The flooring industry in Canada has taken quite a hit throughout the pandemic due to the cost of plywood tripling. The strange thing is that the cost of engineered hardwood hasn’t gone up, even though it’s made from plywood. Another thing is the supply companies, like the one in Montreal, they are working around the clock because they’re so back-logged.
If you can, I would suggest waiting to get flooring done. When I first started in trades , I wasn’t allowed to lay flooring for three years. Right now, everyone is doing it. With gold rushes and booms in the industry, some people that are installing know nothing about moisture, how to lay the flooring, and they can damage the floor on you.
It’s really busy. Every floor layer I know is working around the clock to try to make as much money as possible, but we’re all burnt out, believe it or not.
When it comes to exterior tiles and having tile on your patio or on an exterior part of your property, there is one thing I will tell you. That is, tile can be outside on a pool, but it cannot be outside on a deck. It’s so slippery it’s not even funny, and it will pop. For safety reasons, I would never put tile out on a patio. It would be like putting an ice rink on your deck. It’s slippery when it’s wet, especially under snow. If you’ve ever walked on tile that’s under snow, your feet shoot out from under you.
The industry is crazy right now, and I say buyer beware now, to be honest. A lot of people are pushing stuff that they can install so they don’t need to hire a floor layer. Most floor layers, they don’t care what you get because we can install anything. It’s all the same money usually. When someone is telling you to get a certain thing, be leary of who’s telling you what to get and why. There is a huge mark-up on vinyl, so there’s a lot of money that can be made there, and contractors are pushing it more right now. Good reasons for a contractor to show you different styles include colour and your needs, and not just showing you what everyone else has.
My golden rule is: make sure they love the floor, not don’t like it, but you’ve got to love it. If they just like it and didn’t wait, every six months they’re going to hate that floor a little more. Let the people pick what they love for their flooring.
