I have Reward Costa Testa.It immediately began cupping all over my house and replacing it would be a nightmare because we would have to basucally move out. It can’t be sanded enough to remove the cupped edges and it‘s a toxic process to stain and finish it with the UV finish so we are stuck. Very very, unhappy. I’ve now got flooring guys telling me that the 4mm wear layer is thin…made a huge mistake choosing this product. Also, it looks nothing like the sample on the website. Theres a ton of very white areas which also were not represented on the sample boards i borrowed.

Definitely choose wood. Vinyls are great, however, for resale value, wood is the absolute best ROI especially for the main living areas. You can choose an engineered or solid- whichever makes most sense. We are able to provide engineered HW that can be sanded and refinished just as many times as solid. If the wear and tear is something you are worried about, consider choose a floor that has a reclaimed look with a strong grain pattern and saw markings that can hide many of the scratches and discrepancies that will happen over time. If that specific design isn't your style, consider a light color floor. Oiled floors are a decent choice because fixing superficial scratches are relatively easy. Oaks are good because of their graining and if kept a light color- will be able to disguise many of the scratches. You can ALWAYS sand and refinish your floors a few years down the line if needed. Plus, when you go to sell and the floors have been lived on- they can be sanded and finished for the new buyer. A vinyl floor will need to be replaced. Hardwood is more expensive at the moment, but they actually end up paying for themselves years down the line with the proper care and maintenance. Or you can choose wood in the dining and great room and a tile in the kitchen. SJ McCarthy has a good recommendation for hickory and oak. Another option is Character Maple(make sure it is hard maple). If you really want to be bold- go for Brazilian Pecan. :)

Another thing to consider when looking at the engineered floors is plank length. I just realized why I didn't like some of the photos I saw ... they had too many short pieces which gives the floor a choppy look and to me, it looks too much like a tile effect. The Uptown Floors suggested above sound great, and I will look at them more closely, but they still have "shorter" board (12" to 8 ft). I am looking at another company with board lengths from 3 ft to 12 ft. Those longer boards make a big difference in the overall look in a larger open floor plan. The longer boards do cost more, so I need to do some more comparisons and value of spending more for a more pleasing look. Their other specs are mostly similar. I think floors are going to be my hardest decision!

Update - we looked at the three stores in our area (we are in the boondocks) that have flooring and do their own installation (been burned by Lowe's with their crappy installations on another project, so the chains are a "NO!"). Not one of the stores recommended laminates, and they had nothing but really cheap-looking ones in samples. I gave up and bought LVP. It'll work, and I'm sure, although I won't love it like I love my hardwood at my other house, I'll like it and it'll be easy care. After dragging home numerous samples, we finally settled on TruCor Blonde Oak. We need a light-colored floor in this house. We liked the sample better than anything else, it comes in 6' boards, and it doesn't have a whole lot of color variation. I'm going to request that as many of the darker and knotty boards as possible be saved for the closets. We had a good-sized sample board, and this is the manufacturer's view of the floor as a whole. This will be in adjoining and semi-open living/dining/kitchen/hall and in a bedroom - about 1000 sq. ft. in total.