My stores actually sell 3 different ones. Duraceramic, which is definitely softer than tile, and is waterproof. You will hear negatives about chipping or scratching. We are one of top 5 sellers of it in our state and have very few complaints. Another option is Nafco Permastone LVT with grout fit. Our cost is about a buck a foot less than Duraceramic and will not chip. Looks about as real as Duraceramic. Duraceramic is a dead ringer to the real thing. 3rdly w carry a product called earthworks. Again about a buck a foot our cost less than Nafco. Does well, no grout joints though. Wont chip. If I were you I would be looking hard at Nafco with big active family. It can take on a lot of water, pretty tough to scratch as I test them all independently myself.It will be softer than real tile for sure, and warmer, and quieter. A slab has natural WARMTH BUILT INTO IT if designed correctly just from the frost free earth under it. The slab will not make that much of a difference under foot vs wood. It will give your products a measure of toughness that will not come with wood as there is no flex when something drops on it. Much more difficult to chip it as the chips come many times from the deflection of the substrate underneath. We demonstrate toughness by wacking on many of our products that are showroom floors with a hammer. i do not believe it would nearly as an effective demonstration if not for the slab these products are on. You dont want laminate in my mind..not with 4 kids and a dog in a kitchen area. Forget konecto too. no way. Not Karndean either. LVT in my opinion or the real thing ceramic tile. You have a monster edge on affording real tile over most because of that slab. Real tile is the only one of all the mentions that will add to home value as a plus when doing comparisons on an appraisal. If the hardness thing is for medical reason, i get it. But if it is for choice only, you are over thinking it. What do the most luxurious homes in the world have? Stone or marble or tile. None of this other junk compared to the real thing. The number one reason tile is not used in wet areas is not because of coldness or hardness or it chips, blah blah blah. It is because of money...don't let anyone tell you different. My company sells a ton of hard surface and when they are anti tile..it is usually because they are afraid of hearing the number to buy it. Now if it is medical, I might buy that thought. Not trying to insult anyone here, just trying to make sure somebody who could not afford it or is jealous of tile is not whispering this hard thing in your ear. If you want in in the baths, than you'll love it in your kitchen as you can not hurt the stuff unless you are just abusive to it. Good luck. A lot to think about and I understand that this is a tough subject for some. My sales people run from making true statements like these to people and honestly, people want to hear experts true opinions on stuff. They can tell when its coming from the heart and need to hear someone who has been in the business real thoughts. Good Luck and enjoy your new home.

I would suggest hardwood throughout only because of the warmth and soft feel underfoot but I am not real sure what kind or how to install on cement slab. It is so 'renewable' since it can be sanded and re-stained; I'm just a huge fan and have had dogs, kids, spills, etc.; sure it will scratch some but not so it is noticeable. Just have never had hardwood over cement before. So many colors and variations, go to a reputable flooring store and ask!
Good Luck!

We're trying a 100% waterproof laminate flooring in my parent's kitchen. It's made completely out of PVC vinyl so water isn't an issue.

It's a floating floor, which is nice because it makes it easy to install with no glue or anything, also because it's PVC you can install it right away, no waiting for it to acclimate like regular laminate or hardwood. It also means you could reinstall it if you for some reason needed to without damage to the floor if you're careful and no warping or swelling.

We had some samples sent to us and had fun abusing them, the floor seemed to hold up pretty well. We left it in a bucket of water for a couple days, no issues, it doesn't seem to scratch too easily-hit it really hard with a metal rod and it barely made a noticeable mark-took the back of a plastic pen to it back and forth hard and it started to disintegrate the pen and didn't seem to really affect the finish on the laminate. Although you never know, sometimes the samples are great and the floor just doesn't seem to hold up as well with the real life abuse.

Took the sample over to my local floor guy and he said the flooring seemed to be better than vinyl for scratches, but a little less durable with scratches than some of the aluminium oxide laminate flooring type finishes.

I'd say the realistic wood pattern is pretty good maybe a little similar to the vinyl wood stick down planks and it's nice that the finish is more matte, so it's not as slippery as some laminate floors. I do wish there was more colors/styles to choose from and the planks are more of the wide type.

The click together locking system seems easier than most laminates, it's different too, like an up and down snap lock, rather than a tongue and groove type. Once they are locked together, they seemed to hold really tight and took a little bit to get them apart again.

We got the flooring from a company online that also has a brick and mortar store in Indiana. It was 2.69 a Sqft and came with a supposed 50 yr warranty that goes through the store, so if we have any issues we can deal with the store instead of having to deal with the manufacturer.

We're hoping to lay the floor this week, very interested to see how it looks in the end and how it performs. It may be something you want to look into.

The product being referred to is Dumafloor...15 year warranty from manufacturer. Must jump through hoops if ever a problem. Appears to be no representation in this country. French product. It does expand and contract. Only a 6mm which is thin. Must use their underlay to enforce warranty. Intriguing, but too new to even think about it....We do not sell anything until it grows a little hair on it. Not 1 review to find. A little weak on stain and wear through warranty and does apparently wear on the edges of planks as they do not warrant that at all. 50 year warranty means nothing if ever a problem.some great articles out there about store warranties. Perform your due diligence. PS pet urine is absolutely not warranted so I am guessing the acid must stain the pvc resin. Good Luck. I would Pass on this and the hardwood option. Lots of reasons for the hardwood in an active household like yours.Hard wood can be installed on a slab also...I have a bunch of it in my home...and it is on a slab.Good Luck

Echoflooring, it's not Dumafloor, it's called Aquarius, it may be something similar to it.

The 50 year Residential Warranty is the manufactures, not the stores, but you can deal with it through the store, I agree though that flooring warranties don't usually mean much. It does state that the residential warranty covers defects and that the floor will not wear through or permanently stain from any common household stains when installed and maintained correctly according to instructions. It didn't state anything about pet urine one way or another.

Thanks for the reminder on the pet urine, I forgot to test it on the samples, so I am trying the pet urine test right now, (my parent's lab was happy to help). I let it soak overnight in some to see what would happen. I also let another sample soak in some vinegar. They've been in for about 12 hours now, back and front on one end, so far both products are fine, no staining/etching or anything to the finish or anywhere else on the product.

Nothing changed when I wiped them dry with a paper towel and tried rubbing them a bit to see if anything would come off-but you never know with these new products. So I put them back in to let them soak for another couple days in the liquid to see if anything changes then. I'll let them air dry when I take them out and see if that makes a difference too.

Forgot to mention that when I originally did my water test in the bucket, I also tried putting 2 samples together and letting water run for about 15 min on the seam and nothing leaked through the seam to the underneath, then I left standing water on the seam for a few hours and it stayed dry as well underneath, the water seemed to stay on top.

I do have to retract my statement on the acclimating, it looks like they should be allowed a 48 hour acclimation time, still less than laminates and hardwood though.

Left one flooring sample in the dog urine and other one in the vinegar for a couple more days and everything still came out fine. No issues or changes to the finish or any other part of the flooring. Jury is still out, since it's more of a new product, but so far so good.