HI I had Prime Waterproof Dark Roast installed in my kitchen and back of the house, I hate it, I cannot get this floor looking clean. It smudges and never look clean. Has anyone else had problems with this floor. I have tried Bono and Rejuvinate cleaner for LVP floors, but left them looking hazy. My floor is Matt finish. Which seems to show every foot print and sock print. Im going crazy trying to find the best cleaning for this floor. Could it be my mop? I use a microfiber mop. Does anyone else use something else? Suggestions are appriciated.

You can have your cake and eat it too. You can have the 5" wide plank but you MUST have GLUE ASSIST! MUST! That means more money for glue and more money for installation. There is NO WAY around the GLUE ASSIST! That being said, if your CONTRACTOR (ahem...NOT a flooring professional...not even close!) is hesitant to do this, it means they have had BAD experiences because they do not use flooring PROFESSIONALS on their crew. They use "guys with hammers" to do ALL the work. That's why your GC is hesitating here. That's fine. At least s/he knows the limitations of their crew. You can ask the GC to REACH OUT to PROFESSIONAL flooring installers (you will agree to pay for the UP CHARGE for doing this) so that you can have your 5" wide maple. So...you will be looking at the glue-assist up charge (can be $1.50 - $2.50/sf MORE for the install) and the up-charge for the PROFESSIONAL flooring company to come in and do the install (can be $2 - $4/sf more). If you have a GC coming in, you might want to have your HVAC (heating/cooling system) inspected to see what is needed to maintain a constant humidity level. Your summers are HUMID (dehumidifier and/or A/C required) and your winters can be humid AND dry (because of all the heating required indoors the air becomes very dry = whole home humidifier). At worst, the $6K up grade to the home's HVAC will be money well spent. And just to be clear, 3 3/4" wood needs the same humidity requirements. Nothing will get you out of the need for humidity control with wood flooring. Nothing. So....ask yourself if all the up charges are worth the 5" plank (could be as much as $6.50/sf added to the build). The HVAC will need the up grade no matter what type of solid flooring you have in there. Even laminate and vinyl require this level of stability.

Find out the wear layer for the engineered hardwood. That will help determine which is the better deal and product for the $$. Annied75 is right in that pine is a soft wood. It is not as hard as oak flooring. However, with that being said, all hardwood is susceptible to wear and tear and will show it over the years. The reason I ask for the wear layer is because it will help us determine how many sandings this engineered floors can withstand. The engineered floors we provide for our customers have a wear layer the same size as solid hardwood and therefore can withstand the same amount of sandings before reaching the tongue of the hardwood. If your engineered floor has a thin wear layer, the solid pine flooring just may be the better product for the money you are going to be spending since the pine floor will be able to withstand several sanding and refinishings. However, I read that you are going to be installing this over a slab floor in Florida. Since that is the case, engineered flooring is the way to go unless the pine flooring is going to be milled in an engineered version. Ask Hardwoods for Less if they can send you some samples before making the large purchase.

Thanks for the tips. I'll get the sample and compare! We like the look of the shaw empire oak vanderbilt but don't know how to assess quality. My research on this has been all over the place. My takeaway is that engineered flooring innovation has exploded through the recent years and that the quality of the some engineered flooring is the same or better than hardwood. But if I don't get the right one, I'm in for splinters, cracking, black water spots and more. Any brands/qualities that I should require as we make the final selection?