How to Save On Floors for Your Home: Walk Here
Saving money on your bills does not have to mean giving up what you love. You can continue to live well while reducing your expenses.
If you want to renovate your existing home or build a new one, you probably rolled your eyes. It’s okay. But I am telling you the truth. You can still renovate while you lower your bills.
Using the right stores and shopping methods, you can obtain terrific deals on amazing flooring materials. I speak from experience on this.
Shop For Floors: Wise Steps To Take
My friends and colleagues know me as a super-shopper who constantly finds bargains on everything from my favorite coffee to designer clothes to flooring. That is why I have had a number of folks turn to me when they started renovations on their home or offices.
This began in college during my undergraduate years. I lived in the dorms, or as Clarke Stroud and Dr. Dave Schrage would chime in “residence halls” and I so enjoyed sprucing up my living environment that I asked if I could custom paint my dorm room. Housing at OU liked the result so much they asked to show the room on the incoming freshman tours. For three years, I was a stop on the incoming freshman’s tour of campus.
Word got around, so now, I have done the floors of friends’ bathrooms and office buildings plus my own cabin in the woods by a lake. It has Swiss hardwood flooring in three rooms and marble look ceramic tile in the bathroom. Hey, I had to rough it there for five years, but no one said doing research had to be that rough.
Look For Some Good Deals
Let’s talk about getting awesome deals on the good stuff. I floored the employee bathroom at a college chum’s computer store for $15 in materials. I also re-did the floor of his home bathroom for $40 in materials. That nice Swiss flooring in my cabin? $120 for three rooms. The ceramic tile came in at just under $50.
If you know where to shop and what to look for when you shop, you can land some jaw-dropping deals that can help you save money while creating an opulent space that looks like you spent far more money than you did.
So, my foray down memory lane was to let you know that while you are going to see URLs to websites in this article, I speak from experience, too. The only tips you will read here are the ones that actually work, not something that a feature writer dreamed up that sounded like a good idea. At the end of this piece, you’ll find a list of three stores. They are my super-secret, go to, shopping spots. Okay. I am not keeping them a secret NOW, but for decades I have super shopped and since those three places I list in here opened, they have been the source of terrific deals for me and others.
The Right Time to Start Saving Is NOW. The Billry Store Will Help.
Save On Floors: The Process
You may groan, but the first thing you need to do is create a plan. Make a list of the rooms you want to renovate. If you are building new, make a list of the rooms in the home or office building. Look at the blueprints and list the rooms working from the plans. That way, you will not forget anything. I mean, when you list the rooms in your apartment or home, do you (without looking at plans or doing a walk through) remember the closets? Newsflash: You have to put down flooring in the closets, too. So, look at your plans.
Save on Floors: Define Your Needs
Look at your list and write down a few notes about each room’s objective or daily use.
Do you use your kitchen every day to cook big meals?
Is a high-traffic area with children coming and going?
Do you live alone and rarely use the kitchen?
Asking those types of questions about each room lets you know what type of flooring you need. In busy households with lots of foot traffic, you need hearty flooring that you can easily clean. You need something that resists scuffs and tears. On the other hand, a single person who orders pizza constantly and spends most of their time in the living room would not need heavy-duty kitchen floors. (As to the latter example, most of my friends are guys.)
You need to decide for each room between carpet, tile, linoleum, stone, hardwood, faux wood - also known as laminate, or another choice.
I know of one person who put cement floors in her entire home. She customized each room simply by staining the cement. Some rooms have carpets or rugs, others do not. Combing the cement in some rooms provided a unique texture to the floor and nowhere in the home does it actually look like cement. She and her husband built the home to survive their children and their herds of wildebeests, er, friends. Cleanup is simple no matter what they spill.
Save On Floors: Honing Your Choices
Let’s say you decide you would like carpet in the bedrooms and tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, laminate everywhere else. You aren’t done yet.
Carpet is what they call a product category in building and renovation. You have a massive range of choices within the carpet, tile, laminate, etc. You need to do your research. What will actually suit your needs?
For example, it is not a good idea to use ceramic tile in a kitchen. That type of tile shatters easily, so if you or a kid, drops something heavy on it, crash, boom, your floor gets broken. On the other hand, ceramic tile looks gorgeous and performs admirably in a bathroom or on a backsplash.
