Guides
What we tell homeowners at the estimate
The same questions come up on every estimate. These are the answers, written out, with nothing dressed up.
Choosing a floor
Vinyl plank or carpet: how to decide room by room
Most homeowners do not need one floor everywhere. The better question is which surface belongs in which room.
Waterproof or water resistant: what the label actually means
These two words get used loosely in flooring showrooms. The difference matters most in basements and laundry rooms.
Wear layers explained: what 12, 20, and 30 mil actually buy you
The wear layer is the single spec that predicts how a vinyl floor ages. It is also the one most people skip past.
SPC or WPC: which rigid core is right for your house
Rigid core planks come in two families. They look identical in a showroom and behave differently in a house.
Carpet fiber guide: polyester, P.E.T., nylon, and what they cost you later
Fiber decides how a carpet feels on day one and how it looks in year five. Face weight only tells you how much of that fiber is there.
Carpet pad: the part you never see and always feel
Pad is the cheapest way to make a carpet feel expensive and the fastest way to ruin one. It is not the place to save.
Choosing a floor color you will still like in five years
Color is the decision people second guess most. Almost every regret traces back to judging a sample under the wrong light.
Room by room
Basement flooring in an Ohio home
A basement floor fails for one reason far more often than any other: moisture that was there before the floor went down.
Bedroom flooring: comfort, quiet, and what buyers expect
Bedrooms are the one place where carpet is still the default for most Ohio homeowners, and usually for good reasons.
Stairs: wrapped treads, boxed carpet, and runners
Stairs are the most visible surface in the house and the most often skipped. New floors downstairs and worn treads in the middle of the room is the first thing a guest sees.
Flooring with dogs and cats
Pets punish floors in three specific ways. Once you know which one you are dealing with, the choice gets simple.
One floor through the whole main level
Running one floor through the main level is the change that makes a house feel bigger. It also has to be planned as one job, not four rooms.
Entries, mudrooms, and laundry rooms
These are small rooms that take the worst abuse in the house: road salt, snowmelt, and a washing machine that will eventually leak.
Flooring in an older Northeast Ohio home
Older houses around Kent, Akron, and the inner-ring Cleveland suburbs are solidly built and rarely flat. Both facts affect the floor.
How the work goes
What we look for under your old floor
The old floor comes up and the truth appears. Here is what we are looking for and what each finding means for your project.
What installation day actually looks like
Knowing the shape of the day removes most of the stress. Here is the sequence in a typical house.
Why a quote covers more material than your room size
Every honest flooring quote includes more material than the square footage of your rooms. Here is where it goes.
Transitions, quarter round, and the details that finish a floor
The floor is the easy part. The edges are what separate a finished job from an almost finished one.
Acclimation: why the floor sits in your house first
Material delivered from a cold truck into a warm house is not ready to install. Most manufacturers say so in writing.
Caring for a vinyl plank floor
Vinyl plank is easy to live with and easy to dull. The difference is a few habits.
Caring for new carpet
New carpet does a few alarming things in the first month that are entirely normal. Here is what to expect and what to actually do.
How a flooring quote is built
Two quotes for the same house can look wildly different. Almost always it is because they include different things.
How a flooring price is set, and why we do not publish one
Every house measures differently and every subfloor is its own problem. Here is what a quote is actually made of, and why you get yours in person.
How to compare two flooring quotes line by line
Most people getting flooring bids are comparing numbers that describe different jobs. This is the checklist that makes them comparable.