For anyone years later who is looking for the same info: I recently left flooring as a store manager and sales rep. First, understand that NO flooring is scratch-proof. They are scratch-resistant. I know someone else recommended staying away from it in case your basement floods but the truth of the matter is that if it floods and you use your homeowner's insurance (recommended), they will insist on the entire floor being replaced no matter what you have installed. You can choose a commercial grade if you are really worried about the flooring holding up to abuse. They are often glued down. Your installer will probably want to skimcoat the floor or use a leveler. This is good practice. Urethane with ceramic bead and urethane plus with aluminum oxide particles are the strongest choices right now but there are some higher ratings Like AC 5 which is stronger than say a 20 mil wear layer. There are also a few in the 30 mil wear layer range. You will often save money hiring your own installer because stores make money from the cost of installation. Hire your own and have them buy your materials. If they have an established relationship with the store, they will often get a significant discount on your materials. The store I worked for had a 55% profit margin but when they sold to installers/contractors they lowered it to 30-35%. Stores have to make a profit and so do installers. You may save some cash if your installer charges a smaller profit margin. Ask for a Certificate of Insurance on the installer. If their installation is bad or unfinished, their insurance has to cover it. Stores should have a warranty to cover poor workmanship as well. The manufacturer will cover manufacturing defects but not workmanship. Before you hire someone, ask if they do moisture testing and what is their procedure for it. ALWAYS have a moisture test done and documented when they come out to measure. If it is too high they should recommend what to do to get it and keep it at the appropriate level. ALWAYS have it done again before installation. This is the number one thing that causes manufacturers to deny a claim.

So let's talk the about the difference between an engineered hardwood and a vinyl plank. And there are more than just the difference between the two flooring options. There are many differences within each type of flooring. For example: engineered hardwood flooring can come in different thickness overall and vinyl planks can come in different plank styles (glue down, WPC and SPC). Let's break this down for you guys a little further. Engineered hardwood is an incredible option for an authentic with longevity in mind. Typically is worth less than it's hardwood counterpart (hardwood) but in some instances, depending on the wood species, a high end engineered hardwood veneer could be worth more than a low grade hardwood such as your North American (domestic) species. Engineered hardwood is more often on the 7/16" side of thickness and that is your more price friendly thickness. You can special order a thicker 3/4" board, but that will come at a heftier price because it's added layers. The added layers create a more stable plank that expands and contracts at a lower rate than it's 7/16" counterpart. Engineered hardwoods always should and for the most part come prefinished with an aluminum oxide coat. This very coat is your barrier against everyday beatings from walking traffic and dropped items. This coat is very tough but no floor or finish is indestructible. You will have dents and scratches pop up over the years. Depending on the company, you can buy "refinish kits". Although, technically you cannot refinish aluminum oxide, the kits just help you hide the scratches until you decide to do a professional refinish to your floor. Lastly, let's talk about refinishing your hardwood floor. Please have a professional do it! And it is very expensive to do this job. Depending on your floor size it can cost well over $3,000 USD. At this rate, you are in the market for a high level LVP. Which brings me into the luxury vinyl plank spectrum. As you all are aware, LVP's are dominating the flooring market and they should be. They do a very, VERY good job at imitating a hardwood or stone surface and multiply the longevity all the while. Vinyl has come a long way in the last couple of decades let alone the last few years as far as planks are concerned. There are plenty of options and so, so many different brands all wanting you business. Luxury vinyl planks can be divided into two different categories in the market right now: glue down or floating. The first generation of vinyl planks are your glue downs. They are still very popular and serve as one of the friendliest DIY repair floors. You simply heat the old damaged plank, peel it and put a new one down. The floating aspect of planks gets a little more complicated as you can have a WPC (wood polymer composite), SPC (stone polymer composite) or a loose lay style. And you can look those up to see the complete difference in each to see what's your most needed. I'll lightly go over each to explain what they are. While all three styles are virtually waterproof, you really can't go wrong with any and will have a good product in each one. WPC's are a click based plank which does not require an underlayment, hence being labeled a "floating" floor. The foaming agent in the core of the plank helps with sound absorption and makes the plank a little more friendly to stand on. It's a thicker overall plank and you should think about how the trims will be affected. SPC's are a click based plank which also does not require an underlayment which helps reduce the installation cost. The core is limestone based and makes it very rigid and tough. It's extremely dent resistant but for the most part is lower in wear layer for some reason. You can however find plenty of SPC's with a higher wear layer, nearing 28-30 mil, but it will cost you more because you will have a high dent and scratch resistance. And finally you have your loose lay planks which are the ultimate form (as of now) in easy maintenance and installation. They do not require an underlayment, do not use a click system and don't need any adhesive (although some installers recommend gluing the perimeter). They have a friction backing which let you lay the plank adhesive free without any movement on its end. The plank itself is waterproof and pretty dent resistant. While engineered hardwood does cost more and is less maintenance friendly, it does add value to your home with the hardwood veneer. The ability to refinish gives you a long floor life but the cost of a refinish is a setback in itself. Luxury vinyl planks are a low cost and long lasting floor option but adds little to no value to your home. The endless options of styles and colors gives you endless customization to your home at a far less price. Either option can last a while but at this time vinyl planks are a better option for any household with multiple members, both human and furry alike. I hope this little bit of information helps in the short and long run. Just a flooring dude.

