Mohawk SolidTech Vinyl Plank | Home Flooring Pros

February 22, 2023, by: Greca Fotopoulos

Luxury vinyl plank flooring is one of the fastest-growing segments of the flooring market and Mohawk, unsurprisingly, offer their own premium LVP product under the name SolidTech and SolidTech Plus.

Mohawk promotes SolidTech as premium, waterproof vinyl planks, perfect for bathrooms and basements, with excellent durability and backed by lengthy warranties. In our Mohawk vinyl plank flooring report we zero in on SolidTech options, costs and pros & cons.

ABOUT MOHAWK VINYL

Mohawk Industries is a huge corporation that manufactures hard and soft flooring for every market, including both sheet vinyl and luxury vinyl plank. Click here for our Mohawk carpet report.

Some of their products are builder-grade and budget-friendly and others are manufactured using great care and top-quality materials.

Mohawk sells its top-of-the-line luxury vinyl plank under the brand names SolidTech and SolidTech Plus. These rigid core vinyl flooring products are top contenders in the luxury vinyl market for water-resistance, scratch-resistance, natural appearance and overall durability.

SolidTech products are designed with a lock-and-click system for installation. Mohawk also makes cheaper glue-down vinyl plank, flooring that is best suited to light commercial use, but for this report we are going to concentrate on Mohawk’s SolidTech Uniclic collections.

MOHAWK SOLIDTECH OPTIONS

Mohawk SolidTech Uniclic LVP comes in 19 different collections with unique colors and patterns. Most of the prints imitate wood grain.

Some are dark colors and look like cherry or elm flooring; others are lighter and resemble oak or weathered barnwood. There are even a few stone or tile prints.

The higher the grade of LVP, the more color options are available. Mohawk’s entry-level luxury vinyl plank is printed in a six-plank repeat pattern. This means that the exact same print will reappear every six planks.

The premium grades of Mohawk LVP have eight-plank repeat up to fifteen-plank repeat patterns! The higher the print number, the more natural the wood look your floors will have.

MOHAWK SOLIDTECH VS SHEET VINYL FLOORING

Traditional vinyl flooring is manufactured in broad sheets and glued down wall-to-wall in a room. It’s a cheap option that is prone to tearing and doesn’t send out “classy” vibes.

Luxury vinyl plank flooring (LVP) is manufactured in individual pieces that are usually 6-8 inches wide and 6 feet long. These planks are installed piece by piece as if they were hardwood or tile.

Some LVP is comparable in thickness to sheet vinyl, only 2-3mm thick. This includes the underlayer, the print layer, and the scratch-resistant top coating, called the “wear layer.”

This thinner plank is called “glue down LVP,” because installation requires applying adhesive and gluing the planks, one by one, to the subfloor.

Mohawk’s SolidTech LVP is two-to-three times thicker than glue down vinyl and is a floating floor that uses a click together technology called Uniclic

SolidTech ranges in thickness between 3.4mm and 7.5mm. It includes a cork or polyethylene pad, a rigid composite core, a print layer and an enhanced wear layer.

MOHAWK VINYL AND SOLIDTECH PRICES

In the table below we compare Mohawk prices across all their vinyl flooring products. Remember that SolidTech flooring uses the UniClic installation system.

Prices are very competitive compared to other vinyl flooring brands like Armstrong Luxe, Armstrong PRYZM, Mannington Adura and COREtec from US Floors. The materials are cheap – plastic is abundant and costs next to nothing. The cores are plastic and other recycled materials.

And you can save on installation costs by doing the work yourself. It’s not hard, and every day of the week, homeowners with modest skills, patience and the ability to follow written and/or video tutorials successfully install LVP.

PRICE COMPARISON

As mentioned, Mohawk SolidTech is a rigid core vinyl flooring product, a fairly recent innovative flooring type, see below for the difference between SPC and WPC vinyl. All the top flooring brands have their version of this new rigid core vinyl and below is a table comparing the price of SolidTech flooring with other notable rigid core products.

PROS AND CONS

SolidTech products feature tongue and groove construction on both the long and short edges. This means that the installation is literally a snap. Installers click the pieces together as they lay them down, leaving no need for glue.

SolidTech’s “luxury” features truly stand out in this high-end product. We’ll go into detail in the following paragraphs, but here’s a quick list of SolidTech’s pros and cons:

Mohawk SolidTech Uniclic Pros:

• Highly water resistant – Mohawk calls it waterproof
• Rigid core hides imperfections in the subfloor
• Softer underfoot than tile, hardwood and sheet vinyl
• Extra-thick wear layer for scratch resistance
• Can be installed as a “floating floor” without removing previous flooring*
• Damaged planks can be replaced individually and easily
• Planks can be pulled up and re-installed in a new location
• Installation is quicker and less costly
• Enhanced print quality and pattern design

*Lock and Click LVP can be installed over existing hard flooring, like laminate, hardwood, concrete, tile or vinyl. It cannot be installed on top of carpet.

