Bamboo Flooring vs. Laminate: Which to Buy? (1) Thickness: This is the total thickness of the plank or tile. Thick, high-quality wear layers; multiple installation styles; zero-VOC optionsall at an incredibly reasonable price. WPC and SPC flooring in several grades, as spelled out above. Its design layer is a little more detailed, and youre not paying more money for an SPC core that apparently adds very little benefit. The answers are here, and theyre more comprehensive than youll find elsewhere. Lifeproof vinyl plank isnt bad, but the Smartcore is just better. Ultimately, this prefinished hardwood flooring collection is probably one to skipit just doesnt stack up against any of the best hardwood floor brands. If you DIY installation and the flooring breaks, then there is no warranty. Other features include a waterproof vinyl core, attached cork underlayment for softness and sound control and low-VOC GreenGuard certification. If you want sustainable, eco-friendly vinyl planks, SmartCore is the best flooring option for you. In fact, as far as fake wood flooring goes, LVP is probably one of the easiest surfaces to maintain. So, other types even do not need to be in the shop. Then again, the underlayment will give insulation and sound dampening properties to the Smartcore flooring. Again, dont expect it to look fantastic past 5-7 years unless it gets very light, no-shoes kind of traffic. Pro Galaxy is the more affordable vinyl core brand with 30-year and 7-year warranties. Proximity Mills offers the most bang for your buck. Heres how SmartCore stacks up against other vinyl flooring manufacturers. As it turns out, waterproof laminate flooring is realand some of the best laminate flooring brands make it. Being plastic, it is totally waterproof. At $3$4/square foot, SmartCore is a clear competitor to LifeProofbut offers a bit more value. Secondly, Cali Bamboo, as the name suggests, started with bamboo flooring and only developed its LVP lines in 2016 and later. Every room or your house or place needs to have floors that can last for long. What is a floating floor? Adding an underlayment to the flooring provides an extra layer of protection. To be honest, independent flooring stores will be able to sell you a much better product at a much better price than any box store. A: Each manufacturer has certain tolerances youll need to stick to when installing LVP or LVT flooring. Other brands like. There are several varieties of each line. It also makes the planks durable, and scratch- and mold-resistant. Theres no way around it! What caused its score to drop was a 3 in selection. Those are your options, take em or leave em. For subfloors that are slightly uneven or with some roll, its best to use more flexible products as rigid core flooring requires an almost perfect surface for a clean installation. They include the basic Smartcore, Ultra, Pro, and Naturals. Why Armstrong Vivero Good is the Worst LVP. It will depend on the use of your floor. A complete range of looks traditional, contemporary, rustic, modern, etc. We do more than list the best LVP brands with trite descriptions of how great they are. And just try not to damage planks when youre taking them aparthah! With a 20 mL wear layer, SmartCore Pro is suitable for places with heavier traffic conditions, such as buildings and restaurants. Out of the dozen-or-so SmartCore Naturals products that Lowes offers, only one product has a 5-star ratingand thats on Lowes own website. Know what the firm offers you in case anything happens to the LVPs. Smartcore vs. LifeProof Vinyl Plank Flooring: Which Is Better? First, lets talk about the perks of SmartCore flooringwhich, to be fair, are pretty much the pros of vinyl flooring in general. And like Shaw and other brands LVP, the planks and tiles can float or be glued down. Smartcore vs. LifeProof Vinyl Plank Flooring, How to Install Lifeproof Vinyl Plank Flooring? SMARTCORE Ultra Blue Ridge Pine 7-1/2-mm T x 6-in W x 48-in L Waterproof Interlocking Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring (15.76-sq ft/case) Model # 50SLVF603 Find My Store for pricing and availability 2689 See it in Lowe's Visualizer Color: Tivoli Travertine SMARTCORE You get vinyl plank flooring with a lifetime residential warranty and a price that starts below $2.00 per square foot. Very waterproof. Several pieces of core and joint on the ultra broke with very little force. The 6 Best Waterproof Laminate Flooring Brands of 2023, 20+ Types of Floor Tiles: Your 2022 Guide. Well, here well look at Smartcore vs. LifeProof vinyl plank flooring. Most all LVP and LVT are water-resistant and ideal for damp areas, but if you want something thats truly waterproof, read the fine print and check out the construction of the core. SmarCore offers a wide range of warranty coverage. (1) Thickness: This is the total thickness of the plank. Finally, its a cost-effective choice for areas that dont get heavy use. Thick and tough thats what you want in a wear layer to maximize LVP