Buying Hardwood Flooring Online: What to Check First

Buying hardwood flooring online is convenient. You can compare dozens of boards in an evening, read the specifications at your own pace, and avoid driving around on a wet Saturday. The risk is that a photo on a screen hides most of what decides whether a floor works in your house. The fix is to read a product page the way a flooring installer would.

This checklist covers what to confirm before you add anything to a cart, whether you are browsing formamaterial.com from Bellingham or anywhere else.

Read the product page like a spec sheet

Look past the room photo and find these details. If a page does not list them, ask before buying.

• Species. Oak, maple, hickory, walnut and others all differ in hardness, grain and how they take color. An oak-colored board is not necessarily oak.
• Construction. Solid or engineered. Engineered boards are far more stable in a damp climate like ours and can often go over concrete.
• Wear layer. For engineered hardwood, the thickness of the top layer of real wood determines how many times it can be sanded and refinished, if at all.
• Finish. Factory finishes vary in sheen and in whether they can be recoated. Matte and low sheen finishes hide scratches better than gloss.
• Dimensions. Width, length and thickness. Wider and longer boards need a flatter subfloor, and thickness affects transitions and door clearances.
• Edge profile. Beveled edges hide small height differences between boards; square edges look seamless but show them.

Match the installation method to your subfloor

Each engineered board is approved for specific installation methods, and the installation guide spells them out. The three common ones are:

1. Nail-down or staple-down, over a wood subfloor. Not an option over concrete.
2. Glue-down, over wood or concrete, depending on the adhesive and product.
3. Floating, where boards connect to each other and rest on an underlayment.

Find out what is under your current floor before you order. Many Bellingham houses built in the early twentieth century have plank board subfloors over a crawlspace, while newer builds are more often plywood or concrete. If the product you like is not approved for your subfloor, it is the wrong product, however good it looks.

Also check the height. An engineered board plus any underlayment has to meet your existing floors, thresholds and doors. A small difference at a doorway can mean a reducer strip or trimming doors, and it is better to know that before the boxes arrive.

Get samples before you commit

Screens flatten texture and distort color, and Bellingham's grey winter light changes how a floor reads compared with the bright photos on any website. Get samples of your shortlist and look at them in the actual rooms, at different times of day, next to your cabinets and wall colors. Put them on the floor, since that is how you will see them, rather than holding them up to the wall.

Order samples of more than one product, even if you think you already know which one you want. Seeing a second option next to your favorite makes the undertone of each easier to judge, and it often changes the decision.

Check the rules that come with the box

The manufacturer's installation guide and warranty are part of what you are buying. Read them for:

• Required subfloor moisture levels and how to test them.
• Acclimation instructions.
• Acceptable indoor humidity range once installed.
• Approved cleaning products.
• What the manufacturer excludes, such as installation in bathrooms or over radiant heat.

If you cannot meet those conditions, choose a different product. A floor installed outside its guidelines can fail without recourse.

Talk to a person before ordering hardwood flooring online

Online shopping works best when you use the website to narrow the field and a phone call to confirm the details. Before ordering hardwood flooring online from us, it is worth a short call to check that the product suits your subfloor and rooms, and to talk through quantity. A few minutes on the phone can catch a mismatch between the product and the house that no amount of reading on a product page will reveal.

Our engineered hardwood comes mainly from CALI, with some from Bedrosians. If you want a wood look for a wet area, we can also point you toward waterproof vinyl or wood-look porcelain.

Before you order

Browse the flooring category and shortlist two or three boards. Note what your subfloor is and how many square feet you need. Then call (360) 255-8377, Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, or email [email protected], and we will go through the details with you. You can also reach us through the contact page if that is easier for your Bellingham, WA project.