After deciding to use Costco installed services for our flooring (you can read all about the benefits of going through Costco here), we knew we were going to be picking a COREtec product for our entire main floor. After receiving multiple samples we decided on COREtec Pro Plus Springfield Oak.
I am a researcher by nature and love reading reviews. I had done a fair amount of research and knew that COREtec would be an excellent product. There weren’t any reviews about these floors so I assumed they were fairly new. COREtec is a top luxury vinyl brand so we took the chance.
Here is my review:
Cleaning
It seems like water, grease, drool, etc., all show up more than any other floor I’ve had before. When mopping, I’m used to the floors looking perfectly clean and shiny when I’m done and these ones just don’t clean up as nicely. The texture of the floors makes scrubbing necessary for stuck-on messes. Keep reading for an update below on the finish of the floors.
Durability
Pros
There are lots of great things about these floors though! When we received the samples, I wanted to be sure that they could withstand 3 rambunctious kids. Our girls love to play with strollers, cars, horses, you name it. So, I took our kid’s toys and did to the samples what kids do–smashed and banged on them. I took their cars and pushed hard and rubbed them and no marks! I took the girl’s plastic horses and banged them like when they pretend they’re galloping and no issues! The only thing that made a scratch was the girl’s scissors which would make sense. So, anything very sharp will definitely scratch.
COREtec’s website says that these floors provide excellent dent resistance, so I decided I wanted to put that to the test myself. I took the biggest can I had and dropped it on the samples. I tried to drop it on the corner and flat on its end, and there wasn’t a single dent or mark!
Cons
We wished we would’ve know that we needed to put plywood down on the floor to move the fridge. We had to pull the fridge out so our new cabinets could go in. When we did that, we left a few wheel track marks on the floors. These floors are rated for commercial use so we didn’t think about putting felt pads on our chairs. Unfortunately, we damaged our floors in one spot from scooting our chairs at our craft table. So, be sure to put felt pads on everything.
Our floors have a small scratch that must’ve happened when we moved the fridge. You can’t tell until you’re laying down on the floor staring at the floor in close range so that’s a plus!
Also, we noticed after installing these floors that our children would get holes in their pants in the knees extremely fast. This didn’t happen with our other wood and vinyl flooring. Our girls mostly wear leggings, but they will get ruined in one day from crawling around. They don’t wear jeans much at all, so I can’t speak to the durability of jeans on the floor.
Installation Con
LVP and other synthetic flooring have print patterns. When our first installation (more about that below) was completed we noticed that there were some repeat patterns right next to each other.
So, when your installation is being done, BE THERE. Pay attention to each plank as they’re laying it. It was very noticeable to my husband and I, but not to others unless we pointed it out. So if you think that it is something that would bother you, make sure you’re there the entire time.
Since we had our floors redone we were able to move them and fix that, but most people won’t get a second chance.
These floors need to be installed on a VERY flat subfloor. There are a couple of spots the install team “leveled” with liquid cement leveler and they left some lumps and you can feel it slightly bumped up in a few spots on our floors which has been disappointing.
Seams/Edges
Powdery things like flour or drywall dust can get stuck in the cracks between the planks. It easily comes up with a vacuum. Other than that we haven’t had any issues with crumbs or anything getting in between because the joints are micro-beveled.
COREtec Claim
When our floors were finished and we cleaned them for the first time we noticed that there were about 12 planks in one room that had these strange shiny spots. At first, the company who installed them thought they could possibly be from mallet marks. Upon further cleaning and inspection, it was determined we got one bad box.
The company ordered us a new box. After those were installed—yes they had to rip up half our floors to do it—we discovered this new box had a completely different finish than the rest of our floors. Our original floors had a bit of shine to them but not much and these new planks were completely dull with zero shine and also not as slippery.
We just found out that COREtec changed the finish of the floors. The new finish is as described above and honestly, they look much cleaner than the finish we have. Here is a picture for comparison.
They told us they found an original box and they came today to install it. Upon opening the box we discovered that it didn’t match.
