Myths.

What this category is for

A flooring myth is a true sentence that lost its qualifiers. "Waterproof" is true about a vinyl plank core and false about a bathroom floor. "Hardwood adds value" is true in some markets at some price points and fiction as a promise. This category takes the claim apart, keeps the funny part, and puts the missing qualifiers back.

The articles here go longer than the cards on the myth wall. They follow the failure: where the water goes, what swells, which layer moves, and what the installation manual says about it. That is usually more useful than a verdict, because your house has its own version of the problem.

Start with the myth that matches your renovation. If you are tiling a bathroom, read about waterproof claims and cracked tile. If you are buying vinyl, read about wear layers and the word "thick". If you are pulling up carpet, read what might be underneath it.

Browse the other categories: Materials , Jargon , Matchups . The full archive is at the blog index, and the short answers live on the myth wall.