NuCore Flooring Review: How Has It Held Up After 6 Years
This post is a customer flooring review from an actual homeowner answering frequently asked questions on how NuCore vinyl plank flooring has held up in not only one room of a home, but 4 rooms.
Read about the pros and cons of this popular low-maintenance flooring, it’s durability, and how it still looks like new, even after 6 years.
My husband and I installed NuCore luxury vinyl plank flooring in our home 6 years ago. We wanted hardwood flooring, but after reading about the affordability and ease of installation of LVP floors we chose to go with NuCore.
We installed the flooring in the color Gunstock Oak in the studioffice-craft room, two bathrooms, a hallway and laundry area. It is one of their textured plank flooring options. They also make other flooring products, and colors of planks that are high-gloss and smooth.
Even after 6 years, it looks just as good as it did when we first installed it in each room.
I have other LVP in my home that I also like, but if we need to update the flooring in another room of our home, I would go with with NuCore over other brands.
I believe that the floors will outlast the 15-year residential warranty. If they stand up to the wear and tear of use as well as they have the past 6 years, I feel the flooring could last a lifetime.
Why NuCore is the Best Vinyl Plank
If you have not heard of NuCore waterproof vinyl flooring before, it is a vinyl plank floor product that looks like hardwood. It is an engineered floor that has a few layers made up of durable materials. It is certified low-VOC.
A tough top layer, then the wood look surface layer of vinyl adhered to a stable, rigid, and waterproof core that has a cork underlayment that provides padding that keeps the floor feeling solid.
Why I Like NuCore Over Other Brands of LVP Flooring
- The planks have a cork backing – I am often asked if the floors make a “clicky-clacky” sound that some floating floors make.
Our floors do not have that sound when you walk across them, so I believe that each plank cork back is what makes the floor feel solid and makes no movement when you walk across them. It is quiet and feels comfy.
This is not the case in a room with another brand of vinyl planks that have no cork backing.
2. Slight wood grain texture on the planks – the subtle sheen and layers of wood grain on the planks make them look and feel like real wood. It gives the wood a realistic rustic quality.
3. It truly is scratch-proof – The flooring has wear layers that are pretty much scratch-proof even in high traffic areas. We have had our daughters’ pets – a dog and cat stay with us over the years for extended periods of time. Their messes are easy to wipe clean and there are no scratch marks from their nails even in the rooms they stay in the most.
If I looked hard enough though, I am sure I would find small scratches somewhere on the flooring. They are hard to find since they are not white, but brown so they blend in with the floor.
NuCore Waterproof Flooring FAQ’s: How Is It Holding Up After 6 Years
For a complete tutorial showing how to install the flooring, see this post: How to Install NuCore Flooring
Yes. We installed it in a full bath that had a ceramic tile floor. We installed the vinyl plank flooring right over it. As long as the tile or any existing flooring is clean and level, like wood subfloor or sheet vinyl, you can use NuCore over it.
All vinyl plank flooring is easy to clean, but since I get asked this question frequently I thought I should add it to this post.
For the last 6 years, I sweep the floors with a broom and dust pan or run the vacuum over to pick up dirt. I then go over them with a Swiffer Wet Jet or Bona Mop with their spray cleaner and washable cleaning pad.
I was asked if the floors are stain-proof? I am not sure since we have a darker color installed. If there are stains, they don’t show.
I do paint a lot and do know that paint spills are easy to clean up even after they have dried. I use a stiff bristle scrub brush, water and dish detergent with no damage to the floor.
The planks are 6.5mm thick. They are rigid and have shown no wear even in a high traffic hallway.
The flooring is thick and rigid enough that any imperfections in the flooring or subfloor under it have never shown up.
Depending on the two levels of flooring that are going to be next to each other, you will need to use an endcap, reducer or T-molding. T-molding is used when the two floorings are the same level.
An endcap and reducer need to be used when the levels are different – vinyl plank, carpet or hardwood. These pieces come in most of the floor colors to make the transition to different flooring feel and look seamless.
In one of the bathrooms – we used the existing marble threshold between the NuCore and the carpet in the hallway that connects to the room. I did run a thin line of white caulk where the planks meet the threshold to make it look finished.
NuCore is floating tongue and groove flooring. The more you connect the planks together, the heavier the flooring as a whole becomes, which helps to keep it in place.
When installing, you need to allow about 1/4″ all around for expansion.
Once the floor was laid, we added base cap molding around the edges where the floor meets the baseboard. This gives the floor a finished look and also helps to keep it in place.
We did not install any type of sheeting or barrier like you need to do when you lay a wood floor or wood laminate floor over some floors like concrete. We just installed it straight on top of the existing floor in every room.
We have not removed any of the NuCore since we like it so much and it still looks great. I do not think it will ruin the floor underneath since there are no nails or glue used.
If you are a renter and want to add the flooring, I think the NuCore actually will act as a protector.
The flooring all by itself is completely waterproof. The joints are tongue and groove that fit snugly together which helps to keep water from seeping through.
We have it installed in two bathrooms – one full bath with a tub and shower, the other a powder room and it is the best for these rooms. We have not seen any mold or mildew in the joints.
Since the flooring is dense and durable vinyl, even if water lays on it for some time, the floors have not gotten damaged like hardwood would.
Most of the flooring is on the first floor of our home. Only one bath upstairs has it and we never hear people up there when we are downstairs. I think the cork backing is one of the best features of the flooring that helps to muffle foot steps.
It does not feel like cheap flooring. The slight wood grain texture on the planks makes it feel real when walking over it. Since it is cork backed vinyl flooring, it keeps the floor from making any movement or clicking sounds when being walked over.
We haven’t had any planks break even under a very large and heavy armoire I have in my studioffice.
There are no dings and dents from furniture, even in my studioffice where there is heavy furniture that I move around frequently.
We don’t have any splitting or warping seams in any of the rooms, but do have one seam in my office that was caused by “user error”. This was the first room in which my husband installed the flooring.
As a newbie to waterproof flooring installation, he didn’t join two planks properly and hear the joining “click”. He realized his mistake after finishing half the floor and looking back at his work. He was going to rip everything out to go back and fix, but it is a small spot and I was fine with it letting it be.
Yes, the dogs nails do make that sound as they walk across the floor, but not as much as they do on the other brand of vinyl plank flooring in my home.
You can purchase NuCore at Floor & Decor. It costs about $3.00 – $4.99 a sq ft.
We have one room – my studioffice that gets full southern sun all day. All floors and carpet fade when getting that much sun. The flooring in front of the sliding glass doors in the room has faded slightly.
In the photo below, I marked where I rolled up an area rug in the room so you could see how the flooring has faded.
The full bath with the flooring is in a bright and sunny room, but since the sun isn’t on it all day long, it has not faded.
Have a Question About NuCore?
As you can tell from this flooring review, we really like all aspects of the flooring – style, price and durability. It has held up beautifully. I would definitely use it again in another room when we want to update the decor of our home.
If your question was not addressed in the post, please leave me a comment and I will try to answer it the best I can.
Read More about Luxury Vinyl Plank and Laminate Flooring:
- Installing the Look of Wood Floors With LVP
- Wood Laminate Flooring in the Primary Bedroom
- What is Resilient Flooring?
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