What to Know
Before you go Shopping for your New Flooring
By Frederick
M. Hueston, www.stoneforensics.com
Buying a new floor can be a frustrating and
confusing process. Here’s a list of things to keep in mind before heading out
to purchase your new floor.
1. Take note of the room layout.
– Draw an outline of the room or rooms.
Indicate where the entrances are placed.
– Measure the room carefully and accurately
with a measuring tape. Write down the width and length of a room. Remember to
include closets and other areas that need the new flooring. Smaller print
patterns can make the room seem a lot bigger.
– Take into account adjoining rooms and the
flooring on those rooms.
– Make a note in which direction the room is
facing and if there is a sliding door. Determine how much natural light enters
the room. You might want to consider a laminated floor, ceramic tile or
porcelain tile.
– Bring along swatches of fabrics from your
furniture, curtains and wallpaper. These will help you decide on the color and
style of your flooring.
2. Answer these questions to help you out in
selecting the right floor for your room:
– How much foot traffic does the room get in
any given day? The number of people passing or using the room would indicate
the level of wear and tear the room would take. This would help you in deciding
the type of flooring to get. A room with a high volume of traffic needs more
durable flooring.
– What is the main function of the room? A
room used mainly for leisurely activities will have less wear and tear.
Delicate flooring materials can be chosen in this case.
– How many pets do you have? Pets tend to
abuse the surroundings they are in, floorings maybe damage from scratching.
– How many kids do you have in the house? All
the roughhousing and playing that the kids do tend to abuse the flooring. The
more kids you have in the house, the more abuse your flooring will get.
– What color do you want? Remember that
lighter colors make rooms seem bigger.
– How long do you want the flooring to last?
We would of course like the flooring to last forever but wear and tear damages
the flooring.
Eventually, it will need to be replaced or you
may want to simply change the look of the room after a certain period of time.
3. How much is the flooring going to cost?
– Are the subfloor preparation part of the
quoted price?
– Is the quoted price inclusive of the
installation or is that a separate fee? This is a budgeting concern, you would
want to know the actual amount youre going to spend.
– Is the removal of pre-existing flooring
included in the quoted price.
– Is the quoted price inclusive of the moving
of all appliances and furniture in the room.
– Are all the necessary materials included in
the quoted price? You wouldnt want to find out during the installation that some
materials are not included and that you still need to purchase more materials.
That could be extremely annoying and frustrating.
4. Questions to ask the installers and the
store:
– Are the installers independent, or are they
store employees?
– Whose insurance will pay for installation
errors?
– Are all of the materials recommended by the
manufacturer so warranty will not be voided?
– Discuss with the salesperson the warranty
information of the manufacturer. Keep a copy of the warranty.
– Discuss the maintenance procedure and keep a
copy of the manual or brochure.
– Have everything documented including the
diagram of the installation. Also, the amount of flooring needed in the room
– Ask who will be responsible for the removal
of fixed features in the room, e.g. toilet.
– Always check the website of the store, if
any, to give you an idea of the store. Take note of the affiliations to groups
or other organizations.
It would be best to email the store in advance
to have some questions answered before going there. It saves a lot of time.
– Have all the product information documented.
The document should include the name of the manufacturer, product name, color,
style and the installation procedure.
