Flooring Guides & Tips
Straight answers on choosing, comparing, and budgeting for new floors in North Carolina's climate — written by the Angier team that has been installing them since 1973.
Cost & Planning
Cost & PlanningPulling up carpet and putting down hardwood sounds simple. The decisions that shape the result are the stairs, how the new wood meets the old, and what happens at every doorway. Here is how to plan it.
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Cost & PlanningTwo homes can buy the same luxury vinyl plank and end up with floors that look very different. The difference is preparation, layout and trim. What happens before, during and after an LVP install.
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Cost & PlanningUsually not. A home warranty, homeowners insurance, the manufacturer's warranty and your installer's guarantee each cover different things. Here is which one to call for which problem.
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Cost & PlanningA floor that gives underfoot is a subfloor problem, not a flooring problem. What causes soft spots, how a proper repair is done, and when it needs more than a new sheet of plywood.
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Cost & PlanningTwo engineered oak floors that look alike can be far apart in price. The wear layer, core, species, width and installation method decide the number, and some of them decide how long the floor lasts.
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Cost & PlanningCupped boards, dark stains and soft spots each tell you something different. How to read water damage in a hardwood floor, why drying comes first, and when a repair is enough.
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Cost & PlanningMost flooring failures are installation failures. Who actually does the work, what a proper in-home consultation covers, and the questions that separate a good installer from a cheap one.
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Cost & PlanningCarpet rarely wears through. It mats, fades, smells or ripples, and each of those has a different answer. Here is how to tell when a carpet is done, what replacing it costs, and where the money in the quote goes.
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Cost & PlanningMost flooring warranties are two separate promises from two different companies, and the exclusions are where the real information is. How to read one before you buy.
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Cost & PlanningLaying the floor is rarely the long part. What really sets the schedule, why NC humidity extends some of it, and how to plan around living in the house.
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Cost & PlanningJuggling separate crews for design, demolition, and installation costs you time, money, and peace of mind. Here is how a turnkey flooring and remodeling contractor simplifies the whole project.
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Cost & PlanningNew floors and a remodel go hand in hand. Here is how to plan a whole-room refresh so the flooring and the rest of the work come together in the right order.
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Cost & PlanningFrom material choice to subfloor prep, several factors shape your flooring project budget. Here is what to plan for in central North Carolina.
Read the guide →Remodeling
RemodelingCracked tiles, crumbling grout or just a dated look. What it takes to remove an old tile floor, what we often find underneath, and how to make sure the new one does not crack the same way.
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RemodelingFloors or cabinets first? Keep the cabinets or replace them? The order of a kitchen remodel decides how it looks in ten years, and a few early choices are hard to undo.
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RemodelingReplacing an unused tub with a walk-in shower is the most common bathroom remodel we do in Johnston County. What the job involves, the choices you make, and where it can go wrong.
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RemodelingRemodel quotes in Johnston County range so widely that the number alone tells you nothing. Here is what a kitchen and a bathroom remodel are made of, what moves each line, and how a turnkey contractor changes the total.
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RemodelingFrom layout and cabinets to countertops and flooring, here is how a turnkey kitchen remodel comes together in the Angier and Raleigh area — and what to plan for before you start.
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RemodelingWaterproofing, tile, fixtures, and flooring all have to come together in the right order. Here is what a bathroom remodel looks like start to finish in central North Carolina.
Read the guide →Comparison
ComparisonLVT gives you the look of stone or ceramic tile on a waterproof vinyl floor that is warmer, quieter and quicker to install. Where it makes sense, where real tile is still better, and what to look for.
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ComparisonMohawk sells carpet in three main fibers, and the fiber decides how it handles stains, pets and traffic. How to choose, and what the warranty asks of the pad and installation.
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ComparisonMohawk sells waterproof floors in three different constructions. How SolidTech vinyl, PureTech and RevWood laminate differ, and which rooms each one suits.
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ComparisonFour floors are sold as waterproof, and they are not the same. How SPC, WPC, waterproof laminate and porcelain compare for kitchens, baths and open main levels.
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ComparisonTwo luxury vinyl planks can look identical and behave completely differently, because the core underneath the print is not the same. Here is what SPC and WPC actually are, and which one suits each room and subfloor.
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ComparisonCentral North Carolina's humidity decides more about a hardwood floor than the species does. Here is how solid and engineered differ, which suits which house, and what an honest installation quote contains.
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ComparisonRefinishing costs a fraction of replacing, and it is the right answer far more often than people expect. Five checks that tell you which one you are looking at.
