Lifestyle Collection - Blackbutt - 12mm Hybrid Flooring

Blackbutt in the Lifestyle Collection is a warm golden-tan with clear, open grain — a fuller reading of the species than the pale golden-with-olive tone real blackbutt lays at, so worth comparing if you are matching existing boards. On its own terms it is a handsome, warm Australian timber look that lifts a room, and the grain movement hides everyday marks well.

Note that Blackbutt is the one colour in the range made as a 178mm board rather than 225mm, with four lengths per carton instead of three. The narrower plank suits the species — it reads closer to a traditional hardwood floor — but it does mean more boards per square metre and a different look to the rest of the collection, so do not mix the two widths in one space.

The Lifestyle Collection is Preference Floors' EPC range — a composite polymer and stone fibre core, distinct from the SPC and WPC constructions used across the rest of the hybrid market. At 12mm it is the thickest hybrid Preference make, and it carries a 0.7mm commercial-grade vinyl wear layer where residential hybrid typically runs 0.3mm to 0.5mm. On a floor with visible grain that matters twice over: the thicker wear layer is what keeps the grain crisp rather than worn flat in the traffic lanes.

A 2mm IXPE acoustic pad comes bonded to the underside, so there is no separate underlay to buy or lay. The surface is a matte PU finish rated P4 for wet slip under AS/NZS 4586:2013, and the boards click together as a floating floor — Preference specify installation over 200µm builders' film.

Preference back it with a 25 year limited structural warranty, 20 years on the residential wear layer and 5 years commercial. It is an interior floor: incidental spills and pet accidents are covered, but it is not rated for bathrooms, laundries or powder rooms and is not a substitute for a waterproof membrane. Supply and install available across Sydney.

Specifications

• Brand: Preference Floors
• Range: Lifestyle Collection EPC
• Colour: Blackbutt
• Type: Hybrid flooring, EPC composite polymer and stone fibre core
• Board size: 1800 x 178 x 12mm
• Wear layer: 0.7mm commercial grade vinyl
• Underlay: 2mm IXPE acoustic pad pre-attached
• Finish: Matte PU
• Slip resistance: P4 wet pendulum (AS/NZS 4586:2013)
• Installation: Click floating over 200µm builders' film
• Coverage: 1.282m² per carton, four lengths
• Suitability: Interior only — not for bathrooms, laundries or powder rooms
• Warranty: 25 year limited structural, 20 year residential wear, 5 year commercial