and LVT durability. Under the Naturals line, there are few styles. Cali Vinyl Pro is an SPC, or stone/polymer core line. Price starts below $2.60 per square foot and tops out under $4.00. You cant go wrong with the Shaw Floorte Plus flooring for commercial settings, especially with the 20-year commercial warranty. Also installed these recently, they look great and they come in multi-width sizes so it looks more randomized when installing. LifeProof vinyl flooring is FloorScore-certified as low-VOC. SmartCore is marketed like its the easiest flooring to install, so youre supposed to be able to install it almost anywhere. Hyper-realistic visuals and textures, enhanced bevels and beautiful color variation give the authentic look and feel of the real thing, without the hassle the real thing brings! Your email address will not be published. With its impressive ability to mimic the authentic color and texture of wood, its a great alternative for hardwood flooring. But if you want to know the best overall flooring planks, the Shaw company churns out the best quality. This post may contain references or links to products from one or more partners of our parent company and/or subsidiaries of our parent company. Read on to see who makes these LVPs before they come to the market. Associate Director of Content Marketing at FlooringStores (and its parent company, Broadlume), Samuel is a former travel writer, English teacher, and semi-professional trivia host. All three lines of SmartCore vinyl plank flooring are purchased in cartons. Whats the better vinyl floor between Smartcore and LifeProof? Were just trying to give you some context before we talk about it. However: nearly all SmartCore flooring reviews we dove into mentioned that this waterproof claim was perhaps a little less than accurate. All rights reserved. If youre looking into waterproof laminate flooring, you probably have some questions. Both the Smartcore and Lifeproof flooring is highly durable against heavy foot traffic. Since 2013, people have known Smartcore as quality floors that look like wood, cork, and bamboo. 5 Best Places At Home To Install Solar Panels. The guaranty terms apply only to the first buyer. The commercial warranty for most LVP products that have a 12-mil-or-thicker wear layer is roughly 10 years. It is backed with a solid 25-year residential and 5-year commercial warranty. It probably weighs 500 pounds. The Smartcore price ranges from $2 to $3.80 per square foot and is only available at the Lowe's store. Again: dent-resistance is supposed to be a basic part of vinyl plank flooring. February 20, 2023 SPC, also known as Stone Plastic (or Polymer) Composite flooring is marketed as an upgrade to ordinary luxury vinyl plank and tile flooring, []. What if you want the 22-mil layer line? At its budget price, theres no question that SmartCore is superior to LifeProof. Smartcore and LifeProof are easy to clean and eco-friendly. Thats a weird heading, isnt it? COREtec manufactures both SmartCore Ultra and SmartCore Pro. And there's also a five-year warranty for commercial use. Its durable, affordable, and surprisingly eco-friendly. This post may contain references or links to products from one or more partners of our parent company and/or subsidiaries of our parent company. Engineered Hardwood vs. Vinyl Plank Flooring: Whats the Difference? Prices are in the range of $3-$4 per square foot, but they give you options for quality LVP that is more affordable. Both SmartCore and Lifeproof are durable and easy to install, but if you prefer lower-priced vinyl planks with notable warranty coverages, then Lifeproof suits you best. Smartcore, as another user mentioned is what Lowe's sells and seems comparable to LifeProof. We often cite this company as an example of what a budget brand can be if they do flooring the right way. COREtec makes great vinyl plank flooring, but the high price tag might not be worth it for many buyersespecially with equally good products available from other brands. Iv used the Lifeproof and it is one of the better options out there. For example, the warranty doesnt cover manufacturer defects once its installedwhich is absurd. We already mentioned that SmartCore Ultra generally has better reviews than SmartCore Pro, but theres a lot to consider. ft. Smart Pro has two coverage options: 15.83 sq. SMARTCORE Ultra is the smart choice for hi-def style and design. First among them: is there waterproof laminate flooring? Your email address will not be published. When it comes to durability and built quality, the SmartCore is always better than the LifeProof floor covering. The Floorte Plus line is available with wear layers of 12, 20 and 30 mils. But they can be harder than real diamonds, and that would make for a tough flooring finish. LifeProof flooring is low-budget vinyl flooring, which has only minor quality compromises. Why Vivero Best is the Best Commercial Vinyl Plank Flooring. The best warranties are not. We hope this chart was helpful and, for