We agreed to take a discount for our floors being mismatched. So, COREtec refunded us $1500.
Did you get your flooring issue resolved? I’m considering Springfield Oak and it’s so hard to find anyone who has installed it. I’d love to know the outcome of your issue with it.
Hi Beth Ann!
We unfortunately haven’t had our issue resolved. I haven’t heard from our flooring installers if the rep from COREtec has an answer yet. I agree, we had these floors installed a year ago and it was impossible then to find anyone who had them installed. Please let me know if you have any more questions!
So happy to receive your reply! Thank you! I’m sorry you don’t have this resolved yet. I hope you hear good news from the installers soon. It seems you’ve waited a long time for an answer.
You mentioned this floor is hard to clean. Can you tell me more about that? If you had it to do over, and if not for this matte/shiny issue, would you install this floor again? If not, do you have a floor in mind you would install?
Thank you again!
We just heard back yesterday after the owner came out. COREtec is compensating us $1500 for the floors being mismatched. It’s not terribly noticeable so we are ok with this outcome. I’ll update my post soon!
In regards to cleaning. The shiny ones look dirty fast and even after moping they don’t look perfectly clean to me. However, the new full planks always look clean, even when they’re not haha!
If I could redo them all with the duller ones I would!!
Hi,
Thanks for your review. How is Springfield Oaks hold up now? What is the paint wall color?
Much appreciated,
Mandy
Hi Mandy!
So, after a year with the floors overall, they’re holding up well. We do have some scratches in a few spots but nothing too serious. The one thing I will update in my post soon is that you need to be sure that there are no high or low spots with this flooring. The flooring is thinner than others we got samples of so there is a spot that our flooring guys did a bad job in a spot with leveling compound and the flooring dips in that spot and you can feel it with your foot and see it move now.
I actually don’t know the wall color unfortunately, it was that color when we moved in. It’s not quite as nice as it shows up in pictures haha!
Hi! We recently installed Springfield oak and have had major issues with holes in all our socks and kids clothing. Have you experienced this?? Thanks!
Hi Emily!
YES 🙁 Thank you for the reminder to update the blog post. We noticed right away that our girls were getting holes in their leggings right away. We haven’t had any issues with socks though. We previously had wood and vinyl flooring and this didn’t happen at all! Now, all their leggings have huge holes in them. We have our “good, no-crawling leggings” (insert eye roll). It’s been really annoying honestly. I wasn’t sure at first if it was a Springfield Oak issue or that my girls were crawling around more than before, but this confirms it! I’m looking forward to summer because then they’ll be wearing shorts. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this too!
hi!! I’m considering these floors for myself, can you elaborate on these holes?? is it because the floor is scratchy? I don’t have kids and barely ware socks, but I’m concerned for pets / bare feet. Thanks!
Hi Sierra!
The floors are definitely not scratchy at all! I think it’s just due to whatever the floors are finished with. We regularly are barefoot, especially my kids. The bottom of our feet are completely fine, it doesn’t hurt or rub our feet, no peeling or anything like that. You and your pets will be totally fine! My kids act like little animals (literally haha) and crawl around a lot so it just wears their leggings super fast, but faster than other flooring we’ve had. I hope that helps!
What do you think the reason is why the flooring can cause rips in their leggings?
Hey Michelle!
Honestly, I am really not quite sure. The flooring doesn’t feel rough or anything like that. So it must just be the type of finish on them. Sorry I can’t be of much help!
Hello,
Did you need to install a padding underneath as well?
Hi There!
No, nothing needs to be installed underneath as it already has the cork backing. They actually don’t recommend any underlayment. I hope that helps!
Hi! I know this review is kind of old, so hopefully you reply! We are looking at having this floor installed. Now that is been down awhile, do you have any regrets? I have three kids and I am so nervous about the comments on it damaging clothing. I also read one for another color of floor but same kind where someone else said it shreds socks! Do you still find it does this?
