Waterproof Hybrid Flooring: Is It Really Waterproof?
Hybrid flooring can look perfectly fine after a flood and still need to come up.
We found that out first-hand on one of our Brisbane jobs during the 2022 floods. The floor had only been down for about six months.
Hybrid handles everyday water really well. But "waterproof" doesn't mean "flood-proof".
Here's what happened.
Boards lifted in sections after the 2022 floods. Water was still sitting on the slab underneath.
When most people hear "waterproof flooring", they're picturing everyday life. A spilt glass of red, muddy footprints from the backyard, the dog tipping over its bowl.
Hybrid flooring is designed to handle the everyday water you get around a home: spills, wet shoes, pets and normal cleaning.
That's a real advantage over carpet. It's also what most flooring websites mean when they say "waterproof".
What the word doesn't tell you is what happens when a lot of water turns up and doesn't leave.
If you're still working out what suits your home, here are our
What happened to Eugene's floor
Eugene had his floors done about six months before the 2022 Brisbane floods in Oxley. He'd chosen a fairly dark colour because he wanted the floor to sit quietly in the house rather than dominate it. Then the floods came. A drain outside his house overflowed and water got through the whole downstairs area.
Here's the strange part. The boards weren't swollen or lifting. Nothing that made you look at the floor and think, "that's ruined".
After the flood. The surface was covered in mud, but the boards showed no obvious swelling or lifting.
But the water had got underneath it.
Once that happens, it doesn't matter how good the boards look on top. The floor had to come up so everything underneath could be dealt with properly. Some of the carpentry downstairs had to be redone as well.
Another section lifted. The slab underneath had to be dealt with before any new floor went down.
And unfortunately for Eugene, insurance didn't cover it. So after only about six months with his new floors, he was basically doing the downstairs all over again.
What happened when water gets under hybrid flooring?
So why pull up a floor that isn't visibly damaged? Because hybrid is a floating floor. The boards click together and sit on top of the subfloor, with a small gap around the edges so the floor can move. That's great for installation. It also means water can travel underneath, where you can't see it.
In Eugene's case, the boards weren't swollen. The water was underneath them.
When we say a floor is water resistant, we're usually talking about spills, wet shoes and pets. Floodwater getting under the whole floor is a completely different situation.
That's why, after a serious flood, we wouldn't look at the boards and say, "They look fine, just leave them." You need to know what's happening underneath first.
It isn't only a hybrid thing either. Any floating floor, including laminate and floating vinyl, can have water sitting underneath it.
Does a Hybrid Flooring Warranty Cover Flooding?
On most hybrid flooring warranties we've looked at, flooding and moisture coming up through the subfloor are excluded. Some use wording like "damage caused by flooding" or "excessive water exposure from flooding, leaks, or sitting water".
That doesn't make the floor bad. It's just a different thing from the word "waterproof" on the box. "Waterproof" tells you how the boards cope with spills. The warranty tells you what the manufacturer will stand behind.
So before you buy any hybrid floor, ask for the warranty and read the water section.
What Should You Do if Water Gets Under Hybrid Flooring?
No two floods are the same, so treat this as general guidance, not a diagnosis of your house.
Don't judge it by the surface
A floor that looks fine can still have water underneath it.
01
Contact your insurer early
before anything is lifted or thrown out. Take photos of the floor and the affected area first.
02
Get the floor lifted and the area underneath checked
The subfloor, and anything below it, needs to be properly assessed and dried.
Get the subfloor and framing assessed by a qualified person
before new flooring goes down
Ask your installer about the floor going back in
including expansion gaps and transitions, once the area is ready
It depends on your policy, and flood cover in particular varies a lot between insurers and policies. In Eugene's case, insurance didn't cover it.
Check your policy before you need it, and ask your insurer directly what is and isn't covered, including flooring and the subfloor beneath it.
So, did Eugene choose hybrid again?
He did.
The same downstairs, with hybrid back in after the repair.
Once the downstairs was repaired and ready for flooring again, Eugene came back to us and chose the hybrid for the second time.
He'd been comfortable working with us the first time, and he still liked what hybrid did for the house. His reason was pretty simple: the colour isn't loud, so his furniture gets to stand out.
The flood didn't make hybrid the wrong floor. It just showed the limit of the word "waterproof".
Everyday spills happen on top of the floor. Floodwater can get underneath it.
Those are two very different things.
Thinking about hybrid flooring for your home?
Have a look at our hybrid flooring ranges, and order a few samples to see the colours at home.
Want to know what it costs first? Our guide to hybrid flooring costs in Brisbane covers what's typically involved.
And if you’re unsure whether hybrid suits your property, talk to us. We’d rather tell you where it does and doesn’t make sense before you buy it.
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