Waterproof LVP Conquest 20MIL SPC Castle CON2006PAD 6.5mm — Paradigm
- Description
- Additional information
Description
Warm cocoa brown with visible history · 100% waterproof · Conquest 20MIL collection
FloorScore Certified
Verified low-VOC performance by third-party certification
20 mil Wear Layer
Handles pet damage, furniture drag marks, and constant foot traffic
Lifetime Residential Warranty
Paradigm Flooring-backed durability for your years as homeowner
What is Castle?
A neutral option popular with Bay Area designers, contractors, and homeowners doing rental upgrades, kitchen/bath remodels, and whole-home projects. Castle’s warm cocoa brown with visible history works across varied design directions.
Is it waterproof?
Yes — 100% waterproof, with warranty caveats worth knowing. Covered: structural damage from normal-use water exposure (spills, mop water, pet accidents, plumbing leaks). NOT covered: mold/mildew from extended moisture, outdoor installation, hydrostatic pressure from subfloor.
Who’s it best for?
First-time homeowners replacing carpet or old vinyl. Castle installs DIY-friendly over most subfloors, the 100% waterproof core forgives installation mistakes, and Kapriz refers vetted licensed contractors for buyers who prefer professional install.
How thick is it?
6.5mm total — the practical balance between budget construction (thinner cores that flex underfoot) and premium commercial spec (thicker than most residential projects need). Specs section has full pad + core breakdown.
Price range?
Material price: $3 to $4 per square foot. Plus CA sales tax. Castle carries trade pricing for general contractors, flooring installers, interior designers, and architects (verified license required). Call (408) 753-3220 with your contractor or designer credential.
Sergey Stotskiy
Overview
Castle works across luxury hotel, reception desk, atrium — different room types that share nothing structurally but all benefit from the same floor specification — and reads cleanly in contemporary interiors specifically. The medium brown with golden undertones keeps the room reading uplifting during long-occupancy use, the 100% waterproof SPC core makes it kitchen-and-bath capable, and the 20 mil commercial wear layer handles the traffic footprint a high-use room throws at it. The visible plank character — deep wire-brush relief, prominent dark knot pockets, splits and saw marks across boards, strongly textural surface — keeps the floor visually engaging across light conditions that vary by room — kitchen task lighting reads differently than bedroom indirect, and Castle holds tone across both. Click-lock Unilin Angle-Angle click; installs above, on, below grade; 9-inch by 72-inch planks float over most subfloors using an angle-tap click system with no adhesive and no acclimation wait. The same product specification carries from public area to private bedroom without compromise.
Specifications
| SKU | CON2006PAD |
|---|---|
| Brand | Paradigm Flooring |
| Collection | Paradigm Conquest 20MIL |
| Color | Castle — warm cocoa brown with visible history |
| Plank size | 9 inches wide × 72 inches long |
| Thickness | 6.5mm |
| Wear layer | 20 mil |
| Surface texture | Embossed in Register |
| Edge profile | Mini Enhanced Painted Bevel |
| Finish | Ceramic Bead |
| Locking system | Unilin Angle-Angle click |
| SF per carton | 17.67 sq ft |
| Installation grade | Above, On, Below grade |
| Waterproof | Yes — 100% |
| Warranty | Lifetime Residential / 15-Year Commercial |
| Certifications | FloorScore certified, low-VOC compliant per CDPH/EHLB v1.2-2017 (CDPH/EHLB v1.2-2017 indoor air quality — LEED, WELL, and GreenPoint Rated qualifying) |
Inside the build: specs and design
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Color & pairing. In the install photo our supplier shipped, Castle sits beneath white walls and walnut and white marble cabinetry — the medium brown tone carries the floor without competing for attention. That’s what we look for when matching Castle to cabinet, paint, or tile samples in our showroom.
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Thickness & core. The 6.5mm total plank thickness combines the rigid SPC core with the attached acoustic pad in a single factory-bonded stack. Noticeably firmer and quieter underfoot than thinner SPC at the same step. 100% waterproof — safe for every room including kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and laundry rooms.
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Wear layer & finish. The 20 mil commercial-grade wear layer is rated for kitchens, entryways, and pet households — tested for chair legs, pet claws, and daily mop-and-go cleaning. FloorScore certification confirms emissions meet CDPH/EHLB v1.2-2017 — California’s strictest indoor air standard, LEED + WELL accepted, GreenPoint Rated qualifying. Safe for families with infants, asthma, or chemical sensitivities — tested annually by SCS Global.
