Engineered is real wood and if you look around, you can find unfinished engineered, so you can have it finished in place and not have the bevels if that is important to you. I didn't look at the videos provided so this might have been covered but here in Texas almost all houses are built with slabs at grade level and most of the new ones have wood on the ground floor.. There are several acceptable ways to do it: Plywood subfloor nailed to concrete and solid wood nailed to that (solid wood probably not as good in your case, these slabs all have vapor barriers under the slab, which you won't) or engineered glued to the plywood subfloor Engineered wood glued to slab (do a calcium chloride or other approved moisture test first) Vapor barrier and engineered wood floated over that. Many of the engineered woods allow floating installation, you have to glue the tongue and groove together. Different products are labeled for different types of installation, you have to be sure to check what they are labeled for. Find a reputable, knowledgeable NWFA installer, get them to do the moisture tests (the glue down a piece of plastic is not considered reliable) and then have them spell out your options. Now guess how I know all this? :-)

See previous reply. Unless you're in the desert or have taken measures to alleviate the moisture drive upwards through your concrete floor, I would avoid installing vinyl directly on the basement floor. Delta FL (or equivalent) followed by LVT or carefully chosen laminate could be an economical alternative.

I used to work for a cork flooring company for 6.5 years. Here is what I would tell you if you had called my shop and asked your questions. 1. Cork is DYNAMIC...it LOVES to change. And after that...it changes. And then...you guessed it it changes. 2. Cork will bounce back when hit hard. It can be PATCHED (the little chunk seen above in the photos from daisychain01). All you need is a spare bit of material, Elmer's Wood glue, and Exact-O knife and 30 minutes of patience. 3. Resealing is HIGHLY dependent on the MANUFACTURER'S requirements. Do NOT think you can reseal APC cork (polyacrylic finish = cheapest of the cheap) with anything but what the manufacturer recommends. 4. Cork floating floors (click-together planks/tiles) are welcome in a kitchen. You need to seal the floor AFTER install = a good 5 years worth of wear and tear. 5. Cork FADES! But the good news is it gets to a 'terminal' colour (Marilyn Monroe/Gwen Stefani Blonde) and then stays there. 6. I you are ANXIOUS about cork...don't use cork. Yes...if you were my customer and I heard your questions (and assuming I heard MORE anxiety while we talked...for 2 HOURS!!!!!), I would make a recommendation to look at other flooring. Only 1% of the word's floors are covered in cork (that includes the US Library of Congress, Gaudi's Cathedral in Barcelona and several football Stadiums in Portugal and Spain). Which means only 1% of the population can HANDLE (mentally...not physically) the changes cork goes through. I love the stuff. Given half the chance I would have every square foot (including my counter tops!!!) covered in the stuff. I would use a beautiful 8mm cork glue down tile in the bathrooms, a 1/4" glue down tile on the counters and then floating floors everywhere else! But I DO NOT CARE about how cork reacts. I am pretty low on the maintenance scale. Of my fellow "Type B" personalities I'm almost a "C" (minus)! That means I couldn't care one whit if my house looked like a palace or "lived in". Doesn't matter to me. And that is the type of personality that gets along the BEST with cork. And that's why only 1% of the population can "deal" with this product. I love cork! But I HATE IT when people bash it because it doesn't hold up to THEIR expectations of 'perfection'. Cork will NEVER be perfect. Even on 'Day 1'.

@Lorraine Pope I'm afraid to say you have found the EXACT issue with the Cork WISE product. Your SELLER has to START the process of making a claim FOR YOU. This had to be done PRIOR to removal. The seller had to submit the claim with photos to Amorim. And the seller has to have AGREE the installer did the PERFECT job of installing this stuff. And they HAVE to prove the house's interior LIVING conditions (ahem...how the homeowner keeps the temp/humidity EVEN and AROUND 35%...DAY IN AND DAY OUT). And the Seller has to confidently state the floor was NEVER exposed to excessive daytime sunlight pooling on the floors. And the Seller must communicate the homeowner's form of CLEANING (no steam; no excess water on the mop head, etc). This all had to be done in accordance with Amorim's claim requirements. And Amorim must have the ability to investigate the problem IN SITU. And have the ability to take/receive defective planks at headquarters (USA or Portugal). I know many installers who have tried to install this. It is VERY different than laminate and more difficult than vinyl click. It is a very tricky install. Even the right 'steps' followed can produce a warped floor (looks like bananas linked together). The STEPS are not enough (as everyone who's ever worked with this stuff can attest). The TOUCH (deftness of handling, storing, acclimating, stacking, etc) of the installer = death to a tricky floor. A 'hard handed' approach NEVER works. These tiles need finesse. They need an ARTISANS touch. Someone who sculps clay for a living would be able to get this to work. A 'guy' who swings a hammer who is in a hurry (time is money) is going to ruin this floor - even though the STEPS were followed, the ARTISTIC FINESSE was not. Sigh...and this is precisely why I do NOT like this product. NO ONE in the cork industry has followed up with a generic knock off. No one. And you have to ask the question: Why not? Occam's Razor Suggests the SIMPLEST answer is probably the right one: It doesn't work. OK...brass tacks. Go ahead and get the seller to START a claim FOR YOU. If install was PERFECT then the product MUST BE defective (again...if INSTALLER isn't at fault then the MANUFACTURER must be). Get the seller to send you an email ONCE they have filed the claim. That way you KNOW the process has been started. We've had people wait 5-6 months for an answer only to discover the CLAIM was never filed by the seller.....oh....dear.