Reno Diary #7: I Check Out Flooring
Updated: Aug 31
10 days to close.
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Replacing the awful, brand-new-but-already-terrible carpet installed in the house was near the top of my renovation priority list (learn how I built my reno priority list here). I’d already gone through a hardwood floor installation in my condo, so I knew exactly what I was getting into: long lead times, acclimation delays, and installers booked weeks out.
And this time, the clock mattered.
The flooring had to be installed before the kitchen cabinets went in, while the house was still empty. No moving furniture. No protecting breakables. No working around appliances. Just clean access for the installers.
More importantly, my entire renovation timeline depended on it.
If the flooring took six weeks to arrive—as many hardwood floors do—I would miss my target window for listing my condo. Instead of selling in early fall, I could end up carrying two mortgages into winter and possibly until spring.
That was not going to happen.
Why Engineered Hardwood Flooring Was One of My First Renovation Decisions
When people think about renovations, they often jump straight to paint colors or kitchen finishes. But flooring affects almost everything else:
Cabinet installation
Trim work
Appliance placement
Furniture move-in
Paint touch-ups
Dust and debris control
In an empty house, flooring installation is dramatically easier and faster. I knew from experience that if I delayed this decision, it would create a domino effect across the entire renovation.
So flooring moved straight to the top of the list.
If you’re renovating before moving in, install flooring before furniture, before cabinets, and before life gets complicated.
Selecting Flooring
My real estate agent referred me to a discount flooring warehouse in a nearby suburb. Unlike the polished flooring showroom where I bought the hardwood for my condo, this place was more industrial: warehouse shelving, sample racks, and very few frills.
Perfect.
I already knew what I wanted:
Maple engineered hardwood
Wider planks (4–6 inches)
Satin finish
Durable enough for real life
Neutral enough to work long-term
I headed straight for the hardwood section and pulled six sample boards.
Then I did what any normal, rational person does when shopping for flooring: I lined the samples up by the window and stomped on them.
Literally.
Not because I am crazy (although some folks may argue otherwise).
When I installed hardwood floors in my condo, I learned that the Stand and Stomp Test is part of the process. In addition to how flooring looks, how it sounds when you walk—and yes, stomp—on it matters, too.
Some floors sound solid and quiet underfoot. Others sound hollow, clicky, or oddly echo-y once installed. Before you buy flooring, listen to how it sounds when you walk on it.
A tall employee named “Dave” wandered over at some point during the stomping phase and watched me leap from sample to sample. Thankfully, he immediately recognized that this was not my first flooring rodeo.
That probably saved us both time.
The Flooring Test Many People Skip
I narrowed the choices to three samples and took them to the house.
Then I looked at them:
In every room
In daylight
Against the walls
Near the windows
At night
Under artificial lighting
This part matters more than people realize.
Flooring changes dramatically depending on the light. A floor that looks warm and inviting in a bright showroom can look muddy or gray in a home with subdued lighting.
After multiple rounds of elimination, one floor finally edged out the others.
I chose a 6-inch engineered maple hardwood with a satin finish from Hallmark Floors. It was slightly lighter than the hardwood in my condo, but my new house had a north-south orientation and received less intense natural light overall than the condo. The lighter tone balanced the space better.
Never choose flooring based only on showroom lighting. Test samples in your actual home during both daytime and nighttime.
Why I Chose Engineered Hardwood
For this renovation, engineered hardwood made more sense than solid hardwood.
Here’s why:
Benefits of Engineered Hardwood
More dimensionally stable
Better for fluctuating humidity
Faster installation
Available in wider planks
Often more budget-friendly than solid hardwood
And unlike cheap laminate flooring, good engineered hardwood still uses real wood on the surface.
For me, it hit the sweet spot between durability, appearance, and cost.
The Most Important Question: Is It In Stock?
The next morning, I returned to the warehouse with my final choice.
Now came the critical question:
Did they actually have enough flooring available?
To my enormous relief, they did.
I bought it immediately.
The warehouse agreed to hold the flooring until after closing, which solved one of the biggest risks in my renovation schedule.
At that point, I finally felt like Phase One of the renovation might actually be possible.
Hiring a Flooring Installer
Unlike traditional flooring retailers, the warehouse didn’t manage installations. They simply sold flooring and provided a list of recommended installers.
Honestly? Since I acting as my own contractor, I preferred that.
I researched every installer:
Google reviews
Website quality
Customer photos
Responsiveness
Professionalism
Then I started calling.
One installer—Juan—called me back the same afternoon while on a work break. I explained my compressed renovation timeline and asked if he could meet me shortly after closing to provide an estimate.
He suggested Labor Day.
“That’s Labor Day,” I said.
“You’re in a hurry, right?” he replied.
I nearly adopted him on the spot.
What Matters Most During a Renovation
One thing I learned very quickly during this renovation:
Fast communication matters.
Not flashy marketing.
Not fancy trucks.
Not expensive websites.
Responsiveness.
The contractors who communicated clearly and followed through consistently were almost always the easiest people to work with.
That Labor Day callback told me a lot.
Next Up: Kitchen Cabinets
With flooring finally secured, I moved on to the next major decision: kitchen cabinetry.
And this time, I wanted something better than the basic contractor-grade cabinets I’d chosen in previous homes.
My real estate agent referred me to two local cabinet wholesalers. One immediately stood out: Quality Granite and Cabinets.
Here’s what caught my attention:
All-wood cabinet construction
Dovetail joints
Soft-close drawers and doors
Semi-custom sizing options
Local warehouse inventory
Women-owned business
The company was founded by two sisters from a construction family, and their cabinets balanced quality with realistic pricing.
At this point in the renovation, availability mattered almost as much as quality.
Because if the materials aren’t available, your renovation timeline is fiction.
Final Thoughts
This flooring decision ended up affecting nearly every other renovation choice that followed.
It reinforced a lesson I’ve learned repeatedly during home projects:
The best renovation decisions are rarely the most exciting ones. They’re the decisions that quietly keep the entire project moving forward.
And in this case, getting flooring ordered early helped save my entire timeline.
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