Salonva, we have Coretec for a year now in our Florida home. You clean it with water and vinegar. For the most part I spray with just water. We have a dog. No scratches from him, pulling chairs on, dropping something hard etc. It never looks dirty because of the grading, knots etc. I think I look at things a bit differently. Does mine look the same as hard wood that I have up north? No. But it looks nice! Yes there are some fake looking products, but I don’t believe Coretec falls into that category. We chose a beachy/ driftwood look. We were lucky to see this is someone’s home. We were going in a whole other direction! In the kitchen.

What are the specifications for the wood flooring you are considering. I just finished a remodel using engineered wood flooring (in So Cal if that makes a difference) and there is a huge range of quality in terms of the specifications for engineered wood which will impact durability. Also your choice of finish and color will also impact durability - or at least how wear shows up. You need to consider the depth of the wear layer as well as the type of finish used. Good engineered flooring can be refinished although not as many times as solid hardwood. For most people that is not going to be particularly relevant as refinishing once or twice would be adequate. I personally would not purchase flooring from Home Depot but would take the time to go to several stores to look at all the varieties of flooring available. I would also do some research into how to differential low, middle and high quality engineered wood so that one can differentiate intelligently between choices. In terms of subjective advice, laminate is never going to be as attractive as wood - engineered wood is wood after all and in some circumstances it has to be used because solid wood would not be a feasible option. It is always going to be perceived as a higher end more aesthetic choice than even the highest quality laminate.

Installing hardwood in Florida takes extra effort. The first part of that effort is having EXCELLENT humidity control in the home. In hot, humid climates that means the A/C might not be enough. It might require an additional whole-home dehumidifier. It can also rule out an 'open window' type of home. Again, it depends on the location and the humidity levels. Hardwoods must be kept in a 'happy humidity' range between 45% - 60%. At all times. Every minute of every day. For ever and ever. And ever and ever. That means you will spend more on your HVAC system to have that type of 'push button' control (whole home humidifier/dehumidifier). And then the type of build also dictates the best practice for installation of hardwoods. A concrete slab takes extra effort to glue down wood. A high-end adhesives must be used and those add $2-$3/sf...just for the glue. The hardwood and labour are on top of that. In Florida, the most appropriate floors are stone, tile, terrazzo or concrete. All of which are hard and cold. Of course a cool floor in a hot climate is a BENEFIT...not a drawback. Part of the cold flooring is it helps keep the house feeling cool. Vinyl is then the next option. The difference between the 'wood look' or the stone/tile look is simply aesthetics. If you LIKE the look of wood, then go for it. If you LIKE the look of stone/tile, then go for it. With vinyl you will require very good UV block on your windows. Ask your builder what level you have on your windows right now. You will want to find something with UV block ABOVE 50%. I prefer to see 70% - 75%. That keeps the vinyl and the house cool. But it also makes growing indoor plants a difficulty. Plants struggle with UV blocking windows at 70% or higher.

We installed these in part of our house four years ago, then installed in other rooms two years ago. Colors matched perfectly. We have been very happy with the floors. Full disclosure: we are an adult-only household, but my husband tracks in a lot of debris. The floors look like new. We were told that we could refinish the floors once or twice because there is a pretty thick layer of wood. However, the edges are slightly beveled, so im not sure how that would work out. Perhaps spot-refinishing if damaged. I’m pretty picky, but we had issues with subfloors that prevented using solid wood floors.