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Acoustic pad. The attached 1.5mm IXPE acoustic underlayment arrives factory-bonded to the SPC core, ready to install over the subfloor — no separate purchase, no extra-underlayment decisions. The attached pad is the only approved underlayment under the manufacturer warranty; installing additional pad above or below voids the warranty (the plank itself remains physically waterproof regardless). Dampens footfall noise throughout the home.
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Surface & edge. Close inspection of Castle reveals deep wire-brush relief, prominent dark knot pockets, splits and saw marks across boards, strongly textural surface — what actually distinguishes premium SPC from printed-vinyl tier. The rustic cathedral grain with heavy character knots catches light directionally; the pronounced character-knot character of prominent rustic knots reads as authentic floor texture, not flat-printed pattern. That’s what makes the floor read as wood at 5 feet rather than vinyl at 18 inches.
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Locking & grade. Installs over wood, concrete, or existing hard flooring. No adhesive, no acclimation wait, DIY-friendly with a tapping block. Castle’s Unilin Angle-Angle system plus 6.5mm rigid build works above, on, and below grade — basement to second floor, no construction-type restrictions.
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Showroom & installer. Kapriz Santa Clara: supplied and installed flooring across 3,000+ Bay Area projects since 2003 (installed through 2016, retail since). 80+ brands of flooring, Boxy Cabinetry, and tile collections under one roof — only a fraction shown online. Designers and architects browse the full showroom inventory in person, pulling cabinet + tile + flooring samples side-by-side in one visit instead of three. Don’t see what you want? Stop by — we likely have it.
General contractors and flooring installers source through us because we don’t install — never your competitor — and deliver always-on-truck. Trade pricing with verified license. Whole-home, kitchen/bath, commercial, and rental projects across Cupertino, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, San Jose, and Santa Clara — concentrated install referrals in Redwood City and San Carlos. Homeowner installer referrals: CSLB-licensed pros.
How it compares
Castle at 6.5mm vs other Paradigm SPC lines:
| Feature | Performer PLUS (6mm) |
Castle (Conquest 20MIL, 6.5mm) |
Odyssey 20MIL (7mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collection | Paradigm Performer PLUS | Paradigm Conquest 20MIL | Paradigm Odyssey 20MIL |
| Total thickness | 6mm (incl. 1mm pad) | 6.5mm (incl. pad) | 7mm (incl. 1mm pad) |
| Wear layer | 20 mil | 20 mil | 20 mil |
| Underlayment | 1mm EVA acoustic underlayment attached | 1.5mm IXPE acoustic underlayment attached | 1mm IXPE acoustic underlayment attached |
| Waterproof | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Warranty | Lifetime / 15-Year | Lifetime / 15-Year | Lifetime / 15-Year |
| Price (per sq ft) | $6 to $7 | $3 to $4 | $3 to $4 |
| Best for | Mid-tier residential — character-grade visuals with MaaXguard scuff coating | Premium residential + commercial | Mediterranean-inspired residential |
| Style fit | Mid-tier residential — character-grade visuals with MaaXguard scuff protection | Rustic, country, reclaimed-aesthetic homes — 2010+ contemporary builds | Mediterranean-inspired residential — refined contemporary interiors |
| Pairs well with | warm cream walls + warm-wood cabinetry + brushed-chrome or matte-black hardware | white walls + contemporary-tier interiors + warm wood or matte-black cabinetry | cream or off-white walls + walnut or natural-oak cabinetry + matte-brass hardware |
Prices are estimated ranges. Call (408) 753-3220 for exact pricing and project quotes on Castle and comparable Paradigm SPC collections we special-order from our Santa Clara showroom.
Installation & care
Below are Paradigm’s manufacturer specifications plus installer best-practice notes (author byline at top of page). Paradigm’s warranty follows manufacturer spec; real-world installation often benefits from the extra steps below.
Acclimation:
Acclimate sealed cartons 48+ hours at normal room conditions before install.
Pro tip: Run the HVAC for 48 hours before installation to stabilize room temperature and humidity. On new-construction sites especially — fresh drywall releases significant moisture for weeks after finishing, and you want that settled before the floor goes down.
Subfloor flatness:
Subfloor must be dry, sound, flat to 3/16-inch over 10-foot radius. Concrete fully cured.
