Flooring

Buying surplus flooring: what to know

Flooring is sold with 10% overage on every job, which means nearly every finished floor leaves boxes behind. Sealed boxes of hardwood, laminate and vinyl plank are as good as the store's, and remnant lots are how a bedroom or a hallway gets done for a fraction of retail.

Check before you buy

• Match the lot number on every box

  the same product from two production runs can differ a shade. One box from another lot is fine scattered; three are a stripe.

• Do the square-foot math yourself, plus 10%

  coverage per box varies by product. Count the boxes, multiply by the printed coverage, and check it against your room before driving over.

• Open a box and check the click edges

  click-lock plank survives storage fine, but a box that was dropped has chipped tongues you cannot see from outside.

• Ask where hardwood was stored

  solid wood that spent a winter in an unheated garage needs a week acclimating inside before it goes down, and badly stored wood cups.

Rather have it installed? The directory has local flooring & tile pros you can message directly, and the cost guide shows what jobs like yours run locally.

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