FAQ: Top 20 Questions

FAQ: Top 20 Questions

Our Top 20 Flooring Questions

 

  • Why do you advertise FREE SHIPPING and when I go to order you charge me shipping? We offer free shipping to our customers in most states, with a specific minimum purchase of flooring. Up to that amount, the shipping is pro-rated, meaning that if you buy half the minimum, we still cut the shipping in half.  If you want 75% of our threshold, we cut 75% off the shipping charges.  Right now, most orders leave our warehouse with shipping fully knocked off the total.  In certain cases, if you are located in a remote area where it is difficult for a truck to deliver, a surcharge may apply.  The minimum purchase amount is displayed on all of the product pages which qualify.

  • Why do my vinyl plank instructions says to not clean with soap and water? Will water seep under planks? Yes, that is correct, and this is true of many click together products, with or without adhesives. Even with floors designed to prevent water from slipping through the cracks as much as possible, when pooled water sits too long, or is pushed in and down with a mop, the water will get through the gaps and under the flooring. Don’t mop a click together floor. Use a rinse-free cleaner sprayed onto your Swiffer, then wipe. All floors can be cleaned, but it must be done in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

  • If you list a product in stock at 900 sqft., and I need 1500 sqft., how long does it take to receive the difference? Everything we have on hand sell is listed on our web site. Inventory updates daily. Some products we purchase are factory overstocks or discontinued lines, and will not be coming back at all, so to be safe you should pick from stock that has at least 1500 sq ft in stock. You are also very welcome to call us at 800-804-5251, and we can try to find out if a particular floor will be restocked, though finding out when may still be difficult.

  • Do these waterproof planks expand or shrink when it gets hot or cold? The click together floors do expand and contract, but minimally, less than what is expected of laminates, to give a comparison. The Loose Lay planks are designed to not expand at all within normal room temperatures (between 65 and 85 degrees, for instance), so you wouldn't leave any gap between the flooring and the walls.

  • We must put 6ml plastic underneath the laminate flooring when installing to prevent moisture, correct? You only must if you are installing over concrete or over a crawl space. There you have to, and with other types of subfloors it is simply an option. You can, but do not have to. I mention that because most floor padding, felt or foam, for example, comes with an attached moisture barrier, and that won't hurt anything even if you don't need it. Here's a short video about moisture barriers that could also help!

  • How is this flooring waterproof if the seams aren’t glued? I’ve been looking at loose lay planks locally, but they all have an interconnecting glue tab. How are these installed so that they’re completely waterproof? The flooring is 100% waterproof. If you have a flood or water rises up from underneath, or you miss a spill, the flooring planks will not be harmed. They dry off and can be relaid immediately once the subfloor is dry. This is not the case with any hardwood or laminate.

    As for protecting your subfloor, the sides of our planks are cut at an angle which makes the tops lay snug against each other, but water will get to the subfloor if a room floods. Glue tabs cannot be counted on to water seal a floor either, and may even add hassle if you have a problem to fix. Since the Loose Lay planks are so easy to pull up, you can actually deal with any water on the subfloor much more quickly and easily. If you have a flood, water is going to get everywhere no matter what your floor covering is. The closest to water-sealing a floor are sheet vinyl, though a flood would get around it at the walls, and a ceramic tile, though you have grout, which water can eventually get through, and which can absorb water and grow mold. Then your floors still need to come up, and that can be a big deal. The only thing about a floor that can be waterproof is the flooring itself, and these definitely are that.

  • I see that you guys apply up to $15 in samples to our order? Is that correct? Correct! Samples cost $1 each plus a $5 charge for delivery. We ask you to cover this much of the cost of the samples up front, and if you decide to place an order we will credit up to $15 worth of sample costs at the time of the flooring purchase.

  • How do I measure for flooring? It's very easy! Just take the length of your room and multiply by the width of the room. That = total square feet of the room. Example:length of room = 20 feet width of room = 13 feet Total sq ft = 20 x 13 = 260 sq ft

  • Do you offer a military discount? Unfortunately, we do not offer a military discount, nor any discounts based on types of people or service. Our approach is to discount all of our floors to the lowest possible price for everyone. In order to have an additional kind of discount, we would basically have to raise the prices for others first and leave the rest where they are now.

