Mannington Adura Max | Adura Max and Adura APEX Vinyl Flooring

Welcome to our review of Mannignton Adura Max and Adura APEX vinyl flooring. There are currently four different Adura flooring collections or ranges, they are Adura Max, Adura APEX, Adura Rigid and Adura Flex. You can see our overview article of the different Audra vinyl flooring ranges, but in this article we are focused on just two: Adura Max and Adura APEX.

Offering a comprehensive choice of styles in the mid range price bracket, Mannington’s vinyl flooring is marketed under the name Adura. Mannington is a leading flooring manufacturer with product lines covering all major flooring types, including of course luxury vinyl flooring, also known as resilient flooring.

Let’s start with a look at how these two Adura collections are constructed.

CONSTRUCTION

Adura Max and Adura APEX are what you might call second generation luxury vinyl plank flooring, also sometimes referred to as rigid core flooring.

The first thing to be clear about is that Adura Max and Adura APEX are constructed in exactly the same way, with several layers of resilient material adhered together.

The top layer is a scratch resistant wear layer, featuring Mannington’s trademarked ScratchResist technology. This is followed by a digitally rendered and textured visual layer that replicates the authentic look of wood, stone or tile.

The middle layer is what Mannington call their HydroLoc core with an integrated vinyl cap. For Adura Max and APEX the core is made using an expanded polymer core or WPC.

This WPC core has a triple advantage: it is completely waterproof, gives a softer feel underfoot than ceramic tile, and offers greater soundproofing than the first generation of luxury vinyl flooring.

Finally the bottom layer is the trademarked Ultra-Quiet underlayment pad, which increases soundproofing and adds comfort.

As with their other luxury vinyl floors, Adura Max and Adura APEX are FloorScore® certified for low VOCs.

STYLE OPTIONS

Whilst the construction is the exactly the same for both ranges, and both ranges have wood look and stone look options, Adura Max and Adura APEX are very different in terms of style.

Adura Max Flooring Styles

The Adura Max range is a very attractive collection of classically contemporary designs, made to compliment all interior home décor styles.

There are 15 wood look designs – mostly domestic wood species, but a couple of exotics too. Each of the 15 designs comes in several different color options, so the selection is actually quite large. There’s something for every color palette – including on trend grays.

There are 10 stone look designs, again in several different color options, covering all the neutral color tones that you would expect. The visuals tend to be mostly classic natural stone, like marble or slate, but there are some cement look designs too.

The wood Adura Max vinyl planks are available either in 6” x 48” or 7” x 48. All the stone tile options are available in 12” x 24” vinyl tiles, and the Meridian cement look design is also available in longer 6” x 48” planks.

Worth noting is that all the designs in the Adura Max range are also available in the Adura Rigid and the Adura Flex ranges.

This is useful if you want to have the same floor throughout your home but in rooms that have different profiles. For example Adura Max is not recommended for sunrooms, but Adura Flex is (more about that in the installation section below).

Adura APEX Flooring Styles

The Mannington Adura Max APEX range is visually completely different from the other Adura ranges and is much bolder in terms of style. The overall look is very on trend and contemporary, reflected both in the visuals and the sizes available.

There are 9 wood look designs, most of them available in several colors including lots of grays. The overall look is much more distinctly rustic/ weathered/ distressed; and there is one design – called Loft – that is made to mimic a random laid parquet strip floor.

Related Reading: Rustic Flooring Ideas

The sizes of the wood look designs are all different depending on the design, with some designs offering extra long planks of up to 72”, and others sold in packs of mixed width planks for the more authentic layout that you usually see in reclaimed hardwood floors.

There are also 2 tile designs that replicate encaustic cement tile, available in different color options. This type of faux encaustic cement design is relatively rare in the resilient flooring market at present – so that’s pretty cool.

The 2 vinyl tile designs are rather attractive (one is made to look like a patchwork of different tiles), and are available in 16” x 48” slabs.

Currently there is only one design in the Adura Max APEX range – the Napa – that is also available in all of the other Adura vinyl flooring ranges.

PROS & CONS

Here are the advantages of Adura Max and APEX vinyl flooring

• a large range of visuals, with some very attractive options and interesting designs that you can’t find elsewhere
• wood look, faux parquet, stone look, faux cement and encaustic tile designs available
• waterproof core that is comfortable underfoot
• Mannington claim that their Adura flooring is scratch, dent and stain resistant
• can be installed anywhere in the home – on, above and below grade
• great for bathrooms, kitchens and basements
• can be installed on most subfloors, including porcelain tile
• has an integrated underlayment pad
• FloorScore certified for good indoor air quality
• easy cleaning and maintenance

Here are the disadvantages of Adura Max and APEX vinyl flooring

• not recommended for installation in rooms that get a lot of direct sunshine or homes with no temperature control; however, you can use a matching Adura Flex floor in those room/ home types.
• Mannington recommend professional installation, but if you are a proficient DIYer and follow the guidelines closely, you can install Adura flooring yourself.

