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.

Sheet vinyl....it is the only thing that will prevent cat urine from getting between the planks. Sigh. I know that isn't what you were hoping for, but it is the solution that works for leaky pets/humans. Anything that comes in a "plank" runs the risk of urine seeping between two planks and staining the SIDES of the planks. Sides of planks are things that cannot be 'cleaned'. Thereby allowing the urine - and the odour - to remain for the life of the floor. If there is a particular PLACE where the cat(s) will have a litter box (which is where they 'miss') then I would ensure a continuous surface product would be used in that space (sheet vinyl; epoxy that runs up the wall to create a continuous surface up the wall by a few inches). If you mean the cats urinate in random places throughout the home, you are going to be in a bit of a pickle. Pretty much any place you lay 'planked' floors will run the risk of a permanent stain/odour that originates from between the planks.

#Jolene Howard i'm looking at Carpet One and trying to decide about Baroque, Evercore, Natures Dwelling, redwood now. Do you have a picture? they naver told me that. it's still selling. Can,t make it the same way. does that mean the sample from the store is not representative?

I enjoyed your rant! I feel the same way. This has been a very frustrating experience, the impotence is a heavy load to roll sometimes. The Flooring Companies usually requires the Installation/Selling companies to file the Warranty Claims, they don’t listen directly to the costumers. So, we are stuck between companies blaming each other. As you said, Warranties exist to protect them, not their customer. The manufacturer told me through the company who sold the floors that I must choose a certified inspector from a Website they provide me with. If the inspector finds any issue with the installation, which is a proof that their product doesn’t have a flaw, I must pay his fee; which goes between $305 and $450. It didn’t sound good to me! I think they must pay the inspection and if they found out that a bad installation caused the damage, I can post the report here and leave a nice review on Better Business Bureau. The installer could have made a shortcut for sure, but I cannot afford the inspection right now in addition to the new floors plus the temporary move out/in. Also, in the state I reside I can not start a small claim after three years. Anyway, I didn’t pay him, I bought the house and the previous owner is a friend of the installer guy. So, no help on that side. The floors I have are the Blockbuster Plus (Hollywood color) from Happy Feet International, from the box stickers they are Made in China like most, but they have a 15 years of Residential Warranty. I bought the house with brand new floors, kitchen and bathrooms, and my online search results gave me the confidence that the LVP floors will not only be resistant, but kind of ideal for me living on a wheelchair. That good is their marketing! LVP floors are in fashion and a lot of people think they are great, on top of being cheaper than Ceramic Tiles and Hardwood, but they are not resistant, durable, or resilient as they say. Not in my experience at least! Now, everyone I talk to tells me that glued down LVP is the way to go, but I don’t know anyone living on a wheelchair on those floors. And their Warranty Exceptions are the same for casters and rolling loads. The warranty of my HF380+ says in the section of “What is Not Covered? Indentations or damage caused by improper ‘rolling loads’... Damage caused by vacuum cleaner beater bar, caster wheels, etc.” The exceptions are the same for one of their glued down products. So, any handicapped person using a wheelchair will be an “improper rolling load”, isn’t that sounding discriminatory? Not if they make a full disclosure on their website saying that their floating products are not suitable for Wheelchair users I think. It will be just a product limitation, and they will start selling more the other stronger products they have. And that goes for every Flooring manufacturing companies. Being honest and transparent, instead of hiding their limitations/weaknesses on their Warranty Docs. will benefit their company in the long term. I don’t want any more problems, I just wanted their help to fix my quite new floors. But they don’t listen to me. I don’t have any other option than paying for new floors, but if I can save others from this nightmare, at least I will be doing something good from the bad that happened to me. Sorry for my rant! And thank you for your kindness and empathy.