©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Jill Nagy
The Floor Store is back and in a new location after a five-year hiatus.
Owner Paul Mastroieni was working in the financial field after giving up a six-store group of flooring outlets in 2011.
“I hated finance,” he said, and so he is back in his previous business with a store at 7 Kendall Way in Malta, part of the Shops of Malta near Exit 12 of the Northway.
In his return, he is discovering new materials, like vinyl planking that clicks together to form a “floating floor.” It looks like wood but at half the price and it can get wet without harming it, he said. One manufacturer’s representative brought a sample in a jelly jar full of water to demonstrate its water resistance, he recalled. He said, it is indestructible “unless you drag a refrigerator over it.”
The store also sells wood flooring—mainly oak, hickory and maple. There is still a demand for it, even though the price nearly doubled in the five years Mastroieni was away. Not only have prices gone up, he said, they are now quoted at dollars per square foot, not square yard. In addition, he carries carpet and other types of flooring, including vinyl and ceramic.
For now, Mastroieni is manning the shop by himself but he has five installation crews on call and a distributor that can have stock in his store by 7 a.m. if he orders it before 3 p.m. the previous day. He doesn’t have the flooring in stock, but maintains a library of samples for customers to browse through and order from.
Someone looking for carpet, for example, can choose among 10 styles in 60-100 colors.
Most of his customers are homeowners, he said, and the business is seasonal.
Reach The Floor Store by telephone at 289-5076.