Buying a new floor can be a frustrating and confusing process. Here's a list of things to keep in mind before heading out to purchase your new floor.

1. Take note of the room layout.

- Draw an outline of the room or rooms. Indicate where the entrances are placed.

- Measure the room carefully and accurately with a measuring tape. Write down the width and length of a room. Remember to include closets and other areas that need the new flooring. Smaller print patterns can make the room seem a lot bigger.

- Take into account adjoining rooms and the flooring on those rooms.

- Make a note in which direction the room is facing and if there is a sliding door. Determine how much natural light enters the room. You might want to consider a laminated floor, ceramic tile or porcelain tile.

- Bring along swatches of fabrics from your furniture, curtains and wallpaper. These will help you decide on the color and style of your flooring.

2. Answer these questions to help you out in selecting the right floor for your room:

- How much foot traffic does the room get in any given day? The number of people passing or using the room would indicate the level of wear and tear the room would take. This would help you in deciding the type of flooring to get. A room with a high volume of traffic needs more durable flooring.

- What is the main function of the room? A room used mainly for leisurely activities will have less wear and tear. Delicate flooring materials can be chosen in this case.

- How many pets do you have? Pets tend to abuse the surroundings they are in, floorings maybe damage from scratching.

- How many kids do you have in the house? All the roughhousing and playing that the kids do tend to abuse the flooring. The more kids you have in the house, the more abuse your flooring will get.

- What color do you want? Remember that lighter colors make rooms seem bigger.

- How long do you want the flooring to last? We would of course like the flooring to last forever but wear and tear damages the flooring.

Eventually, it will need to be replaced or you may want to simply change the look of the room after a certain period of time.

3. How much is the flooring going to cost?

- Are the subfloor preparation part of the quoted price?

- Is the quoted price inclusive of the installation or is that a separate fee? This is a budgeting concern, you would want to know the actual amount youre going to spend.

- Is the removal of pre-existing flooring included in the quoted price.

- Is the quoted price inclusive of the moving of all appliances and furniture in the room.

- Are all the necessary materials included in the quoted price? You wouldnt want to find out during the installation that some materials are not included and that you still need to purchase more materials. That could be extremely annoying and frustrating.

4. Questions to ask the installers and the store:

- Are the installers independent, or are they store employees?

- Whose insurance will pay for installation errors?

- Are all of the materials recommended by the manufacturer so warranty will not be voided?

- Discuss with the salesperson the warranty information of the manufacturer. Keep a copy of the warranty.

- Discuss the maintenance procedure and keep a copy of the manual or brochure.

- Have everything documented including the diagram of the installation. Also, the amount of flooring needed in the room

- Ask who will be responsible for the removal of fixed features in the room, e.g. toilet.

- Always check the website of the store, if any, to give you an idea of the store. Take note of the affiliations to groups or other organizations.

It would be best to email the store in advance to have some questions answered before going there. It saves a lot of time.

- Have all the product information documented. The document should include the name of the manufacturer, product name, color, style and the installation procedure.