a full breakdown of all the best LVP flooring, check out our full vinyl plank flooring review guide! This post may contain references or links to products from one or more partners of our parent company and/or subsidiaries of our parent company. The key difference between them is in quality and legibility. For 7mm thick vinyl planks there are five color options, Trail Oak, Sterling Oak, Fresh Oak, Scratch Stone, and Biscayne Oak, while the 8mm planks only have two color options: Ocala Oak and Alys Oak. With a simple interlock system, installing the planks over wood, concrete, and tile with the proper preparation requires no acclimation, adhesives, or subfloor prep. Sobasically, DIY-ers are out of luck. If youre researching the best types of vinyl flooring, youve probably found a lot of acronyms (EVP flooring, LVT flooring, PVC, WPC, etc.). That's why we've put together this easy-to-understand vinyl plank flooring comparison, stacking up the key features of the 4 brands we get the most questions about: Proximity Mills, COREtec, LifeProof, and SmartCore. Why Mohawk Has the Best Selection of LVP Flooring. 2023 FlooringStores, Inc. All rights reserved. SmartCore SCU XL Southern Pecan LX93707206 (Lowe's) ProCore Plus Warm Honey Oak LWD8099RCB (Lowe's) The only con that lets Smartcore LVPs down is the price. ft. SmarCore offers a wide range of warranty coverage. Value is the combination of high quality flooring and a reasonable price. Both have collections that are similar in price, but LifeProof has a wider selection overall thats easier to track down locally. We want to remind you that our brand buying guides are comprehensive with pros, cons, comparisons and costs. EVP Vs. LVP: 10 Main Differences Between Luxury Vinyl and Engineered Vinyl Plank Flooring, Can You Put Rugs on Vinyl Plank Flooring? Both SmartCore Ultra and SmartCore Naturals offer a Lifetime Limited Residential Warranty and a 5-year light commercial warranty, while Smartcore Pro provides a Limited Lifetime Residential Warranty with a 10-year commercial warranty. Smartcore LVPs can last longer because of a stronger interlocking tab. WPC incorporates an ultra-fine sawdust called wood flour into its construction. SmartCore Ultra and SmartCore Pro are no exception, and are Greenguard Certified as low-VOC options. Were impressed with the companys LVP and laminate. Because replacing individual SmartCore planks is almost impossible without taking the entire floor apart. Its well worth considering for your flooring project. It also comes with an attached underlayment, cheaper ones don't have that and you'd have to purchase and lay it separately. As for these two names, both have the specs that many love about LVPs. Almost all of them make good quality products at a certain price. Is Lowes in-house brand of LVP worth purchasing? Does SmartCore flooring require underlayment? All rigid cores are SPC (Stone-Polymer Composite). Still, there are some vinyl plank brandslike Proximity Millsthat are more focused on recyclability. Carpet vs. Laminate: The *Real* Pros & Cons, Why Concrete Flooring That Looks Like Wood is So Darn Cool. We wrote a whole Proximity Mills review that shows why wed recommend it (or similar brands) over a box store offering like SmartCore. The inventor of WPC flooring, COREtecs products are very well-regarded. They are much easier to install than the Smartcore LVPs. Both SmartCore and LifeProof flooring are private-label LVP floors offered by big box stores, right? There are about 100 style and color options for you to browse. The company combines quality and value with environmentally responsible flooring. (2) Warranty: The first number is the residential warranty. Aside from that, there aren't many differences in color, variety, even protection. Obviously, the best vinyl plank flooring for you is the one that fits your lifestyle and offers professional results. Both manufacturers give a 100% warranty for any sort of water damage. Halstead New England Inc makes LifeProof LVPs. Both SmartCore and Lifeproof have sound suppression properties. COREtec Plus is the original and features a WPC core. It didn't work for us but I would say its a little more solid than the smartcore. Piet Dossche was the founder. Side note: if youre ever comparing tile vs. laminate, make sure to factor in your cleaning habits. Do you have any thoughts about these two LVP names? If you love DIY, then choose LifeProof. Plus, every one of their products is low-VOC or entirely VOC-free. So how do you decide which vinyl plank flooring is the right one for you? These are cheap luxury vinyl flooring lines. Oh, and If you were discouraged from buying wood because of the cost to refinish hardwood flooring, you should know that if your SmartCore gets marked up, your only option is to replace all of it. 2023 FlooringStores, Inc. All rights reserved. The majority of COREtecs products feature a super-comfortable WPC (wood-polymer composite) core. 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