Hey Heidi! These floors definitely shred the knees in my girls’ leggings, that definitely hasn’t stopped. We have our “crawling” pants now. I’m thankful summer is here because now they wear shorts haha. We haven’t had any issues with socks though. If your kids don’t crawl around like animals often like mine do it may not be as big of an issue. My girls also wear leggings that are super thin, they hate jeans haha. So if your kids are wearing more durable clothing you may not have the same degree of issues we have.
Also, as I stated in the blog they have changed the finish on the floors, so I can only say this happens with the previous finish. I don’t know if anything changed when they changed the finish of them.
I wish I had kept checking as they laid the floors throughout the process as they left some high and low spots in sections around the house that I can feel in a couple of spots because these floors are thin. I regret not putting felt pads on the bottom of our chairs immediately and making sure we put boards under our fridge when we moved it. I would highly recommend getting large samples.
Overall they’re nice floors and although we have a few scratches it’s nothing serious and only I know where they are. Let me know if I can be of any more help!
Hi! This isn’t floor related really, but we are about to use Springfield Oak in our home AND have our walls repainted, and I love your paint color here. Do you happen to know what it is and mind sharing? Thank you!
Hey Brittany!
Unfortunately, I don’t. I honestly think it photographed well, but it was old terrible paint that was a slightly off-white color haha. We have since repainted, I just haven’t updated the blog photos. We just re-painted them Silver Drop by Behr, and I think they look really great!
Hey Brittany – have you had any similar issues with the holes in pants/socks? Hoping since they changed the finish it was resolved!
Hi , Its 6-21-22 . I Just got A Designer Suggest This Exact Floor For My Condo And You Are The Only One Who Has Reviewed It . Are You Still Happy ? Its A Lot Of Money As there Charging Me 8,000 For 650 sqft And I Want To Love It And Have No Regrets . I Wanted Something That Wasnt Dated And They Talked Me Out Of Engineered Flooring Saying No One Really Used That Anymore . Sorry To Bother You But Really Want To Know If Overall Your Happy .
Thank You ,
Grace
Hey Grace! Yes, they truly are a lot of money! Overall I would say we are happy, however, if I re-did them I would want them all in the “dull” finish I mentioned in the blog post. I would definitely see if you can get full-size samples. I would lay them out, walk on them, try to scuff them up, drop food on them haha. Mine look dirty often so that bothers me. After nearly two years there are some scratches but most of them no one would notice but me because I know where they are. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi Natalie! I stumbled upon your post as I was searching for issues with Springfield Oak…I am struggling with my floors looking dirty all the time. They look clean with the exception of some spots…for maybe a couple hours, until someone walks on them. I have realized some of the spots I thought were dirty were maybe the board design (maybe it is actually the shiny spots you had described). Did you go through your flooring installer or directly through Coretec? I have mentioned to others that I would look for something less shiny if I had a do-over. So disappointed.
Hey Trina! I am so sorry you’re having an issue as well. When did you install yours? I’m curious because like I said in the post, we had mix-matched floors and one is much less shiny and the plank looks clean whereas the other planks all look dirty immediately. We went through our installer. It was a pain, but they filed the claim for us. Let me know if I can help with anything else!
Hi Natalie. I was thinking of putting this over a tile floor that definitely is not flat and has gaps between the tiles. One of the reasons I am thinking about it is that it can go over what is there. It’s a summer cottage so we’re not too particular but wondering your thoughts….
Thanks much.
Hi Megan!
I’m not an expert, but I personally wouldn’t recommend putting it over an uneven surface. The floors are thin and I think you would definitely be able to feel it or they may even separate if one of the seams lines up with one of the gaps in the tiles. My suggestion would be to see about getting full-size samples and lay them out and see what you think. You may prefer to find a thicker flooring though. Hope that helps!
Hi Natalie!
I know you said your refrigerator left indentation marks on your floor when you moved it. Is your refrigerator on wheels? We have to move ours away from the wall on a periodic basis to change the water filter (they say you have to turn the water off at the wall before changing). Was it the wheels that left the marks?
Hi Amy!
