Thank you for your response maddielee! We are just having a hard time deciding between the burnt oak and the shadow hickory. The burnt oak in the sample that we got looks very different in your picture as well as some of the few I have seen on the web. It looks more darker and richer. The sample has a more distressed look and it looks lighter in color. I know you mentioned in your post that you are currently away from your home. If you are going to get back in a day or two I would really appreciate it if you could post a few more pics! We need to decide in a day or two. Thank you!

Subfloor prep is going to be KEY to your happiness. Make sure your installation quote has a STRONG price for subfloor prep. It *should have a range of $$ and look something like this: Subfloor preparation: $2-$4/sf depending on condition of the substrate. The subfloor needs to be FLAT. And I mean FLAT. Don't listen to the sales people when they say it can go over top of old flooring....it can BUT that old flooring still needs to be FLAT. https://palmettoroadflooring.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Impact-Installation-Warranty-Care-8.18.pdf Remember that your product has an attached underlayment which can BOUNCE if your subfloor isn't dealt with. And a bouncing vinyl floor isn't fun. The click edges (this is a drop and lock mechanism) are usually really thin (your product is 5.5mm = very thin click system). A thin click edge is VERY delicate. Any type of movement and your click edge will (eventually) break. Which is why you need FLAT. Go ahead and use the 'installation-warranty' document to write your contract with your installer. "Must be installed to Manufacturers Recommendations" and subfloors must be prepared to NWFA subfloor recommendations for rigid flooring - Best Practices. The 'Best Practices' is a legal statement that holds up in court (in Canada at least...Common Law recognises 'Best Practices' in lieu of 'National Standards'). Those two statements will save your butt. And I would check out the maximum runs on this product. I can't find it in the install section...but my gut tells me it *should be around 40 linear feet. The lock system is relatively good, but these planks are thin which means a weak 'grab' because of the size of the click edge. A long run means +++ stress because of the weight of the floor pulling/pushing on the edges. More transition strips are better than less. It is the nature of the floating floor system.

Salonva, we have Coretec for a year now in our Florida home. You clean it with water and vinegar. For the most part I spray with just water. We have a dog. No scratches from him, pulling chairs on, dropping something hard etc. It never looks dirty because of the grading, knots etc. I think I look at things a bit differently. Does mine look the same as hard wood that I have up north? No. But it looks nice! Yes there are some fake looking products, but I don’t believe Coretec falls into that category. We chose a beachy/ driftwood look. We were lucky to see this is someone’s home. We were going in a whole other direction! In the kitchen.

I have laminate from Germany that has withstood 3 huge dogs some accidents with our old one before she died . The flooring looks like new 13 yrs later. Our laminate looks like slate as I honestly would have put in real slate if we could have got it on time. We have vinyl plank in the basement , wood look, as the dogs have free run via doggie door to a dog run in all kinds of weather it has also stood up well for 13 yrs . I have used Mannington in many of my clients homes and they love it. I think either one will work but do go shopping and see the choices in person.