Read the guide → ComparisonBoth are beautiful, but they handle North Carolina's humidity very differently. Here is how hardwood and luxury vinyl plank compare so you can choose the right floor for each room.
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ComparisonWaterproofing and humidity make all the difference in central NC. Here is how luxury vinyl plank and laminate compare so you can choose with confidence.
Read the guide →Buying Guide
Buying GuideOne floor from the front door to the back of the kitchen looks great, but it asks more of the product and the installation. What works across an open plan, and what to plan for.
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Buying GuideFrom the measure and seam plan to the power stretcher and the first vacuum. What a proper carpet installation looks like, and what to ask before you book one.
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Buying GuideLaminate is a great floor in the right house. How Raleigh slabs, condos and older ranches compare with Lillington crawlspaces, and what that means for laminate.
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Buying GuideWear layer, rigid core, and what is under the old floor. How to choose luxury vinyl plank that suits a Sanford house, whether it was built in 1940 or 2020.
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Buying GuideA full refinish is the one chance to change color and sheen. How wood species, stain, finish type and gloss level decide how your floor looks for the next decade.
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Buying GuideSlab or crawlspace, condo or house, pets or not. How Raleigh homeowners should choose luxury vinyl plank, and what waterproof flooring does and does not protect.
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Buying GuideBuilder hardwood that stops at the family room, original oak under old carpet, and crawlspaces that decide everything. A practical guide to hardwood in Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs.
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Buying GuidePorcelain or ceramic, large-format or plank, and which grout. The specifications that decide whether a tile floor still looks right in fifteen years.
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Buying GuideWear layer, core type, texture and pad are what separate premium luxury vinyl plank from builder-grade. How to read the spec sheet and compare quotes honestly.
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Buying GuideUpstairs carpet, main-level oak, tile baths and a patchwork of transitions. What Apex homeowners replace, refinish or repair, room by room.
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Buying GuideLaminate is the floor people dismiss because of what it was twenty years ago. Modern laminate has a harder wear surface than vinyl and a better look for the money. Here is how to read the specification and where it belongs in a humid NC house.
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Buying GuideToy cars, juice, crayons, wet swimsuits and a nursery that gets cleaned every day. Here is which floors survive a house with children, room by room, and which specifications make the difference.
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Buying GuideSoftness in the showroom tells you almost nothing about how carpet wears. Density, twist and the pad do — here is how to read a sample properly.
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Buying GuidePets damage a floor three separate ways, and the product that beats one of them often loses to another. Scratches, accidents and odor, sorted honestly.
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Buying GuideMost hardwood damage is not wear. It is cleaning. The products that dull a finish, the routine that keeps it, and what our humidity does in between.
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Buying GuideThe pattern changes the cost, the waste and how big the room feels — often more than the tile does. Nine layouts, and where each one belongs.
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Buying GuideWrinkles across a carpet almost never mean the carpet is finished. Usually it means it was never stretched properly, and stretching it costs a fraction of replacement.
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Buying GuideMohawk makes carpet, luxury vinyl, laminate and hardwood, and the range names tell you very little. Here is what actually separates the tiers, in plain terms.
Read the guide → Buying GuideRefinishing costs a fraction of replacement and keeps the floor you already own. What the process involves, how humidity here changes the schedule, and when a recoat is enough.
Read the guide → Buying GuideTile fails at the substrate and the joints, almost never in the middle of a tile. What proper preparation involves and the questions that tell you a quote is honest.
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Buying GuideBuilder-grade flooring is chosen on price, not on how you live. What is worth upgrading before you move in, and what is cheaper to change later.
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Buying GuideCommercial floors get judged on downtime and lifecycle cost, not on how they look opening day. What changes versus a residential job, and what actually holds up.
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Buying GuideWillow Spring runs from established properties on acreage to newer subdivisions. What that means for flooring choices, subfloors, and what actually lasts here.
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Buying GuideWaterproof, water-resistant, and waterproof core mean different things. What each one actually protects against in a North Carolina home, room by room.
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Buying GuideHumidity is the deciding factor for many NC floors. Here is how hardwood, engineered wood, tile, and LVP stack up in a warm, damp climate.
Read the guide →From our Angier showroom to your living room, APW makes new floors effortless. Browse the top brands we carry, get a free in-home or in-store design consultation, and let our background-checked, trained installation professionals handle every detail — backed by 0% financing and a 100% product & labor guarantee.
