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Before you install anything, you have to know how much to buy and what's under the old floor. This is where we keep the planning side: measuring a room, estimating waste, testing a subfloor for moisture, and figuring out whether what's down now can stay. Ready to install or clean? Those live in Flooring Installation and How to Clean Floors.

Decide What Goes Down Before You Order

The choice that costs the most to reverse is the material, and it's usually made against the room rather than the catalog. How to Choose the Best Kitchen Floor starts from spills, standing water, and the cabinets you already have. Choose Flooring to Fit Your Style is the one to read when the room is settled but the look isn't. And for tile specifically, How to Choose Tile covers size, format, and where a 12x24 stops making sense — a sizing decision that changes your square-footage math, not just the look. Order samples once you have a shortlist; color is the easiest thing to get wrong from a screen and the most expensive to discover after a pallet arrives.

Buy more than the room measures. Waste from cuts, pattern matching, and the occasional bad board runs roughly 5–10% on a simple rectangular room and higher on diagonal layouts, angled walls, or long-plank patterns. Ordering that overage in the first purchase matters more than it sounds: dye lots shift between production runs, so a box bought three months later may not match the floor it's patching.

Find Out What's Under the Old Floor

The second planning question is whether the existing floor stays or goes. Can You Install Flooring Over Carpet? works through when an overlay is genuinely fine and when it's storing up a failure — the short version is that the layer underneath has to be flat, dry, and firmly attached, and low-pile carpet clears that bar far less often than people hope. Concrete slabs bring their own question: they release moisture vapor long after they look dry, which is what ruins glue-down installs months later, so a slab needs a moisture test and usually a moisture barrier before anything goes over it. Test first, then pick the install method — not the reverse.

Once the plan is settled and you're ready to actually put the floor in, our Flooring Installation topic covers tools, subfloor prep, and material-specific techniques in depth.

Buying the Right Supplies

Most install failures start at the supply counter — wrong adhesive, wrong underlayment, wrong transition strip for the product you bought. Check the install method your specific floor calls for before you buy supplies; our installation and care shop stocks what the manufacturers spec.

Planning for the Years After Install

Maintenance is worth thinking about while you're still choosing, because the cleaning routine a floor needs is part of what you're buying. For material-by-material cleaning routines, see our full How to Clean Every Floor Type guide. Two specifics worth reading before you commit: How to Remove and Prevent Pet Urine Odor and Stains on Your Carpet, if pets are part of the equation and carpet is still on your list, and How to Protect Your Garage Floor from Spills, Damage, & More, whose logic about mats, sealants, and fast cleanup applies to any spill-prone floor.

How-To Flooring FAQs

How much flooring should I order for my room?

Measure the room's length and width in feet, multiply for square footage, and do it per rectangle if the room isn't a simple box — then add overage on top. Plan on roughly 5% extra for a straightforward rectangular room and 10% or more for diagonal layouts, angled walls, long-plank patterns, or anything requiring pattern match. Buy the overage with the original order rather than later; dye lots vary between production runs, so a replacement box may not match.

Can I install new flooring over my existing floor?

Sometimes, but it depends on both materials and the condition of what's underneath. A flat, stable, clean subfloor is required either way, and some products (like certain tile or hardwood installs) need a full tear-out rather than a layer on top. Check the specific installation guide for your chosen product before assuming you can float it over what's there.

What tools do I need for a basic DIY flooring install?

It varies by material, but a tape measure, utility knife, straightedge, spacers, and a rubber mallet cover most click-lock and vinyl installs. Tile and hardwood typically add a wet saw or nailer to that list. Each install guide above lists the exact tool set for that method.

How do I remove a stain without damaging the flooring?

Blot rather than scrub, use the cleaner recommended for that specific flooring type, and test it in an inconspicuous spot first. General-purpose cleaners can dull finishes or discolor grout, so it's worth checking a material-specific guide, like our pet-stain removal post above, before reaching for whatever's under the sink.

How do I test a concrete subfloor for moisture?

The quick screen is a plastic-sheet test: tape a 2-foot square of clear plastic flat to the slab on all four edges, leave it 24 to 72 hours, and look for condensation underneath or a darkened patch of concrete. That tells you moisture is present but not how much. For a glue-down install, or any slab below grade, use a calcium chloride or in-situ relative humidity test and compare the reading to the flooring manufacturer's published limit — that number, not the look of the slab, decides whether you need a moisture barrier.