Every flooring project starts with questions. Some come up on almost every consultation we do, and a few reveal confusion that the flooring industry has honestly created for itself with overlapping product names and marketing terms. We’ve pulled together the ten questions we hear most from homeowners across Edmonton, with straight answers based on what actually happens in real installs.
1. What’s the difference between vinyl, laminate, and hardwood?
This is the question we get more than any other, and it’s a fair one, because the products can look nearly identical in a showroom.
Hardwood is real wood, either solid planks or engineered (a real wood top layer over a plywood core). It looks and feels like wood because it is wood. It can be refinished, it lasts decades if maintained, and it’s the most expensive of the three.
Laminate is a photograph of wood printed onto a fibreboard core, sealed under a clear wear layer. It’s a good imitation and reasonably scratch-resistant, but the core is essentially compressed paper. Get it wet for long enough and it swells.
Vinyl, specifically luxury vinyl plank (LVP), is made from PVC. It’s fully waterproof, the core doesn’t absorb water, and modern versions look convincingly like wood. It’s the most popular flooring in Edmonton right now for good reason: it handles our climate, spills, pets, and kids without much drama.
The short version we usually give people: if you want real wood and you’ll maintain it, go hardwood. If you want the wood look and a waterproof floor, go vinyl. Laminate sits in between on price but loses to vinyl on water resistance almost every time.
2. How much does flooring installation cost?
There’s no honest single number, because the cost depends on the material, the size of the space, the condition of the subfloor underneath, and how much prep or removal is involved.
The material is usually the biggest variable. A basic laminate and a premium hardwood can differ by a factor of five or more per square foot before labour even enters the picture. On top of the material, the things that move the final number are subfloor prep, removing and disposing of the old floor, transitions, and baseboards. A quote that looks unusually low often has some of these left out, and they reappear as add-ons partway through the job.
The most reliable way to get a real number is a site visit where someone measures the space and checks the subfloor. We can give a ballpark over the phone, but the accurate figure comes after we’ve seen the actual conditions.
3. What matters more, wear layer or plank thickness?
The wear layer, and it’s not close. This is one of the most useful things a homeowner can understand before buying.
The wear layer is the clear protective coating on top of vinyl and laminate, measured in mils. It’s what stands between your floor and daily scratches, scuffs, and wear. Plank thickness, measured in millimetres, mostly affects how solid the floor feels underfoot and how well it hides minor subfloor imperfections.
Here’s the part that trips people up. A thick plank with a thin wear layer will scratch and dull faster than a thinner plank with a thick wear layer. Marketing tends to push thickness because a bigger millimetre number sounds better, but the wear layer is what predicts how long the floor keeps looking good. For most homes we recommend a 12 mil wear layer minimum, and 20 mil for households with pets, kids, or heavy traffic.
4. Do I need to remove the old flooring first?
It depends on what’s there now and what’s going on top.
Sometimes the old floor can stay and the new one goes right over it, if the existing floor is flat, solid, and doesn’t add too much height. Vinyl over old vinyl or tile sometimes works this way. More often, though, the old floor should come up. Carpet almost always has to go. Old floors can hide a subfloor that’s uneven, squeaky, or damaged, and once the new floor is down, there’s no fixing those problems without tearing it up again.
We usually recommend removing the old floor unless there’s a clear reason to keep it. That extra step is the only chance to see and fix what’s underneath, which is where a lot of long-term flooring problems actually start.
5. Should I install flooring or cabinets first in a kitchen?
This one has a real answer, and it depends on the type of flooring.
For nailed-down or glued-down floors, such as solid hardwood, tile, or glue-down vinyl, the flooring generally goes in first. Running the floor continuously underneath the cabinets gives a cleaner result and makes future changes easier. If you ever swap a dishwasher or change the cabinet layout, the floor already runs underneath instead of stopping at the old cabinet line.
Floating floors are the exception, and this catches a lot of people off guard. Click-lock vinyl and laminate float on top of the subfloor and need room to expand and contract. When heavy cabinets sit on top of a floating floor, they pin it in place, and a floor that can’t move freely can buckle or separate at the seams over time. For floating floors, most manufacturers actually recommend installing the cabinets first, then fitting the floor around them with the proper expansion gap. Because of this, we always check the manufacturer’s instructions for the specific product before deciding the order.
