become extremely popular to the extent that most of all new developments and builds in Australia utilise hybrid flooring and there are a few reasons for it:
1. The main reason is that it is 100% waterproof, so can be used throughout all the house from kitchens throughout to the living areas and bedrooms.
2. It is highly durable. Hybrid flooring is much more resilient against scratches and general wear and tear as compared to real timber thanks to hybrid flooring's top protective layer.
3. It's more economical. Compared to engineered timber, hybrid flooring is a lot more economical and versatile in the places it can go.
4. Easy to maintain. Hybrid flooring is extremely easy to look after. It is easy to mop with no fuss or run a vacuum over the flooring with no worry of scratching.
5. Looks stunning. As the decorative pattern of hybrid flooring is computerised and impressed on the board, the colours and tones are carefully selected to provide the most stunning appearance free from defects you'd get from a natural timber. What results is a stunning and life like timber pattern.

Can you sand hybrid floors?
You can't sand hybrid floors, however you don't need to!

With the way hybrid boards are made with a protective polyurethane cover, they're extremely hard to scratch which means they look brand new throughout their life!

Of course with reasonable force and weight you can scratch a hybrid board, but in general you won't see many scratches at all, of course depending on the quality of the board you buy.

Is hybrid flooring 100% waterproof?
Yes! They are absolutely waterproof and can be mopped with water to your delight! They suitable throughout very wet areas like kitchen and laundry areas.

Do hybrid boards creak or feel thin underfoot?
Not at all! Hybrid boards are incredibly heavy and dense due to the limestone content (provided you buy a quality board).

A single carton/pack of hybrid boards of just 8 planks can weigh 25kg! They're extremely solid feeling underfoot and will exhibit little to no noise underfoot provided the sub floor they're laid on is straight/flat and without defect.

How thick are hybrid boards?
Hybrid boards usually vary between 5mm to 8mm in thickness. The usual thicknesses are 5.5mm, 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm & 8mm. For residential purposes, thickness makes little to no difference.

Will my strata approve the use of hybrid boards?
Yes! With hybrid flooring the most popular form of floating floors in Australia at the moment, stratas over the years are very well versed with compliance of hybrid boards.

We regularly deal with stratas across Sydney and can provide all the acoustic ratings and compliance documentation needed for your strata, just get in touch!

How much does hybrid flooring cost?
Like everything this question heavily depends on quality. In general, for the material only a good quality hybrid board will cost between $50-$80/m2 for the material only.

Generally hybrid flooring below $50/m2 is taking a shortcut in one of the quality measures such as the click system, limestone content, board rigidity, wear layer quality, decorative layer design and quality or another area.

Fully installed, a good quality hybrid flooring installation from a quality manufacturer will be between $80/m2 - $115/m2 fully installed depending on quality.

Conclusion: is hybrid right for you?

If you are after a type of flooring for either a rental situation or need high resilience, then hybrid is for you.

In situations involving kids, grankids, pets or regularly having lots of guests over, hybrid is the perfect choice to have a stylish timber look without the fuss of maintenance and headache. It's easy to care for, economical and lifelong lasting.

Any more questions or want a quote? Get in touch with us below!