Pro tip: Use a 6-foot straightedge and check flatness every 3 feet in a grid pattern, not just one line across the longest dimension. Small local dips are what telegraph through SPC seams over time, not the 10-foot average.
Moisture testing (concrete):
Test concrete subfloors per ASTM F2170 (RH) or ASTM F1869 (calcium chloride) before install.
Pro tip: On concrete slabs less than 60 days old, test moisture per ASTM F2170 (in-situ probe) — calcium chloride (F1869) reads only the top 1/2 inch and misses deeper moisture in young slabs. Fresh concrete releases moisture for months. Wait the full 60 days, then test — rushing the calendar leads to adhesive failure or trapped moisture later.
Moisture barrier (concrete subfloors):
Below/on-grade concrete: install 6-mil polyethylene moisture barrier with 6-8″ sealed-tape lap joints.
Pro tip: 6-mil polyethylene vapor barrier over concrete is NWFA (National Wood Flooring Association) best practice — even for waterproof SPC. The core is waterproof but click-lock seams are not engineered for continuous moisture pressure from below. Unroll the poly, overlap seams 6-8 inches, seal with waterproof tape, run 2-4 inches up walls. This protects the click-lock seams and extends floor life by decades.
Underlayment (do not replace the attached pad)
IXPE/EVA acoustic pad pre-attached — do not add underlayment beneath floor.
Pro tip: Two layers of pad compress unevenly under foot traffic, which causes the click-lock seams above to flex and eventually separate. The engineered 1.5mm IXPE acoustic pad is sized to the plank’s flex tolerances. Leave it alone, and fix any subfloor issues below the pad rather than above.
Installation method:
Floating click-lock per Unilin Angle-Angle method. Maintain 3/8″ expansion gap at all walls and transitions.
Pro tip: The 3/8-inch expansion gap isn’t negotiable — it goes at walls, cabinets, islands, pipes, pillars, door jambs, and sliding door tracks. Skip it at one wall and the floor has nowhere to expand into; you’ll get buckling in the middle of the room by the second summer.
Radiant heat compatibility:
Hydronic radiant systems compatible up to 85°F (29°C) surface. Increase temperature gradually after install.
Pro tip: Rushing the ramp-up is the #3 radiant-heat SPC warranty issue we see — edge separation from thermal shock. 5°F per day back to operating temperature is conservative but reliable. Plan for a 2-week ramp-up period, not a 2-day one.
Daily maintenance:
Sweep or vacuum daily. Damp-mop with vinyl cleaner. Steam mops allowed at lowest power, 5-min max per spot.
Pro tip: pH-neutral is the keyword. Acidic cleaners (vinegar-based) and alkaline cleaners (ammonia-based) both dull the Ceramic Bead finish over months, even if they clean well short-term. Stick with a dedicated vinyl cleaner and a damp microfiber mop — wring it out before the mop hits the floor.
What to avoid:
Avoid abrasive cleaners, bleach, ammonia, wax, oil-soaps. Do not drag furniture. Avoid latex/rubber-backed mats.
Pro tip: Abrasive powders, scouring pads, and ‘miracle’ cleaners aren’t just warranty issues — they physically scratch the wear layer. Once it’s scratched, you can’t refinish SPC the way you can hardwood. Stick with microfiber and pH-neutral cleaners, and the floor will outlast most of its owners.
Furniture and pet protection:
Use felt protectors under furniture legs. Wide non-marking casters for rolling chairs. Walk-off mats at exterior doors.
Pro tip: Pet claws don’t usually damage a 20 mil wear layer during normal walking — but scrambling starts and stops on hardwood transitions can chip the painted bevel edges. Keep claws trimmed and use runners in hallways where pets sprint.
Care for heavy-character knots:
Open knot pockets are part of the rustic profile; manufacturer spec doesn’t restrict cleaning method.
Pro tip: Pronounced character knots can collect crumb dust around their pockets. Vacuum with a soft brush attachment every 2-3 weeks (soft-bristle broom for daily); avoid stiff-bristle attachments that can score the embossed surface.
Frequently asked questions
How do I estimate how much flooring I need?
Pro tip: we strongly recommend hiring a licensed flooring contractor to measure before ordering, especially for larger jobs. They’ll account for transitions, stairs, closets, and pattern waste that homeowners often miss. Under-ordering means stopping mid-install to wait for another box — and batch matching isn’t guaranteed.
Can I install SPC myself?
