I've spent the last 5 or 6 months talking to many different flooring stores and reading up on many different flooring options, and I keep coming back to the Dura Ceramic. Ceramic tile is too hard and cold. Wood doesn't match my new countertop. Laminate tile doesn't look quite realistic. I can't use vinyl either, because I am re-doing a great room. I currently have vinyl in the kitchen/eating area and carpet in the family room area and it makes the room choppy. I want one flooring to unite the space. Dura Ceramic seems to be the perfect solution. Especially since Dura Ceramic has a color tile that matches my countertops, cabinets, and appliances perfectly, and ties my whole kitchen together. Except I, too, have read a lot of negative things about it. I've heard that it dents easily (and I dropped 2 forks--tines down-- on the sample and they did ding it) and that it might scratch. But I think I would rather put up with a few dings or scratches than have an uncomfortable, cold floor that I could never walk on unless I am wearing shoes or slippers. I've also read that it is hard to clean because of the texture. I've put things like jelly and ketchup on the sample and let it set, and it wiped up easily. I've also read posts from people who love the Dura Ceramic. And my flooring store likes the Dura Ceramic, a lot. (And I've used the store twice before over the last 11 years). They were one of the first to carry it in our area, and seem to know more than any other flooring store about the product. And they have installed it many times. From what I have read, getting a good installation is key to making sure you don't have tiles coming up or end up with the grout haze. I do recommend that if you are going to use Dura Ceramic, you read the installation instructions on the Congoleum website and then ask a lot of questions from your flooring store to make sure you are getting the proper installation. I think I am going to order the Dura Ceramic tomorrow (unless I change my mind overnight--which could happen), so, hopefully, I will have a positive experience to post about in the future. Good luck to you as well, Nancy!

On the sixth try, we finally found a flooring guy who seems to know what he is talking about. He came out to see our kitchen after demo and after removal of the water-damaged subfloor. He pointed out that we have (upward of the joists) 5/8" plywood, 1/2" plywood, original sheet vinyl, lauan, and newer sheet vinyl. He guessed that the second plywood layer was installed to raise the the original sheet vinyl kitchen floor up to the level of the adjoining dining room hardwood. The KD/GC had removed the "old floor," per contract, down to and including the original sheet vinyl, and removed and replaced the water-damaged part of the subfloor. The joists were fine. The flooring guy said the white stuff remaining on top of the undamaged subfloor was NOT underlayment like I had thought - it was a thin paper backing of the original sheet vinyl that had been glued to the subfloor and did not come up when everything else down to the original vinyl was removed. The staples had been put down through the lauan and original vinyl before laying the new vinyl, and remained after the GC had pulled up everything down to the original vinyl. The flooring guy recommended screwing down the two layers of subfloor into the joists to get rid of squeaks and remove or pound down the staples, then sand and level the subfloor. Then install either (1) 6mm Halex followed by the DuraCeramic, or (2) float the DuraCeramic using the Congoleum flexible UnderFlor(TM) underlayment. He recommended the Underflor. When I said I wanted a very stiff floor, he said the 1 1/8"total of the two layers of plywood subfloor would provide plenty of stiffness, and when well screwed down, would be just fine. This sounds OK to us - anything we should question? If the price comes in anywhere near reasonable, we think we will go with this guy.

We had this product installed in our kitchen. I did a fair amount of research on the product before we purchased it. It has a nice overall look, is warmer than tile but that is where it ends. I would never purchase this flooring again. After about three months we noticed it had pieces out of it that were similar in shape to grains of rice. We lost count as to how many but they were even in low track areas. There were other bits out of it too that are much larger. Dealing with the manufacturer was frustrating as well as they said it was from wear and tear from my husband and I. It also had a large area, about six feet from the window, in which the color had faded. We were told it had faded from sun exposure. We live on the west coast and our kitchen faces the back side of a mountain! I did drop a pan in one spot that left a dent but the uniform bits out of it were not caused by us. As well the grout has separated. The idea is good but until the product is better able to live up to it's claim I would not buy it.

I have had DuraCeramic for almost 5 years and I would not recommend it. There are so many chips and gouges in the floor that you would think that we make a habit of throwing knives in this house! Within the first month, my dog had torn up one of the tiles in the utility room with his claws. I had it replaced and "doggone" if he didn't go and do it again! So, if a dog can do some damage, then it's probably not worth your money! We put down DuPont Real Touch laminate floors in our master bath and I love it WAY more than the DuraCeramic. It's a pain to put down if you have a lot of doorways and thresholds, but it has held up, is easy to clean, and still looks beautiful!!