Good bamboo (ie. the $12/sf price point) is very dense. Any wood floor can dent with heals. It depends on the size of the heal (is it a 'Queen Mum' wide-body heal or is it a 3" stiletto?) and the size of the human wearing it (the movie 'Kinky Boots' comes to mind). A 250 lb man in stilettos is going to put very big dents into pretty much any wood floor he walks on....the pounds per square inch come into play when dents are created. A bad bamboo or bad engineered hardwood is going to dent easily. They are perfectly fine on stairs. They are still rigid wood-like floors. In fact cork does very well on stairs (the softest hardwood in the world!!!). The FINISH is what scratches. The FINISH is what takes all the abuse. A bad factory finish will scratch like the dickens...and look like it needs to be refinished inside of 15 years. That's one of the differences between 'good' bamboo and 'bad' bamboo. A high-end bamboo product is going to cost you some SERIOUS money. I'm not kidding. It is HEAVILY engineered. In fact it can be 30% adhesive (glue...holding the grass together). It can be carbonized. It can have upto 15 coats of UV cured Aluminum Oxide urethane applied to it. Just because it is all produced in China doesn't mean it is cheap/cost effective to purchase. It isn't. The independent importers are very specific about who they source from (a bad batch can bankrupt them) and what type of product they sell. All of that 'human input' has a cost. The mature bamboo (7+ years old) is expensive. It is hard to harvest. It is harder to process (because it is so thick and strong). It requires VERY EXPENSIVE adhesives (allowed in the EU = darn near Zero VOC levels = very expensive). And the finish (15 layers) take ++ time to create and cure and stack, etc. Keeping it climate controlled is SUPER IMPORTANT = very expensive. It is required at time of creation, during transport (on the ship) and when it arrives in port/warehouse facility. And it is HEAVY. Heavy = dense = expensive to ship around the world. And THAT'S why $12/sf bamboo is worth it. But the $4.99/sf cr@p isn't. A solid white oak 3" plank (character grade) = $4.99/sf and WELL worth it.

Well I am never quick to do anything it seems. I didn't realize I had started the thread as it says " last year". Anyway after obsessing and trying to find thee one.... I am really close to pulling the trigger. I know there are a lot of very fine brands out there that offer good value, but I am just a bit too chicken to coordinate ordering this stuff remotely and having it delivered here. I have done that with furniture and its fine but I cannot fathom doing it for lvp. (that's my issue). I actually had someone come to measure and give an estimate and am having one more come in a few days so at least I will have a ballpark idea of what will be involved for real in my situation. I am 95% going with CoreTec at this point and will be getting it from a local store. Their price is decent- not stellar but decent. They have a good reputation and I just don't want to spend thousands and have the manufacturer not stand behind it. I sincerely hope I don't need the manufacture to stand behind it, but it's a concern I have. To the best of my understand, the wear layer is a key component. Some say at least 12 mil is good. I am going for 20. That's my elimination process. I started out looking for super pale and uniform in color and have kind of evolved to medium tone and varied color. It's an adventure.