6. How long does installation take?
For a standard room or two, most installs are done in a day or two. A full main floor is usually two to four days depending on the material and how much prep the subfloor needs. Tile takes longer than vinyl because of the mortar and grout curing time between steps.
The parts people tend to forget are acclimation and prep. Most vinyl, laminate, and engineered hardwood should sit in the room for a couple of days before installation so it adjusts to the home’s temperature and humidity. Subfloor levelling or repairs add time too. A quote that promises a very large install in a single day is usually cutting one of these corners, and it tends to show up later as gaps or lifting.
7. What flooring works best in a basement?
Vinyl, specifically SPC, in almost every case. Basements sit on concrete slabs, and concrete is porous, releasing moisture upward continuously even when the basement feels dry. That rules out solid hardwood entirely and makes standard laminate a risky choice.
SPC vinyl handles this well because it’s fully waterproof and stays stable across the temperature difference between a heated room and a cold slab. A vapour barrier under the floor is recommended on any concrete slab, and skipping it is one of the more common causes of cupping, gapping, or musty smells a year or two later. Tile also works below grade and is the right call for basement bathrooms and wet areas. We’ve written more about basement flooring specifically elsewhere on the site, since it’s a common question in Edmonton where so many basements are finished living space.
8. Is “waterproof” flooring actually waterproof?
Mostly yes, but the word gets used loosely, and the distinction matters.
For a product to be genuinely waterproof, the core itself has to not absorb water. SPC vinyl and tile pass this test. Water can sit on them and wipe up with no damage. “Water-resistant” is a weaker claim, and it usually means the surface repels water for a while but the core will still be damaged if water sits long enough or gets in at the seams. A lot of laminate is sold as water-resistant, which is not the same as waterproof.
One thing worth knowing even with truly waterproof flooring: the planks are waterproof, but a floating floor still has seams, and water can get underneath through those seams or around the edges at baseboards. The flooring survives, but water trapped under a floating floor can still cause problems on the subfloor if it’s not cleaned up. Waterproof flooring handles spills and mopping without issue; it isn’t a substitute for dealing with an actual leak or flood.
9. Can I use the same flooring throughout the whole house?
Yes, and a lot of homeowners do, because continuous flooring makes a home feel larger and avoids the chopped-up look of different materials in every room.
SPC vinyl is the usual choice for this because it works almost everywhere, including kitchens and bathrooms where you couldn’t put hardwood. The main thing to think through is wet areas and entryways. Some people run the same vinyl right through the bathroom, which works if the edges are sealed properly. Others prefer tile in bathrooms and entryways for maximum water protection and to handle Edmonton’s winter salt and slush at the door. Both approaches are reasonable. Running one material throughout is simpler and cleaner-looking; splitting to tile in wet zones adds a bit of durability where it matters most.
10. What flooring is best for homes with pets and kids?
SPC vinyl with a thick wear layer, in most cases. It’s waterproof for accidents and spills, the wear layer handles claws and dragged toys, and a textured surface gives pets better grip and hides the marks of daily life.
The specifics that matter are a 20 mil wear layer or higher, a textured rather than glossy surface, and a mid-tone colour. Glossy floors show every scratch and are slippery for dogs. Very dark or very light floors show hair, dust, and pawprints; mid-tone browns and grey-browns hide all of it better. We’ve gone deeper on pet-specific flooring elsewhere, including where carpet still makes sense and why solid hardwood usually doesn’t hold up in an active household. For a home with both kids and pets, plan for the busiest, messiest version of your household rather than the calm version, and the floor will handle whatever comes.
A Few Final Thoughts
Most flooring questions come down to the same underlying things: how the room is used, what’s underneath the floor, and matching the material to real conditions rather than showroom looks. A good installer should be able to answer these clearly and walk you through the trade-offs rather than pushing the most expensive option.
If you’re planning a flooring project and have questions specific to your home, Northedge Flooring offers free in-home consultations across Edmonton and the surrounding area. We measure the space, check the subfloor, and give straight answers about what will actually work for your rooms.
