I have used Adura from Mannington for clients and they all seem happy even down the road. I have the cheapest stuff from HD in my walkout basement with 3 large dogs in and out in all kinds of weather with a doggie door , we put dri core down and then Allure vinyl plank it is now 12 yrs old we also have a pool BTW and at the end of the day I swiffer and damp mop it looks awesome.

Look at Republic SPC. It looks really good and is good quality.

So so you think maybe vinyl isn't right for me? Any better options? I take it wood is out due to pool and moisture in GA so I don't know what other options I have? Everyone told me laminate is terrible or "cheap" so I feel out of options.

I haven't been able to find any brands locally where I can look at the product with 20 mil.

OK, so let's get our terminology working here. There are two thicknesses that *seem to be getting in the way. The term 'mil' and the term 'mm'.

1. 'mil' = 1 THOUSANDTHS of an INCH (very small...wear layer thickness)

2. 'mm' = millimeter = 1 thousandths of a METER (1 meter = 3ft) = very close to 1/32 of an inch

Great. Now we have a definition of 'mil' vs 'mm'. The LifeProof (sold ONLY at Home Depot...ahem....Home Depot...) is 7 mm thick (the website says 6mm or more). That means it is more than a 1/4 of an INCH thick (it's almost 1/3 of an inch...but that's a weird thing to see). As vinyl goes, that's a middle of the road thickness.

The 12 mm THICK vinyl is the SPC stuff like CoreTec (the mineral core makes it thicker). And 12mm is almost 1/2" (it is SUPER close to 0.5 inches).

OK...now on to wear layer. The wear layer is what I was talking about with 12mil vs. 20mil. That is the MICRO COATING (super thin....thinner than a piece of paper thin...can't be measured using a hand held tool using the naked eye). That's where I was going with the statement '20 mil' wear layer thickness.

First thing's first...please work with a reputable independent flooring company. Home Depot sells toilette paper, paint and chewing gum...and in the back they sell flooring. For me this isn't a place to go shopping if you have many quality requirements for look/feel/wear. If you can by Christmas lights and lawn gnomes at the same store where you purchase your flooring, you might be looking in the wrong place.

To be clear, a FLOATING FLOOR is what causes the feeling of 'hollowness' underfoot. That's why the subfloor needs to be flattened to within an inch of it's life! A flat subfloor = a solid feeling floor. Wood can be used in basements so long as it is floated (ahhh....again with the floating = can still bounce and feel hollow under foot). You can have wood so long as you have humidity CONTROL (humidistat built-in to the Heating/cooling system because A/C doesn't always cut it). But again the floor would need to be floated and that is the BIG issue. Floating = hollowness (when done POORLY).

So...here are your options: A PERMANENT floor (such as tile, carpet, sheet vinyl, glue down wood, etc) will give you the FEEL you want (solid feeling without being hollow). A permanent floor gets tricky in a basement setting where ground water is an issue. But it still can be done.

As Patricia points out, you can use something like DriCor underneath and then nail down the wood. That is totally acceptable. This decision is best done before doors are hung...but it doesn't have to be.

Please get out of 'big box' stores and go shopping at your high-end flooring stores. They will not deal in junk. And for a quality vinyl/floating floor product you will be looking at prices that are 2-4 times HIGHER than Home Depot.

I just ordered the thermacore 12 mm. I’m wondering how you like it? I can’t find anything on it either.

How did the Thermacore 12 mm work out? Is it holding up well?