Mohawk SolidTech Uniclic Cons:

• Significantly more expensive than glue-down LVP
• Not recyclable in most areas
• Mohawk does not reveal exact materials used in construction
• Consumers state that Mohawk is difficult to work with on warranty issues

RIGID CORE SPC Vs WOOD COMPOSITE VINYL

Vinyl sheet flooring is a very flexible material. It’s so soft that over time it will mould to the exact shape of the subfloor, revealing unevenness or bumps lying under the vinyl. This is called “telegraphing.”

Most luxury vinyl plank, Mohawk included, will not telegraph imperfections on the subfloor because it has a rigid inner core. In most brands this tougher core is referred to as “WPC,” or wood-plastic composite.

It’s made of a mix of vinyl and wood, whipped together and turned into a foam-like material. WPC luxury vinyl tile is tougher than plain vinyl and less likely to show dents, but still gentler underfoot.

The problem is that anything with wood fiber in it cannot be fully waterproof.

Mohawk SolidTech flooring is different.

Mohawk calls the core of its SolidTech vinyl plank “SPC” for solid plastic core. Don’t confuse this with Shaw’s stone-plastic composite, which it also calls SPC and is not as waterproof..

Mohawk’s unique blend of materials makes SolidTech LVP very firm underfoot and extremely waterproof, ideal for basements, busy kitchens or even light commercial use.

SO IS MOHAWK SOLIDTECH WATERPROOF?

Mohawk makes a bold statement about its SolidTech LVP, calling it “100% waterproof” on its website. This confidence comes from the highly hydrophobic (non-absorbent) materials that make up SolidTech and SolidTech Plus, as well as its proven track record.

The Mohawk website shares an amazing story of a school in Houston that was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Most of the building was destroyed, but the SolidTech flooring was none the worse for the water and installed again in the rebuilt school!

If you look for Mohawk luxury vinyl plank reviews online, you may find consumers who are disappointed in its performance. When you consider customer reviews, remember to compare only the exact product that had the issue.

Find out as many details as you can, such as whether the flooring was professionally installed and how heavily it was used when the issue occurred before basing a decision on limited information.

MOHAWK SOLIDTECH DURABILITY

Mohawk claims that its SolidTech composite core has fewer air pockets than the cores of competitor’s products. This means that SolidTech will be less prone to cupping or creating gaps as the air inside expands and contracts with temperature changes.

SolidTech is the only composite core luxury vinyl plank on the market that is ASTM certified for impact load resistance in both commercial and residential settings.

All SolidTech LVP lines have wear layers ranging from 8-20mil. These wear layers are for scratch resistance, and they are among the thickest in the industry.

The thicker the layer, the better the flooring will hold up against scuffs. Mohawk’s new SolidTech Plus line features an enhanced lacquer finish for even greater durability.

MOHAWK SOLIDTECH WARRANTIES

Mohawk’s SolidTech technology is creative, competitive and covered by impressive warranties: 30 years for residential use and 7-10 years for light commercial use. However, it’s important to read the warranties carefully and be realistic in your expectations.

No vinyl flooring will undergo normal use without showing some scratches. Read through the warranty booklet before your make your purchase.

Mohawk does not guarantee that its flooring will not scratch. It does, however, warrant “that during the period of the warranty, SolidTech Flooring wear layer will not wear through the design layer.”

Mohawk warrants that their SolidTech flooring will resist permanent stains from all domestic pets. The warranty states that SolidTech flooring is 100% waterproof, but it does not cover damage from plumbing leaks, storms or mold.

SOLIDTECH INSTALLATION

Mohawk SolidTech flooring can be installed without any special tools due to the simple lock-and-click system. This can save you money on installation if you are confident to do the work yourself.

However, if you haven’t installed locking flooring before, you may find it slow going at first.

Unfortunately, sometimes installing flooring yourself instead of using a professional contractor will void the warranty. Make sure to ask a Mohawk representative about this when purchasing your flooring.

It’s always worth getting an installation quote from a local contractor when considering DIY installation.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF VINYL FLOORS

Vinyl is plastic, a byproduct of refining petroleum products. That’s a strike against ecofriendliness.

From a flooring standpoint in your home, all Mohawk vinyl plank flooring is certified by FloorScore to contain few volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and similar pollutants. That is a positive.

LVP is not currently recyclable. While it can be repurposed to a different location, such as moving it to the basement when it no longer looks good enough for the upstairs.

However, when it’s useful life is over, it will likely be sent to a landfill. Laminate and carpet are slightly better in that they both contain some recycled material. However, they end up in dumps too.

If this is a significant concern for you, consider linoleum or genuine hardwood. Both are much easier on the environment than plastic flooring.

MOST HELPFUL CUSTOMER REVIEWS

What are homeowners saying about Mohawk SolidTech LVP flooring?

The reviews are mostly good, but there are a few with negative comments.

“Love the wood look at half the price of genuine hardwood.”

“The easiest floor I’ve ever installed. Cutting lengthwise the last piece before the wall was tricky; Everything else was a breeze.”

“It is so nice to have a hard floor for easy maintenance and one that isn’t rock-hard.”

“We broke a few of the tongues off until we got the hang of how you connect them at an angle and then push down. Overall, harder than expected to install.”

“Still is obviously plastic but it looks like NICE plastic so we don’t care. Super easy to clean, seems watertight.”

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!”