Tips from Flooring Pros

Buying flooring is like anything else from poor quality to the best (priced accordingly).   Realize that when you are buying hardwood there are different grades of flooring.  Hardwoods with different manufacturers have different grades.  When you are getting a price that sounds to good to be true it just may be.  Check with your sales associate to determine the grade of hardwood you are purchasing.  A lot of times when you buy something that is marked B grade or value flooring, that’s exactly what it is.  Many of the boards are defective (including imperfections on the face of the wood).  When you are buying expensive flooring materials and half of the box is damaged it may not be such a good deal.  No one wants a tore up floor right out of the box.  Realizing everyone is on a budget and price counts, quality will matter to. 

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In the past two weeks I have had to do repairs for two do it yourself projects.   When dealing with expensive products I feel it is worth the expense to leave the work to the professionals.  Most flooring requires specialized tools to make the project complete.  The end results will suffer greatly if the correct tools are not used.  Can you afford to replace the product if the results you get are less than perfect, or are you willing to live with shabby results for years when you don’t have the proper tools to do the job?  Sometimes a professional can come in and repair your work, but when the products are damaged the results will not be as good as it was if you had let the professional do it to begin with.  Sure the big box store will tell you it’s a good DIY project.  They make more money off you when you come back in and buy more product to replace what you could not install correctly.  I could probably go buy paint and paint my own car or buy shingles and roof my own house, but the end results could be bad.

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When installing hardwood flooring in multiple rooms a lot of the home improvement companies are suggesting placing transitions at door entries. Placing multiple transitions at doorways makes your hardwood flooring look like an afterthought as well as puts more money in the stores pockets. If your installer is incapable of running several rooms without breaking them at doors to make a choppy cheap look maybe you should search for another flooring provider.

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Most flooring terms to the average consumer are Greek.  Do research on the type of product you are wanting to buy.  Educate yourself on carpet weights, padding weights, laminate mills  so that you know what you are buying.  Another words trusting some salesmen can lead to buying what you think is the best product but receiving the cheapest.

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Sad but true most people have no idea of the sizes of the rooms to be covered. A quick check yourself prior to having a professional estimate, could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Having a general idea of the size and footage of the area to be covered, can also give you reassurance of the trust worthiness of the estimate you receive. Step 1 of measuring your job is determing the furthest points, such as inside door openings, and behind appliances. Start in the biggest area first. Measure wall to wall. Step 2 Then go to the opposite direction and measure wall to wall, keeping in mind behind appliances, and inside door openings. Step 3 For closets or hallways in conjunction with these areas, stop and measure wall to wall both directions. To get the square footage of the room you multiply the length times the width. With multiple areas you add these measurements together for a total square foot. This way complicated areas can be measured easily. Adding five percent to the total square footage, for waste or material defects is the standard for the industry. Avoid being mislead by being knowledgable.

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