Porcelain tile provides the same look, but a much heartier material that can handle people dropping things on it and herds of wildebeests, era children’s soccer team tromping and jumping on it.
You will find the same differences in every category. Within carpet, for example, olefin performs poorly as a moderate to high foot traffic alternative. It looks nice for years in a low-traffic environment though.
Wool carpet does well in moderate to high foot traffic though. It continues to look new with normal maintenance.
Save on Floors: Proper Maintenance
Here is the bottom line that nobody seems to want to hear.
No matter what you buy, you have to take proper care of it.
No flooring will last forever. Regardless of how stain resistant the carper or material says it is, you will still have to clean it regularly using the proper method to clean it.
That means, research into the care instructions for each flooring type. All types of carpet will need shampooing at some point. Building materials, just like every other product nowadays, have care instructions. If you follow them and you purchase the right product in the beginning, your floors will last longer and continue to look good.
Save On Floors: Time To Shop
Have you ever heard the phrase “Timing is everything.”? It is SO true. You need to know how to shop, when to shop and where to shop.
Save on Floors: How to Shop
Know what new materials cost. For example, depending on the type of hardwood you choose, the flooring costs will range from $3 to $18 per square foot. Installation adds another $3 to $8 per square foot.
Shop the in-stock inventory of any store from which you choose to shop. No matter what kind of flooring you need, buying what is in-stock saves you money. That is because the stores buy in bulk from manufacturers then pass along the savings to some extent. Yes, they still charge a markup, but you still save money.
This does not mean that your floors have to look like everyone else’s. You choose the materials and how to install them. That means you can purchase porcelain tile at a great price in two or three different colors, then lay it in a pattern. Your floor may use the same tile as your next-door neighbors’ home, but your floors will look vastly different due to the pattern you lay.
Save On Floors: Installation Costs
You can save money by doing it yourself if you know what you are doing. If you have a friend who knows how to install flooring, you can go the route many of my friends did and ask someone like me to help you. I put in countless floors through the years for the price of a nice dinner. When I was in college, I’d help them out if they bought the pizza.
You probably have at least one old friend who knows what they are doing and would willingly help you install a new kitchen floor. Ask nicely. Offer to exchange something they need. The college chum that owned a computer store traded me computer repair. I helped on quite a few renovations of his and along the way, he fixed my computer a couple of times for “nothing.” He also was one of the people who eventually worked on my cabin.
Installation can create the largest expense. Getting a good deal on the labor can save you a bundle.
Look around for stores that offer good prices and include installation in the cost. Your best bet on this is smaller, local stores that partner with local contractors.
Save On Floors: Use Remnant Materials
You can approach finding remnant materials in, a few ways:
The most direct is to go through your own attic, basement, storage shed, etc. to see what you or the prior owners stored. You might have had leftover materials from a long-ago project that completely slipped your mind. Rediscovering them can contribute materials to today’s renovation.
Ask your friends who have renovated their homes or who regularly help others do so if they have materials leftover. You can assemble these extra materials to make a mosaic, patterned floor or perhaps floor an entire room.
Many stores offer remnant sales. This is most common in carpeting stores. Remnant carpet can refer to leftover carpet roll pieces or small sample pieces of carpet. They come at huge discounts of up to 80 to 90 percent. Some stores simply give away piecemeal remnants to people they know.
My dad had a friend who owned a hardware store. His friend knew that my dad adopted an inordinate number of stray animals. I grew up in a tiny town called Cottageville and while there was no animal shelter or ASPCA, there was my dad, the Southern Baptist reverend with a love for all of God’s animal kingdom. Daddy literally made houses for the animals. His friend, knowing this, gave him ALL the carpet remnants so he could make the animal’s houses warm for winter. Yes, our cats had wall-to-wall carpet in their little houses. So did the possum my dad adopted and every dog he ever owned. Our backyard at any given time always had at least three cozy homes for animals.
Save on Floors: Request a Discount
Shopping local can help you get a discount. Ask nicely if they can knock 5 to 10 percent off of the price, especially if you buy all the materials for your project from one flooring company. If they refuse, ask if they offer a discount for paying in cash. Saving them the cost you using your credit card can help you save on bills.