They are on wheels. They didn’t make indents, but more like marks. But honestly, I don’t even see them anymore! I would suggest that you do put something really thin down if you can before you roll it out to turn the water off. Also, any chance you could just shut off the water to the whole house instead? Like mine is just in my front closet so it’s super easy!
Hi Natalie:
Yes, we can turn the water off to the house. I always dread changing the water filter in the fridge because of the water situation so that is a great idea!
Perfect!
Beautiful floors and home! We’re thinking about installing these floors. To confirm, if we were to buy today and install ours would be the ones with the matte, non shiny, finish?
Thank you so much! As far as I am aware they would be the matte non-shiny ones. If you can, I would definitely see about getting a sample!
Hi Natalie! Just wanted to drop a comment and say thank you so much for taking the time to review and share your thoughts. Springfield Oak and Copano Oak from Coretec are the top runnerups for us at the moment. It’s been kinda stressful trying to figure out the right colors/patterns and whatnot that it’s driving me nuts lol. I feel like I really just need a giant showroom to show me exactly how a 10ft x 10ft space looks like, a 3x4ft board isn’t enough haha. Your “real life” photos are super helpful! I would like to confirm that the samples we recently saw at the store for both these colors have the “matte” finish to them. Never occurred to me that there used to be a different finish, but happy to hear this matte one seems to be an improvement. For everyone else’s reference, we are getting quotes for ~$3 a sqft for this flooring at our local wholesale/warehouse/distributor(?), pretty affordable but maybe it’s because we are planning to get 1500+ sqft of this. Thanks again!
Hi Cat! You’re welcome, I’m so glad it’s been helpful to you! I hear you, even though we got full-size boards we didn’t get every “pattern” so some board designs were still a surprise to us haha. Sounds like a good deal to me!
I have these floors I. Y new house- we moved in in August. My house is modern with a lot of windows. With so much light coming in, you can really see the floor. There is something wrong with this floor and I’ve seen others complain about it as well. It is like permanently stained, like a film is over it and makes it look dirty even though it’s been cleaned. I’ve tried everything, including Coretec cleaners and Coretec recommendations- nothing works. It also scratches easily. I do not recommend this floor. Sad because the color is beautiful.
I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to respond! Yes, I also was disappointed in how dirty the floors looked, but like I mentioned in the post, the other finish doesn’t do that at all. Sorry that has happened to you!
We have the same problem as Ana. We have the matte version of these floors and they look dirty as soon as they dry. Such a disappointment as we ran it through out whole house.
Ugh, I’m really sorry to hear that! Picking flooring is such a hard thing, and super expensive. Sorry that you’re disappointed!
Hi Natalie, Im so happy to have found your posts on the Springfield Oak. We’re having ours installed in the next month and this is the first review I have been able to find. I appreciate you pointing out the pattern – I’ll be sure to be home when they install. Thanks for your honest posts and I’ll be sure to jump back on with our experience.
All the best!!
You’re welcome! I really hope it goes well for you and you enjoy the floors!
Hi- I have this installed in my short term rental and I actually love it. (www.thesignalmountaingetaway.com for pics) I’ve had it now for 7+ months and I must have gotten the duller finish- definitely no shine. Biggest pro is the color and the durability. I wanted something that could withstand pets, kids, spills, moving furniture, etc. and it has been great so far in this regard. It is throughout the house- in bathrooms and kitchen and no problems. Per my installers, because this is so thin, your floors need to be absolutely level- very unforgiving if it’s not and they even tried to convince me to go with a laminate (I declined because I didn’t want pressed wood that could swell with standing water). Biggest con… it actually feels thin underfoot, especially when barefoot and plastic-like. So the plastic-like quality that makes it so durable also gives it a kind-of fake feeling. Also, yes, the ridges can make it where you need to scrub a little more to clean stuck on food/dirt. I’m guessing the ridges are there so it’s not slippery. All of that said- I’m considering putting the exact floor in another long-term rental and expect it to last a good 15 years at a minimum.
I’m so glad you love it! I would agree, they are thin and I’m glad you had really good installers! Thanks for your comment!