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.

Hi DW- I love Coretec! I have used it in several applications including this Hair Salon, but also in a residential space. The color I used in both of these projects I am including here is Blackstone Oak, and it was selected because both of my clients wanted it to read Warm and cool, and this flooring had a nice mix of the two colors. With regard to the bevel, I would recommend avoiding it, as it does tend to make it harder to keep clean. While Coretec offers a lifetime warranty in a residential installation (assuming your installer does it to specs), but the bevels, while they are trendy, tend to show wear sooner since it exposes other areas of the flooring moreso than others, and dirt tends to get stuck inside of the creases more often. Good luck with your project! Sounds like you're on the right track! This is the blackstone oak in a residential installation. This is the same flooring in a Hair Salon Commercial installation. Both with out bevels so it will stay nice longer! Good luck on your project!

I bought Downs H2O LVT. It is made by CoreTec from James Duty at Cloister Flooring America in Lititz, PA. I think you and I might be in the same area - not sure if there are any other Cloister Flooring Americas except the one's in Lititz and Ephrata.. One of the other brands I looked at was Kardean, but it was quite a bit more expensive and took me over budget. Price check other stores in your area. Flooring America, Carpet One, Pro Source, and Floor Trader Outlet will have the same "Exclusive" product with a different name.. Different stores in the same chain can and most likely will have different pricing. Flooring America in Etown was more expensive than Cloisters. Carpet One in Annville/Cleona was the highest price when I did my comparison. I really like the people at Cloister Flooring America and love that they offer assistance getting started if you are wanting to install yourself. Again - COVID may be limiting the service, but when I got mine they offered for someone to come to the house for an hour and show you what to do there was a cost, but something like $100.00. They also rent some of the supplies. Everyone else I talked to pressured me to have it installed and pretty much said "You're on your own." Also, if you can wait till after the holidays, flooring should go on sale. Generally everyone wants flooring done by Christmas and then the market hits a lull and stores are trying to drum up business. I don't have a clue how COVID may change things this year. If we are dealing with the same "Cloister Flooring America" ask if they will be having an anniversary sale in March. I think that is an annual sale for them.

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.