All About Flooring: Pros, Cons, and Buying Guide

Pacific Northwest homeowners shopping for hardwood, vinyl, or carpet eventually run into the same handful of regional retailers, and All About Flooring is one of the names that keeps showing up in Seattle-area showroom comparisons. Like most regional independents, the value proposition isn’t pure price — big-box stores will always undercut on the lowest-tier SKUs. The case for an independent retailer rests on product depth, install quality, and the kind of service that still exists when something goes wrong six months later. This guide covers what to expect from a regional retailer like All About Flooring, what questions to ask, and how to compare bids fairly against Home Depot, Lowe’s, and the design centers.

Typical Inventory at a Regional Retailer

A regional flooring shop in the Seattle market generally carries these brand lines and product types:

• Engineered hardwood: Mirage, Mannington, Anderson Tuftex, Lauzon, Hallmark, plus white oak and walnut from local mills
• Luxury vinyl plank (LVP): COREtec, Karndean Korlok, Mohawk SolidTech, Shaw Floorte Pro
• Laminate: Mohawk RevWood Premier, Quick-Step, Pergo Outlast+
• Porcelain and ceramic tile: Florida Tile, Daltile, Emser, regional importers like Stone Source
• Wool and synthetic carpet: Karastan, Mohawk SmartStrand, Stainmaster, Shaw Anso, Phenix
• Specialty: cork, bamboo, linoleum, sometimes solid hardwood from local species

The Pacific Northwest has its own preferences — wide-plank engineered white oak with low-sheen finishes, gray-toned LVP, and natural-fiber wool carpet all sell heavily. A regional retailer stocks deeper variety in those categories than a national chain.

Pacific Northwest Climate Considerations

Seattle’s mild, wet climate puts particular demands on flooring choices:

• Humidity swings are smaller than the East Coast or Southwest, but enough that solid hardwood needs proper acclimation
• Wet feet from rain make entryways prone to water damage — LVP or tile beats hardwood in mudrooms
• Heated concrete slabs in many newer builds favor tile or floating LVP over glue-down or nail-down installs
• Older homes often have original fir floors that benefit from refinishing rather than replacement

Good regional retailers know these regional patterns and steer customers toward products that hold up locally. Big-box associates rarely have that context.

Pricing Bands

For a Pacific Northwest homeowner comparing options, expect:

• Big-box (Home Depot, Lowe’s): $1.50-$5 per sq ft on materials. Lower-tier SKUs of major brands.
• Floor & Decor: $2-$8 per sq ft. Wider mid-tier selection at sharp prices.
• Regional retailers (All About Flooring and similar): $4-$14 per sq ft on materials. Mid-to-upper tier selection, premium brands.
• Design centers and showrooms: $9-$30+ per sq ft. Designer collaborations, custom dye runs, exotic species.

Installation runs $2-$8 per sq ft additional depending on type, with hardwood and tile costing more than LVP or laminate.

Why Regional Retailers Win on Installation

Three things separate retailer-managed installs from big-box install programs:

• Installer continuity. A regional retailer typically has 4-10 long-term subcontractor crews — names the salesperson knows personally. Big-box programs rotate crews based on availability and lowest bid.
• Direct accountability. A bad regional install gets fixed by the same retailer that took your check. A bad big-box install gets routed through a third-party install management company.
• Product expertise. A regional installer doing the same brand five times a week handles brand-specific quirks (CoreTec’s expansion gap requirements, Mannington’s glue-down patterns) cleanly. A floating roster of installers may not.

Where Independent Retailers Lose

Three real disadvantages versus big-box:

• Hours. Most regional retailers close by 6 p.m. weekdays and run reduced Saturday hours. Big-box stays open until 9 or 10.
• Stock depth. A 1,500-square-foot tile order may be 2-4 weeks out at a regional retailer if not in stock. Floor & Decor often has it sitting on the floor.
• Online tools. Big-box has visualization apps, online square-footage calculators, and ship-to-home options. Most regional retailers expect you to come in.

What to Bring to Your Visit

A productive first visit takes 30-45 minutes if you bring:

• Room measurements (length, width, square footage)
• Photos of the existing flooring and subfloor
• Cabinet and trim color swatches or photos
• Reference images of the look you want
• Realistic budget range

Bring at least three reference images — one of the floor, one of the room style, one of the colors you like. Salespeople pattern-match on visuals faster than verbal descriptions.

Questions to Ask Before Signing

1. What is the manufacturer’s warranty for this exact SKU and is it residential or commercial rated?
2. How thick is the wear layer (LVP/LVT) or top wear-layer (engineered hardwood)?
3. What does subfloor prep cost if my subfloor needs leveling?
4. Is your install crew W-2 or 1099, and do they carry their own liability insurance?
5. What’s the lead time on this product right now?
6. What’s your policy if material is back-ordered after I sign?
7. Will the salesperson I’m working with handle problems if something goes wrong?

Get answers in writing on the quote, not just verbal commitments at the showroom.

Negotiating Effectively

Independent retailers usually have 10-20 percent of pricing flexibility on materials and 5-15 percent on labor. To activate it:

• Get a competitive quote from Floor & Decor or another regional retailer first
• Ask for the discount on quantity if you’re buying 1,000+ sq ft
• Bundle furniture moving and old-floor removal into the bid rather than negotiating them separately
• Pay by check or ACH instead of credit card — saves them 2-3 percent in processing
• Schedule install 3-4 weeks out instead of demanding next week — gives them scheduling flexibility

Common Pitfalls

Three things go wrong on flooring projects regardless of retailer:

• Underestimating square footage. Always order 10-15 percent over for waste, future repairs, and cuts. Diagonal patterns need 20 percent.
• Skipping subfloor prep. A floor only looks as good as the subfloor it’s installed on. Budget for self-leveling compound if any deviation is more than 1/8 inch over 6 feet.
• Mixing dye lots. Order all flooring at once from a single dye lot. Reorders weeks later may not match exactly, especially on porcelain tile.

Warranty and Post-Sale Service

The most under-appreciated value of a regional retailer is what happens after install. If a plank cups, a grout joint cracks, or carpet seams separate at the 8-month mark, the retailer with the same install crew available can usually have it fixed within a week. Big-box programs route warranty claims through claims departments and routinely take 4-8 weeks to resolve.

Ask specifically: “If something goes wrong six months after install, who do I call and what’s the typical timeline?” The answer is the most honest indicator of post-sale service.

Bottom Line

All About Flooring and similar regional independents make sense for buyers who want premium products, professional install, and a real human being to call when something goes wrong. They cost 10-25 percent more than big-box on equivalent products, and that premium buys real value on bigger projects. For small DIY jobs or commodity flooring, big-box still wins on price and convenience. Get bids from both, compare line-item, and decide based on the project’s complexity rather than just the bottom line.