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How do I know what flooring product is right for me?

With the wide variety of choices available in flooring products, there is a product out there for every usage situation. And thanks to modern technology, you can find vinyl floors that look like wood, or tile; and even ceramic tile floors that look like wood.

Still, each of these products has its limitations, so beyond ‘look and feel’, it is important to consider what floor is right for you based on your site conditions and expected usage.

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Floor Purchasing Advice: How do I evaluate and compare the different products out there?

Before you purchase a product, ask the store or the manufacturer for a copy of the following documents:

• Installation Instructions;
• Maintenance Guidelines; and
• Warranty.

Even at this pre-purchase stage, the Installation Instructions will already tell you important information, particularly – what kind of substrate/subfloor it can be installed over … and which ones won’t work.

For example, many flexible vinyl products are not intended to be installed directly over OSB or luan subfloors – and they’ll tell you that right in the installation guide. So if you have OSB (wood) subfloors, you would either want to find a different product that mimics the look of the floor that you like, or be prepared for extensive (read: expensive) subfloor preparation to bring your subfloor into compatibility with your chosen floor.

The Maintenance Guidelines will give you an idea of a flooring product’s limitations in terms of intended use.

Case in point: if the maintenance guidelines warn that windows must be covered during the day to protect against UV fading, this product would not be a good choice for a sunroom. Other key things to look out for are that floating floors are generally a bad choice in homes where wheelchairs are used; and that standard five-wheeled rolling desk chairs will destroy most floating floors if you don’t put down a protective mat underneath.

Finally, read the Product Warranty with a pencil in your hand (or the help of an AI summary).

Pro Tip – the reason warranties are so long is because they are describing, in great detail, all of the limitations of the warranty – the things that are not covered. For example: “…excessive moisture levels can cause the ends and/or sides of the product to lift/ are due to the vapor pressure from underneath. Such damage from excessive moisture levels (as outlined in the installation instructions document) are not covered by this warranty.” A warranty term is a strong reminder that you should:

1. Check the moisture level of your subfloor prior to install, and
2. Install a moisture barrier under your floating resilient floor, particularly if you get lots of puddles around your house when it rains.

One critical area that purchasers often misinterpret in warranties is the framing of categorical limitations – many people see a bullet-point list and assume that it describes things that are covered by the warranty, when actually it is a list of exclusions.

For example, almost once a month a homeowner will tell me that their floor is specifically warranted against scratches. Personally, I consult the warranty for every floor that I inspect … and to date, I have never seen a wood or resilient warranty that covers scratches. What I DO see frequently is bulleted lists of the things that are not covered, and scratching is usually included on that list.

So if you have a dog that scrabbles across the floor every time the doorbell rings, don’t get a dark-colored wood floor – stick to something lighter that won’t show the scratches as vividly.

What’s the takeaway?

Do your due diligence, and make sure to ask for the product information documents – the Installation Instructions, Maintenance Guidelines, and the Warranty.

Once you have the product information:

• Take stock of your site conditions;
• Be honest with yourself about expected usage;
• Read through the three documents with a pencil in hand, looking out for specifications that match – or more importantly, don’t match – your situation.

None of the flooring products on the market is one-size-fits all … but for sure, one of the products out there is right for you.