  • Do I need a moisture barrier beneath my hardwood floor? Most installers will recommend an underlayment of either kraft paper or 15 pound felt paper, similar to what is installed on your roof before shingles during the flooring installation.

  • How big are your samples? We cut the planks into roughly 9" long samples, only so we can fit them into our shipping boxes. We keep the full width of the planks unless they happen to be wider than 8". That's pretty rare, but we've had to cut some ceramic floors in both directions, such as a 12" x 24" style of tile. We can put anywhere from five 3/4" hardwoods to 27 4mm vinyl plank samples into a single box, and they usually ship out the very next business day.

  • Is vinyl plank flooring durable? Vinyl plank flooring is extremely durable. It is also extremely stain, dent, and scratch resistant. Vinyl flooring is made of shock absorbent materials. In addition to adding to its ruggedness, this adds to the walking comfort.

  • What's the best way to use a sample to get an idea of how the final floor will look? We have lots of great ideas and pictures about this in our Beginner’s Guide to Floor Samples!

  • Is vinyl flooring waterproof? All of our vinyl flooring here at Floors To Your Home is 100% waterproof. This means that in the event of a spill that remains on the floor too long, or a flooded basement, or some other water related accident, the flooring will be completely fine after the water has been cleaned up. While the flooring itself is waterproof damage can be caused to the subfloor by water making it past the flooring joints.

  • Is laminate flooring pet friendly? Laminate flooring is coated with an aluminum oxide wear layer. This coating is extremely durable and will prevent pets from scratching your new laminate floor. Aluminum oxide *may* be the second hardest substance on earth after diamonds. The fact that it's even arguable is still good news, we think.

  • A slow leak seeped into my Hardwood Floor. Will this cause permanent damage, or mildew or mold underneath the floor? It's very possible. If moisture gets through the seams of the hardwood, the water will probably damage the cells and fibers of the wood. And yes, mold can grow and cause permanent damage if excessive water seeps through the planks. The best solution when this happens is to contact a floor covering contractor that specializes in hardwood repair and replacement, as well as an expert in handling mold issues. This article from The Western Wood Products Association will give tips on mold removal, but also due cautions about doing so yourself, or carelessly. Wood Floor Doctor has a piece on immediate handling of such a spill when found which may also give you reasons to consider going to a professional. We're big on the Do-It-Yourself approach here, but this is an area where you may want to bring in the right people.

  • How do I measure the square footage for a staircase? 1. Measure the length and width of each stair step in inches and multiply them. This will give you the total square inches for 1 step. 2. Multiply this result by the total number of stairs. This gives total square inches for your whole staircase, if your steps are uniform in size. 3. Divide the grand total by 144 to determine the square footage of your staircase. The riser proportion of your stairs can be measured by multiplying the width times the hieight using the same method.

  • Can vinyl floating floors be used in a mobile camper with no heating for the winter in temperatures below freezing? Yes, it “can be used,” broadly speaking, but there are some factors to consider. This use would void the warranty. Unless a floor is designated an indoor/outdoor floor, the warranty will always state that it must be used in a climate controlled environment with temperatures kept to at least 60 degrees or above. That means that if you had, say, a plank crack from the temperature and some stress, you would not be able to make a claim with the manufacturer. Our Supreme Click Elite Waterproof Vinyl Plank is the only thing that we would almost recommend for such an environment. As you have realized, a glue down vinyl floor is a bad option, so this click together would be the only thing you would want to try. Issues to consider are whether your camper has the room expanding “bump out” areas. If it does, you’ll need to make sure that the sliding part of the camper floor wouldn't catch on the vinyl and make it buckle. Otherwise, the Supreme Click Elite is 100% waterproof. We've even soaked it in an aquarium for a few days to test it out. Since it absorbs no moisture, we can’t think of a reason it would expand or contract very much, if at all. It’s pretty stable stuff!

  • Can vinyl floating floors be used where temperatures go below freezing with no heating in the winter? So far, all of the flooring we have sold is meant to be laid in environmentally controlled structures, Now, this does not mean that a power outage is going to kill your flooring, but leaving it unattended and frozen for a season will at least void most flooring warranties