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.

Susan, I didn't end up going with the Armstrong Rigid Core Vantage Dockside Brown. I chose this flooring instead: Paradigm Longboard Lanikai (PAR20101XL). The 2 floors have a very similar look, but the Paradigm floor is a closer match to the specific color tones I wanted. Having said that, I wouldn't dissuade you from considering the Armstrong Rigid Core Vantage if it meets your needs. It was a close call for me because I really liked the Armstrong Rigid Core Vantage product line. In fact, it was technically (but not cosmetically) superior to the Paradigm floor. It's one of the newer SPC (Stone Plastic Composite) LVP floors, and those are nearly indestructible. If you want to know more about SPC vs. WPC LVP flooring you can check out this article: https://parterreflooring.com/spc-wpc-commercial-flooring/ I ordered a sample of the Armstrong Rigid Core Vantage Dockside Brown, and it looked very nice. The texturing was good and so was the print. And it was tough as nails. I took a hammer to it and scraped it with the side of a quarter, and it came out with barely a dent or scratch. On a side note, I did purchase an Armstrong LVT floor for my master bathroom, and it is very nice. But that floor was from a different Armstrong product line (not Rigid Core Vantage). During my flooring search, I called several manufacturers including Armstrong. Armstrong's support staff was much more knowledgeable and helpful than the "average". I hope that helps. Good luck!

SuperCore SPC flooring from WeShipFloors.com. There is a lot of info on their website. The section, Flooring 101, is worth reading. The Xtreme line of SuperCORE has a 30 mil wear layer. There are a lot of colors to choose from in the 3 lines offered, Essentials with 12 mil wear layer, Originals with 20 mil wear layer and the Xtreme. In a couple of months there will be some new colors and some tile looks to choose from, too. If you look at the thread here on Houzz, Adura Max vs CoreTec, you will find photos of SuperCORE installs and a lot of info and reviews of the flooring. I have 51 boxes of the color Krypton from the Originals line in my garage waiting for install. If you’re not familiar with the differences in WPC and SPC flooring, Google SPC versus WPC flooring and learn why SPC might be your best choice. If you decide you like what you see and want samples of SuperCORE, use the green Request Samples button on the page for each color, and the samples will be free. WeShipFloors.com has a YouTube channel with videos of floor color comparisons and a short install video. Best of luck in choosing your new flooring.

Go with the 20mil finish. The 12mil finish has shown itself to be too delicate for the average US homeowner.