Flooring

Choosing a floor means choosing how it will behave in your house, not just how it looks in a showroom. A heated Calgary home in January is very dry, basements sit on concrete slabs that can carry moisture, and wood-based floors respond to both. The material that suits a main-floor living room may be the wrong call two storeys down.

Installation cost is the other half of the decision. Removing the old floor, levelling the subfloor, stairs, baseboards and transitions are often listed separately from the floor itself, and they explain why quotes for the same product can look so different. The guides in this section separate those pieces so they can be compared.

Questions worth answering before you shop

• Which rooms, and is any of the area below grade?
• Will the floor see water — an entryway, kitchen, bathroom or laundry?
• Is there an existing floor to remove, and what is under it?
• Are stairs included? They are slow work and are usually priced per step.

Flooring prices are budgeting estimates compiled from local Calgary market pricing; your room, subfloor and product choice will move them.