Most common case: DIY is allowed, but install mistakes (missed expansion gap, bad subfloor prep, wrong stagger, skipped moisture barrier) void that portion of coverage. Material defects from the manufacturer remain covered.
A few brands go further — their warranty requires “professional installation by a licensed contractor” as a coverage condition, so any DIY = warranty void even without mistakes. Check your brand’s warranty language before deciding.
Pro tip: when a claim is filed, the manufacturer sends a licensed flooring inspector. DIY that followed manufacturer spec to the letter passes inspection; DIY that cut corners won’t. We recommend: price out a licensed contractor quote first, read your warranty carefully, and decide based on your comfort with the procedure — not just labor savings.
Will it work in my basement?
Layer 1 — concrete moisture epoxy applied directly to the slab (manufacturer-approved liquid-applied membrane). Allows ~25 lbs/1000sqft/24hr vapor transmission vs the 8 lbs/1000sqft/24hr ASTM F1869 requires.
Layer 2 — 6-mil polyethylene sheeting on the cured epoxy. The epoxy resists normal slab conditions; the plastic above is insurance against slab cracks from settling or seismic movement (common in older Bay Area homes built on fill). If the slab cracks in year 12, the plastic stops moisture before it reaches your SPC.
Cost: $600-1,100 for a typical basement vs $50-100 for plastic alone. For a floor lasting 20+ years in a moisture-prone slab, double protection pays for itself the first time the slab shifts.
How does SPC compare to real hardwood?
Real hardwood investment = engineered with 3mm+ veneer. That’s the threshold where the floor becomes refinishable (2-3 refinishes over 50+ years, updated stain colors as trends shift). Appraisers factor genuine hardwood into home value; they don’t factor SPC.
Caveat: engineered hardwood with 1-2mm veneer (common in budget lines) is functionally the same as SPC — can’t be refinished, lasts 20-25 years. If you’re paying hardwood prices, verify the veneer spec. We carry both categories — happy to walk through specifics based on your rooms and refinishing expectations.
Do you offer samples I can take home?
How fast does it ship?
What’s your return policy?
Always covered at no cost: manufacturing defects, wrong product shipped, delivery damage documented on receipt before the driver leaves.
Why returns aren’t default: sending a pallet back involves 6 handoffs and $300–800 freight — Kapriz carries the exposure if rejected.
Rare exceptions: 25% restocking fee + customer pays freight. Never for opened cartons, custom orders, or discontinued runs.
Pro tip: see Castle in person before ordering — call (408) 753-3220 to confirm showroom availability (samples rotate) or arrange a loan.
What does it look like installed in a real room?
Best way to see Castle as it’ll live: visit our Santa Clara showroom with paint chips, cabinet samples, or tile in hand. We carry 80+ flooring brands on display — many not yet on our website — so you can compare Castle against alternatives in real Bay Area lighting. Designers welcome: browse the full collection with your client, pull cabinet + tile + flooring side-by-side, decide in one visit instead of three.
Will it match my cabinets?
Less compatible: stark black or pure-white cabinets in high-contrast modern kitchens can use a more committed floor. We’ll pair samples in showroom for confirmation.
Best way to confirm a match: bring your cabinet door or paint card to our Santa Clara showroom — we’ll compare it against Castle under real lighting. Don’t have cabinets yet? We carry Boxy Cabinetry on-site (framed, frameless, regular shaker, slim shaker, flat panel — 11 finishes from Ivory White to Black Walnut) — use Boxy door samples to dial in your cabinet + flooring combination in one showroom visit.
What does the plank look like up close?
Practical implication: from standing position, warm cocoa brown with visible history appears as a single uniform surface. From floor level (kids, pets, spill cleanup), the rustic cathedral grain with heavy character knots shows real tactile variation.
Will it look this bright in a windowless basement?
Is this floor suited for plant-heavy interiors?
UV exposure matters: south-facing biophilic rooms benefit from UV-filtering film for the floor’s long-term color.
Pricing and availability current as of 2026-05-11 — call (408) 753-3220 to confirm current price and lead time on Castle.
Additional information
| Brand | Paradigm |
|---|---|
| Collection | Paradigm Conquest 20MIL |
| Color Tone | Medium Brown |
| Thickness | 6.5mm+ |
| Water Resistant | Yes |
| Wear Layer | 20 mil |
| Width | 9 inches + |
| Flooring Type | SPC |















