So these visuals are great, but let’s talk about the nerdy stuff, that’s why you’re really here and don’t you dare deny it.
The Caye Collection is an SPC, which stands for Solid/Stone Polymer Composite. It’s different from a WPC which is Wood Pulp/Polymer Composite. What do those differences actually mean? SPC is typically less expensive, and more durable than WPC while WPC is a little softer underfoot.
Personally I can’t tell the difference unless I’m comparing them side by side.
The SPC in the Caye Collection is actually more stable than a more expensive WPC, so if you're putting it in a room that gets a lot of direct sunlight, for example, it’s going to be much less likely to warp.
Let’s talk about the top layer, or “wear layer” as the kids call it. We did something super cool there.
First, some common industry terms. The wear layer is the protective coating that goes over the floor’s visual. The wear layer is measured in something called “mils,” not to be confused with millimeters, they are VERY different things. A mill is 1/1000 of an inch, or roughly as thick as a facial tissue.
Entry level products will have something like 6 mils, and more expensive products can go north of 20 mils. The more mils, the thicker the layer of finish protecting the visual is. Understandably, most people look at that and say “the thicker the better!” and move on.
Here’s the thing though, not all finish is created equal. Most vinyl manufacturers add a scratch resistant coating to the top layer to give it extra protection. Once you scratch or wear through that top layer, having a thicker wear layer helps for sure, but those other layers don’t offer the same protection as that first layer, but still significantly add to cost.
Well, we realized we could dramatically increase the performance of the wear layer by offering a scratch resistant additive throughout the entire wear layer and not just on the top. Think of a normal vinyl wear layer as a muffin with chocolate chips on top. The Caye Collection is a muffin with chocolate chips throughout the whole thing.