If you regularly do renovation work or general fix-it work, apply for the professional discount cards available at Home Depot and Lowe’s. These national retailers offer 10 to 20 percent discounts to certified professionals.
Save on Floors: Re-Using Materials
Ask friends or co-workers if they know of any demolition projects or existing renovation projects. You can obtain materials pulled out of a home or office for a retro look or to re-furbish. This is also a great way to get bricks for pathways, sidewalks, or patios.
Save On Floors: Shopping Strategies
Always and I Mean Always Comparison Shop
Also, remember that when shopping online, you need to include the shipping in the purchase price. Locally, you need to look at any delivery costs. Price the exact same materials at each place. It is very important to make an apple to apples comparison.
Read the Fine Print on Any Sale or Specials
You may have to purchase a specific amount to qualify for the price advertised or you may be limited in the amount you can buy.
Ask Family and Friends for Contractor Referrals
If you will not be doing the work yourself. Read online reviews of them. Have each contractor submit a bid on a form you provide. That means they must stick to your format and provide the costs you request. You can download such a form online from home improvement sites. Let the contractor know that you already have the materials, so they do not need to include that in their cost. Always ask if they provide a discount for paying in cash and the percentage of savings.
Here is the edict that the construction industry uses in hiring sub-contractors:
“Price, quality, and speed are what we are after, but you have to choose two.”
Read the Installation Contract Carefully
You need to understand what you are signing before you sign it. The contract should list all fees that the contractor charges. It should describe all activities they will conduct. For instance, if the flooring installer moves your furniture out of the room and back into it after finishing the job, the contract should state this service and any fee for it.
When to Shop
You can also save money by shopping at the right time of year. Many stores have sales on specific holidays. I’m not talking about Christmas sales or such, I mean national holidays. In the US, popular holidays for sales include Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day. If you happen to be in the military or a military veteran, you can typically get an added 10 percent discount by providing proof of service.
If you have not served, you can still check places like Dealspotr, Groupon and RetailMeNot for coupons or discounts. Also, call around your local stores to find out what time of year they re-stock their stores. When they have to sell off their existing flooring to make room for new shipments of materials, they cut the prices so it will sell quickly. Finding out what time of year that happens provides a great way to save money. Also, use price matching to get a local deal that you can pick up at the store or have delivered for free.
Where To Shop
You can find truly deep discounts if you know the right stores to shop. I do and I am sharing them with you here. You see, not only have I done a lot of renovations and building projects on my own, I also get hired by a number of companies through my PR firm to write blogs for their construction, renovation or sub-contracting firm. Through the years, I have found a select few places that actually offer great prices and unique finds.
Floor and Décor
Yep. This is a big-name store online. You really can find great deals on it though. Shop it when the end of the year comes around. Less people renovate in cold weather. Sales are typically slow during that time of year, so you can get pretty good deals. Sign up for their sales emails so you can get a heads up on clearance items.
Discount Tile
Discount Tile started out as a retail chain with a catalog component. It now also has a website that lets everybody get in on the stupendous low-cost tile deals regardless of where they live.
It buys in bulk and you can always purchase materials for super cheap at Discount Tile. It also carries the fun, new products like glitter tile and colored caulks. You can find jewel tiles there as well.
Habitat for Humanity
This is my favorite store ever because you can find something different at every ReStore location across the US and every purchase you make there benefits Habitat for Humanity.
The non-profit owns the stores. The items sold are donated by both major retailers and local contractors. You can buy materials at a ReStore for 90 percent off of what you would have paid at a retail store. I purchased the Swiss flooring for my cabin at a ReStore. A local contractor had brought it in for donation because the home builders had changed their minds about the flooring they desired at the last minute. It was not a product I could have found at a Lowe’s or Home Depot and purchasing there helped someone have a home of their own, too. Most of my materials, I purchased at the Cleveland County ReStore for that exact reason. It did not mean sacrificing coolness or design.
Store stock changes weekly. Never wait to buy anything because it will sell out. Shop around the other places first, then save the ReStore for last. You will already know what you can find at the other spots and its cost.
Final thoughts
By combining the tips herein and shopping my top three favorite materials stores, you can save a bundle on your flooring. You will also end up with unique finds and be able to craft a customized home that exudes your personality.