What Biyork is
Biyork is a Canadian flooring brand run out of Markham, Ontario, trading under the line "By Innovation. By Design." It is unusual in covering four material categories properly rather than adding one as an afterthought: Nouveau engineered hardwood, the Hydrogen waterproof vinyl range, Traktion looselay, and Riptide laminate. Every collection is FloorScore certified for indoor air quality, and most of the range is rated for on, above, or below grade installation.
Squarefoot carries the brand across engineered hardwood, vinyl planks, and water resistant laminate, along with the matching Biyork underlays and stair and trim accessories.
In simple terms: Biyork numbers its collections, and the number is roughly the thickness. Nouveau 6, 7, and 8 are hardwood plank widths. Hydrogen 5 through 8 is a vinyl ladder where each step up adds core thickness and wear layer. Once you know that, choosing inside the brand becomes simple.
The Hydrogen ladder: which vinyl number do you need
This is the decision most people land on this page to make. All Hydrogen floors are waterproof, click together, and are rated for radiant heat. What changes as you climb is the core, the wear layer, and how quiet and solid the floor feels underfoot.
- Hydrogen 5: 5 mm thick, 0.3 mm wear layer (12 mil), UnderTone acoustic pad. 25 year residential, 5 year light commercial.
- Hydrogen Pro 2 mm: glue down, 0.3 mm wear layer, no attached pad. 25 year residential, 5 year commercial.
- Hydrogen Pro 3 mm: glue down, 0.5 mm wear layer, no attached pad. 30 year residential, 10 year commercial.
- Hydrogen 6: 6 mm thick, 0.5 mm wear layer, infused IXPE pad. 30 year residential, 10 year commercial.
- Hydrogen 7: 7 mm total (5.5 mm SPC core plus 1.5 mm IXPE), 0.5 mm wear layer (20 mil), I4F click. 35 year residential, 10 year commercial.
- Hydrogen 8: 8 mm total (6.5 mm SPC core plus 1.5 mm IXPE), 0.55 mm wear layer (22 mil), Nimbus Core, UnderTone pad, Valinge 5G click.
Decision: Judge these by wear layer, not total thickness. Hydrogen 5 at 12 mil is a light residential floor for bedrooms and low-traffic rooms. Hydrogen 6 and 7 at 20 mil are the everyday main-floor choice. Hydrogen 8 at 22 mil, on a rigid SPC core, is the one to spec for entryways, homes with dogs, and light commercial. Hydrogen Pro is the glue-down option when a floating floor is not suitable.
Nouveau: the engineered hardwood side
Nouveau is real wood, and the number tells you the plank width. What separates the collections is veneer thickness, which is the layer of genuine hardwood on top and the thing that determines whether the floor can ever be refinished.
Nouveau 6
A 6.5 inch plank in European Oak, American Oak, Hickory, and American Walnut, with a 1.2 mm veneer, wirebrush or handscraped, tongue and groove. Radiant heat compatible, excluding the Hickory.
Nouveau 6 Clic
The same 6.5 inch width in a thinner 1/2 inch board with a Uniclic float-and-click system over a multi-layer ply core. This is the one for condos and concrete where a floating install makes sense.
Nouveau 7, 7 Prelude, and 8
Wider boards at 7.5 and 8.5 inches with a 2 mm veneer, in European Oak and Hickory. Nouveau 8 adds a sawn mark finish alongside the wirebrush and is radiant heat compatible.
Nouveau 7 Bespoke
The flagship. A 4 mm European Oak veneer, the thickest in the range, available as a wide plank and as a true herringbone. This is a refinishable, long-horizon floor.
Truth: A 1.2 mm veneer is a real hardwood surface, but it is not a floor you sand back three times. If refinishing decades from now matters to you, the 4 mm veneer on Nouveau 7 Bespoke is the honest answer, and the 2 mm boards sit in between. Cross-shop the whole question with our hardwood vs vinyl guide.
Traktion and Riptide
Traktion looselay
Looselay is a 5 mm semi-rigid plank with a 20 mil wear layer that sits on the subfloor by friction rather than clicking or gluing across the whole field. Biyork rates Traktion as materially more stable than conventional loose-lay. The practical appeal is serviceability: a damaged plank lifts out and a new one drops in, which is why looselay earns its place in offices and rental turnovers.
Riptide laminate
Riptide is Biyork's water resistant laminate, a 12 mm board with an AC4 surface for high-traffic durability, a Valinge 5G click, a painted bevel edge, and antibacterial properties. It carries a 30 year residential and 5 year light commercial warranty. If you are torn between this and the Hydrogen range, read vinyl vs laminate.
Decision: Laminate and vinyl are not interchangeable in wet rooms. For a basement or a full bathroom, the Hydrogen range is the safe specification. See the best flooring for a Toronto basement before you commit.
The details that separate Biyork
Three proprietary features come up repeatedly across the range, and they are worth knowing because they are what you are paying for.
- UnderTone pad: an acoustic underlayment bonded to the plank, which is what makes Hydrogen 5 and Hydrogen 8 notably quiet underfoot. In a condo, that matters more than most buyers expect.
- Nimbus Core and TrueShield: the rigid core and antibacterial surface technologies on the upper Hydrogen collections.
- Temperature stability: the Hydrogen and Traktion cores are rated for swings from minus 30 to plus 50 degrees Celsius, which is the spec that matters in a Barrie cottage or a sunroom with big south-facing glass.
Biyork also supplies its own underlayments with published STC and IIC sound ratings, plus matching stairnose, T-mould, reducer, and vent accessories in every Nouveau colour. Specifying the underlay from the same brand keeps the warranty clean. Our vinyl underlay page explains what those ratings mean.
Seeing, buying, and installing Biyork
The full Biyork range is still being loaded onto the site, so the fastest way to see current colours across Nouveau, Hydrogen, Traktion, and Riptide is to visit a store or call the store. Both Squarefoot locations carry the brand and can order any collection from the current book, including the matching trims and vents.
Squarefoot installs what it sells. Hardwood, vinyl, and laminate are all fitted by our own in-house crews, residential and commercial, not subcontractors, so the team helping you choose between Hydrogen 6 and Hydrogen 8 is the same team accountable for the finished floor. See our hardwood installation, vinyl installation, and laminate installation pages.
If you have been searching for flooring near me, both stores welcome walk-ins. Compare boards in Mississauga or find hardwood near you in Barrie, and bring your room measurements so we can work out box quantities on the spot.
Compare Biyork with our other lines
Biyork competes in three categories at once, so cross-shop it accordingly. Against vinyl, see COREtec, Vizion Floor, and Flooring Terminal. Against hardwood, see Appalachian, Twelve Oaks, and Purparket. If pets and kids drive the decision, start with the best flooring for pets.
See Biyork floors in person
Call ahead or book a store visit and we will pull the Nouveau, Hydrogen, Traktion, or Riptide colours you are considering so you can compare wear layers, veneer, and texture side by side.
Mississauga: 905-277-2227, 700 Dundas St E, Unit 3-4
Barrie: 705-726-2272, 112 Saunders Rd, Units 1-4
