I'm a fan of Hickory. Love it! I love it's STRONG variation! Yep. Variation is the word that can be used for Hickory. If you are going for "mid-tone" then it means the Hickory is stained. No problem. That's fine. Hickory takes a stain very nicely. But it will still have plenty of variation. The stain will even that out a little bit, but not entirely. The finish is UV cured urethane. I'm not very excited about that finish. If you are going for factory finish, you will want to work with the TOUGHEST finishes on the market (that's why you go with factory finished...for the TOUGH finish). The UV cured urethane is a ho-hum type of finish. Average would be the best way to describe it. The thickness of the plank is 3/4" = normal for sold. The plank width is 5" with random lengths UPTO 60" (5ft). That tells me there will be many planks in the 3' - 4' range. Again, this is ho-hum average. And with a wide plank product, it will need "glue assist". And Hickory certainly needs it because it has a bit more movement (less stable) than white oak. And then there is the "low gloss" format. The low-gloss finish on this depth of colour = nightmare to live with. It will show dust, etc as well as oily foot prints, sock prints, paw prints and will look hazy at certain times during the day. The "haze" is part of the chemical make up of the finish itself = that's how they take away the gloss...they haze it with a chemical additive. The haze goes away when you sand and refinish the floor. That's the only way to fix it. If you must have a mid-tone floor, I would recommend a TOUGHER finish (aluminum oxide or ceramic infused polyurethane) in a satin. Satin is FAR MORE livable. It offers a lovely glow without being shiny. It hides skin oils (like paw prints from dogs) because it is the same gloss level as skin oils....it isn't hazy....you get the idea.

Vinyl does NOT like heat or direct sunlight. Most vinyl products have a maximum heat tolerance of 85F. That 'sounds' fine until you realize that a pool of sunlight on a floor can reach 120F inside of 20 minutes! Ooops. Which means you need to assess your home as a WHOLE. Old windows or windows that have very little UV protection on them will give you plenty of trouble when looking at the average vinyl product (today's low-E windows start with a UV protection of 45% and then move to 75% and then to 90% or higher). It sounds like you have a low-impact household and a nice home (depending where you live...my market offers bachelor apartments for your price range). A wood product would certainly offer a beautiful floor with plenty of livability and plenty of return on investment. With a budget starting at $7/sf (and moving higher would be preferable) you can have a midrange quality engineered hardwood and a lovely underlay (like 1/4" cork) that will give your new hardwood floors a lovely solid feel to them. Oh yah....vinyl does NOT like underpad. It needs to go STRAIGHT DOWN on to the subfloor. And if the subfloor isn't PERFECT you can have problems.

Kim,,,it's very solid. just make sure the glue is spread to completely cover the plank. I have a few spots (like under the kitchen sink) where they missed the corner and it squeaks. They've held up great. I don't have dogs, but I have cats and have heard their nails burning rubber across the floor they go off on their tangents. I've spilled water, cleaned up their barf, spilled food, whatever, it all cleans up very well. as for dents, only if you drop something very heavy. but any wood floor will dent. I vacuum w/a Dyson, and then I use Bona wood floor cleaner on a mop. in the kitchen, i'll often take the scrubby brush and watered down Dawn to clean up spills or oil stains. no problem. no, I don't baby them. I don't wear shoes in my house though. I love my floors. just make sure on install they clean up all the glue residue. my guys were messy and lazy. had to call them back w/special glue remover and rag and go over the entire floor.

I bought Downs H2O LVT. It is made by CoreTec from James Duty at Cloister Flooring America in Lititz, PA. I think you and I might be in the same area - not sure if there are any other Cloister Flooring Americas except the one's in Lititz and Ephrata.. One of the other brands I looked at was Kardean, but it was quite a bit more expensive and took me over budget. Price check other stores in your area. Flooring America, Carpet One, Pro Source, and Floor Trader Outlet will have the same "Exclusive" product with a different name.. Different stores in the same chain can and most likely will have different pricing. Flooring America in Etown was more expensive than Cloisters. Carpet One in Annville/Cleona was the highest price when I did my comparison. I really like the people at Cloister Flooring America and love that they offer assistance getting started if you are wanting to install yourself. Again - COVID may be limiting the service, but when I got mine they offered for someone to come to the house for an hour and show you what to do there was a cost, but something like $100.00. They also rent some of the supplies. Everyone else I talked to pressured me to have it installed and pretty much said "You're on your own." Also, if you can wait till after the holidays, flooring should go on sale. Generally everyone wants flooring done by Christmas and then the market hits a lull and stores are trying to drum up business. I don't have a clue how COVID may change things this year. If we are dealing with the same "Cloister Flooring America" ask if they will be having an anniversary sale in March. I think that is an annual sale for them.