Make informed flooring decisions: with sources, not sales pitches.
Flooring Institute is an independent, vendor-neutral resource for every hard-surface floor: built for the homeowner choosing one and the professional recommending one. Every guide is written to a public editorial standard (plain-language, primary-sourced, and dated), so you can see when it was last checked.
Flooring Institute is an independent educational resource dedicated to helping consumers and flooring professionals make informed flooring decisions.
For homeowners
Understand your options, costs, and trade-offs before you walk into a showroom (no jargon, no upsell).
For professionals
A neutral reference to point clients to, plus standards, grades, and specs explained and sourced.
The Flooring Glossary
255 plain-language, primary-sourced definitions: from wear layer, SPC and CARB2 to 41 wood species with their Janka hardness, official botanical names, and the trade names they’re really sold under.
- Every material, standard, and species, all cross-referenced
- Sourced to NWFA, NHLA, CARB, ANSI, NALFA and more
- A–Z jump navigation and an instant filter
Guides & explainers
40 guides across materials, rooms, installation, care and cost (plain-language, answer-first, and sourced to the bodies that set the standards).
Start here: How to choose a floor →
Flooring 101
The vocabulary, materials and trade-offs (wear layers, WPC vs SPC, veneers, grades) without the jargon.
Compare the four materials →Choosing a Floor
Decision guides by room, moisture, budget, pets and traffic: built around real criteria, not brands.
Read the guide →Standards & Certifications
What CARB2, FloorScore, GREENGUARD, NALFA and ANSI actually test, and what each one does not cover.
Read the guide →Care & Installation
Subfloor prep, moisture, acclimation and everyday care: what professionals actually check first.
Start with care & cleaning →Flooring & Waste-Factor Calculator
Add up your rooms, pick a waste factor, and see how much flooring (and how many boxes) to order. Free, no email required.
Try the calculator →Why you can trust this
An educational resource is only as good as its independence. Ours is written down and public, not a slogan:
- We sell no flooring and name no favourite brand. No one can buy a recommendation or a better review. Any future advertising or affiliate links are clearly labelled and walled off from our guidance.
- Every technical claim is sourced to the standards body that owns it, and carries a “last verified” date.
- We serve both sides of the decision: homeowners choosing a floor and the professionals guiding them, across the US and Canada.
Flooring Institute is an independent educational resource. We are not affiliated with the NWFA, NFCA, RFCI, or any manufacturer, and we are not a certification or standards body. We explain theirs.