PRICES AND OPTIONS

Mannington’s Adura Max vinyl flooring is in the mid-range price bracket, and costs around $4-$6 per square foot.  The price of Adura APEX is generally more expensive at around $5-$6 per square foot.

PRICE COMPARISON TABLE

As you can see from the table below, Adura Max and Adura MaxAPEX sit in the mid to high range of prices when compared to other leading vinyl flooring brands.

ADURA MAX INSTALLATION

Adura Max and APEX should always be installed as floating floors. There are good installation instructions available on the Mannington website, which we suggest you read before investing in this flooring.

WHERE CAN I INSTALL ADURA MAX AND ADURA MAX APEX?

Like all resilient flooring, Adura Max and APEX can be installed on all levels of your home – including the basement.

Because it is completely waterproof, this flooring is an excellent choice for bathrooms and laundry rooms. As it is quite durable and resistant, this is also a good type of flooring for busy households with kids and pets.

Related Reading: Vinyl Flooring Pros and Cons

There are two instances where Adura Max and APEX may not be suitable for your home.

Firstly, floating floors are often not the best option for rooms that get lots of direct sunlight and high temperatures, such as sunrooms.

Secondly, in environments where there is no year-round temperature control – for example a mountain cabin that is only used during the holidays.

In both these situations, a glue-down vinyl floor will do better in the long term. Luckily, Mannington have that option – in the Adura Flex range – and most of the designs in that range match to the ones in the Adura Max range, so you can choose the range that suits your needs best.

WHAT SUBFLOOR CAN I INSTALL IT ON?

Adura Max and Audra APEX can be installed on most subfloors, so long as they are solid, even, dry and clean. This includes cement and ceramic tile subfloors, but do read the instructions carefully for correct preparation.

WHAT ABOUT RADIANT HEATING?

You can install Adura Max and APEX on a concrete floor with hydronic radiant heating systems, as long as the temperature never exceeds 85°F.

DO ADURA MAX OR ADURA APEX NEED TO BE ACCLIMATED?

Well, yes and no! According to Mannington it is not entirely necessary to acclimate Adura Max or APEX, but it is best practice to do so anyway! So, our advice is go ahead and acclimate it for 48 hours between 55°F and 90°F to cover your bases.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

Resilient vinyl flooring is very easy to keep clean – it’s one of the best things about it! Regular vacuuming followed by a damp mop using pH neutral detergent is usually sufficient.

DAMAGE PROTECTION

Whilst Mannington say that their Adura ranges have superior stain, dent and scratch resistance, it still pays to follow the standard maintenance guidelines to ensure your floors stay looking good for longer:

• be careful when moving furniture over your Adura flooring, and use casters or felt protector pads on the feet of your furniture
• add doormats and area rugs in places where there is heavy traffic, and be sure not to track oil or melted tar into your home
• be sure that your rugs and doormats have non-staining backings!
• don’t allow direct sunlight to hit your Adura Max or MaxAPEX flooring for prolonged hours, as this will cause fading, discoloration and even buckling
• use curtains or blinds in sunny rooms!

CONSUMER REVIEWS

We have found that most consumers are really happy with their Adura flooring, and that they particularly like the quality of the visuals – which are very authentic – and the waterproof aspect of this resilient flooring.

Negative reviews tended to be with regard to boxes being delivered with broken planks, which were usually replaced by the retailer quite quickly; and for some customers the installation was trickier than they had anticipated.

Here are some Mannington Adura Max reviews we’ve seen:

“I’ve done other floating floor, but found this one a bit complicated to install – it was fine once I got the hang of it.“ – Vernon

“Everyone thinks it’s the real deal! Love it!” – Deidre

“It is truly waterproof – my kids spill tons of water out the tub at every bathtime but the floor always dries out fine. Really pleased with this choice.” – JG

“One of the boxes was clearly badly handled, ripped up in places and planks broken inside, but the store replaced it. Otherwise we love the flooring.” – Brandy

“Much cheaper than the real encaustic tiles we were looking at! And just as good to look at!” – Cameron

We want to hear your Adura Max reviews, please leave them in the comments section below.

About the Author: Greca Fotopoulos

Greca is the lead style writer at Home Flooring Pros (more), with a BA in Technical Art, she’s focused on flooring trends, flooring ideas, and flooring brand reviews.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than creating a home that you love. The hardest thing about this job is trying not to covet all the great floors I get to review; if I could remodel my home every month, I would!”