COREtec Plus HD Vineyard Barrel Driftwood - My One Year review

Happy New Year Everyone!

It has been quite some time since I have posted.  I feel like I haven't done anything around my home since my son was born.  Hopefully, in 2018 we can change that!

As I am getting ready to hit 'publish' on this post, my 20 mo decides he wants some juice.  I had just made 2 quarts of apple juice and placed it too close to the edge of the counter.  This is my life.  This is why these floors are the best option for my family in one photo!

We have had our COREtec Plus HD floors for over a year.  I will admit that the first month I had them, I wasn't AS IN LOVE with them as I thought I would be.  I thought I would want to reach down and kiss them.  I don't know if it was because of the drastic change to new darker floors in comparison to the light cheap Linoleum or what the reason was.  But, I didn't get that warm and fuzzy immediately.  I was a little scared. 

It took about a month to get used to the new floors.  Fast forward a year and I love them still.  I recommend them if you have toddlers, pets and messy husbands.  These were the best option for OUR family.  And here is why!

My Top 5 Comments in order

1.  Spills - WONDERFUL!!

This is probably the BIGGEST Pro of my floors.  Liquids are not my enemy.  My refrigerator spits out ice randomly while we're sleeping, my dishwasher leaks when knives lean up against the seal, my kids spill drinks and don't tell us, potty messes in the bathroom, my husband spills his drink and misses some, I leave the slider open to let in fresh air and it starts to rain.........these things happen at my house.  With a normal wood floor, any incident of these could have increased my anxiety with a brand new floor.  With the COREtec, we clean it up and go on.

2.  Cleanup - cleanup is a breeze.  

For crumbs and vacuuming, I have a Roomba which runs nightly to pick up any debris the kids have spilled.  For daily messes or anything the Roomba missed,  I use the Black & Decker Stick Vac.  I have not noticed any scratches from either of these.  I know this is a huge complaint from Roomba owners, but I have noticed no scratches from it.

For mopping, I simply use this O-Cedar Flip Mop at least once a week to mop up any spills or surfaces I think need a going over.  I have three pads and rotate them.  I just spray cleaner on the floor and then mop.  You can use it as a push broom as well dry.  With this, I have tried MANY different cleaners including vinegar, Armstrong, Bona, Method, Bruce floor cleaners.   I actually prefer Young Livings Thieves Cleaner.  Some of the mentioned floor cleaners left a film on the floor I could feel while barefoot, while others left streaks.  The bottle doesn't last very long either using this spray and mop method.  I feel the YL cleaner results in a "cleaner" surface than other cleaners I've tried and I get more of a bang for my buck as you only need a 1/2 - 1 capful for 32oz of water depending on your preference.  Here is the link for Young Living and here is the direct link to the Thieves Cleaner.

3.  Noise - pretty quiet

I was concerned at first with the "clacking" because it was a floating floor.  There were some areas where it didn't settle and it did make some noise.  This disappeared after about the first month or two. It does still "clack" occasionally if the kids run down the hall, but you do get used to it.  It also has the cork underlayment to reduce this as well.

Dog claws make a different sound than any other flooring.  This takes a bit of getting used to.  Also, my dog slides a bit more than on other flooring.  He's 6 pounds.  Might not be an issue for larger breeds.

I don't find that the installation of the floors made my house any noisier.  I think this is also because of the cork underlayment.  I don't think the house sounds any differently than it didn't prior to install.

4.  Dents - I would agree it is dent resistant.

As for dents, we have had no dents happen to the floor from normal use.  My mother discourages heels at her house as they dent her hardwoods.  My heels do not dent this floor.  We did get a dent when my daughter who is four was clowning around on our metal bar stools and it and her came toppling down.  But again, I think that would have happened no matter what flooring we had.  Here is a photo of the dent (it's in the very center of this photo)

I have never lived in a home with hardwoods in the entire living area.  We had them in our old home in the foyer and  dining room.   I don't recall scratches or dents, but I don't recall doing anything that would scratch or dent them, so I have nothing to compare.  But, I do have friends and family with hardwoods and their floors look dented and scratched.  They can refinish hardwoods (some engineered) for a cost and the inconvenience.  My parents house would require days of moving furniture from one part of the house to another while the floors were refinished and cured.  I do have the option, since the floor is floating, to replace some planks here and there which does require pulling up from the end or the beginning depending on where the plank is.  At the most it's a small cost and minor inconvenience.

5.  Scratches - ALOT

The COREtec HD Plus does scratch.  I have mixed feelings about this one because I think it scratches far easier than it should.  Especially, since they make the claim that it is scratch resistant.  I scratched it the first hour sliding my sons high chair.  The installers were still here and I was mortified.  He advised I put the felt pads under the plastic chair feet. 

Small scratches are super easy to fill, however.  I have two stain markers and when I notice a scratch, I just fill it in and wipe it with a dry paper towel.  My four year old loves to help me color the floor.  I have two markers, one in a lighter oak and the other in a darker oak.  The floors are so variegated, they're quite forgiving, I tend to use the darker one (Homax Early American).  The main reason for the scratches we did get is that we did not replace all of our chair feet with felt feet by choice (aka laziness) or we couldn't find ones to fit the chairs.  We tried the sticky felt ones, but they do not stay in place for chairs used often.  Every now and then, the bar stools will scratch the floor, my husband scratches the floor, my kids will scratch the floor.  It happens.  I don't get too upset anymore.  I give my daughter the marker and a paper towel.

We did make a pretty large gouge by accident, but it was completely our fault and would have happened on any type of flooring.  While moving the sectional, a screw had somehow gotten under the couch and it wedged between the floor and the foot of the couch.  In the future we could have the board replaced, so it isn't a huge concern for me.  

The first scratch was from the wooden high chair (which we never put felt pads on).  This highchair is the type you find at restaurants, so that my son is closer to the table.

 

As you can see in the photo below, the mark in this one is still visible, but definitively blends in with the rustic feel of the floor

The second scratch was from my husband.  He has an aloe plant that I think he loves more than me.  He brought it in from outdoors and slid it across the floor.  It's in a 10 gallon pot I believe.

And this one below was completely camouflaged when filled