Rooms: what each surface has to handle

One row per room and surface: what it must handle (water, falls, sun, pets) and how much care time the household will give it. This is the list every comparison starts from.

Essential on a first pass when you are choosing: it is the list every comparison starts from, and How to compare finishes builds on it. When you are only caring for what is there, it is optional; the Installed register does that job.

Rooms and surfaces

One row per room and surface. Write what the surface has to handle in your own words, then mark the questions that apply. Rows added from your setup can be edited or deleted.

How to use this sheet

• One row per room and surface. A kitchen with a floor, a counter and cabinets is three rows. A whole-house floor can be one row per room, because a basement and a bedroom ask different things of the same floor.
• Write what it must handle in your own words. "A 70 lb dog's claws and water at the sink" says more than "durable". Then mark water, falls, sun and pets.
• Record, do not conclude. Every column here is an observation about the room and the household. Which material answers it best is a decision you make on the Comparison sheet, not here.
• Order the questions. Put the one that would make you regret the choice first; the comparison reads them in that order.