We put dri=core and vinyl plank in our basement we are in Creston BC we did that because we wanted the floor to feel a bit warmer . Our floor was pretty smooth and level so that made the whole job easier. Our vinyl plan is Allure from HD it has stood up well for 14 yrs with 3 big dogs in and out of a dog run in all kinds of weather . A quick mop up on rainy days makes the floor look like new.

Local Cork Expert here. I'm going to save you a bunch of money and a HUGE amount of stress.

Cork Wise has issues. Big issues. The biggest issue is it curls after it is installed. Remember: Cork Wise is NOT a cork floor. It is a vinyl-cork-vinyl sandwich.

It is expensive and it has a 20%-50% chance of heartache (and everyone points fingers at each other with the homeowner crying over their ruined floor).

You have a cork flooring store in your area: iCork Floor LLC in Kent WA. They carry traditional cork floating floors (which is your only option in a basement).

You will need a vapour barrier. That is NORMAL for all floors in a basement (other than carpet). You will need the concrete levelled to 3mm over 3m (1/8" over 10 ft). Again this is normal for all floors (except carpet).

You are in a cool damp environment (I'm in Vancouver BC, Canada = pretty much the identical weather/temperatures) and I would say you can go with a cork floating floor WITHOUT cork underlay. The floating floor will offer enough warmth/heat retention in your situation. The rest of Canada (and cold parts of USA) usually do well with 3mm or 6mm cork underlay for better heat retention and noise reduction.

Go ahead and give Anne a phone call. She'll hook you up with samples:

iCork Floor LLC.
1209 Central Ave South, Suite 137
Kent, WA 98032 U.S.A.
Toll Free: 1-888-551-7678,
1-877-998-1198,
www.iCorkFloor.com