Honest comparison · written 2026-05
Floor & Decor vs TQF.
Where each one wins.
We're TQF — a 30-year family-owned hardwood distributor with two Chicagoland warehouses. Floor & Decor is a 240-store national chain. There's no honest universe where we beat them on parking-lot scale or commodity LVT. There's also no honest universe where their sales floor matches a 30-year specialty distributor on white oak spec depth or contractor service. Here's the line-by-line.
Line by line
| Category | Floor & Decor | Top Quality Flooring |
|---|---|---|
Catalog depth Tie / depends | Massive — 1,000s of SKUs across flooring categories (LVT, ceramic, hardwood). Hardwood is one aisle. | 1,283 hardwood SKUs from twenty premium brands (Kährs, Mannington, Mirage, DuChateau, Lauzon, Quick-Step…). All hardwood, all the time. |
Live stock visibility TQF wins | "Same-day pickup" badge per store. Doesn't tell you 12 vs 80 boxes. | Per-showroom box counts on every PDP. "9 boxes Schiller Park, 28 boxes Bridgeview, 40 incoming in 5 days." |
Pricing transparency TQF wins | List price online. Pro discount applied at register (must enroll in Pro Premier). | Retail + trade price toggle on every PDP. Apply once, trade price wires to your login. |
Contractor account approval TQF wins | PRO Premier · 5-7 day approval, ID + business docs uploaded online. | Single-page form · 24-hour approval · personal callback from your rep. |
Sample shipping TQF wins | In-store only. Free pickup, 1 per visit. | Up to 5 samples ship same day, free both ways, anywhere in the US. |
Jobsite delivery TQF wins | Regional DC, 24-72 hours. Truck minimums above $X. | Two Chicagoland warehouses, same-week delivery, no truck minimum for trade accounts. |
Same-day pickup Tie / depends | Big-box parking lot, scan-and-go. | Two showrooms — Schiller Park and Bridgeview — call ahead, we'll pull and stage. |
Hardwood spec expertise TQF wins | Generalist sales staff. Hardwood is one of many categories. | 30 years specialty distribution. Same family, same number, same spec'ing knowledge. |
Price floor on commodity SKUs F&D wins | Hard to beat on entry-level engineered + LVT thanks to volume. | We won't beat F&D on bargain LVT. Mid-tier hardwood and up — comparable, sometimes better. |
Specialty / boutique brands TQF wins | Limited — mostly private-label + national brands. | Authorized for DuChateau, RIVA, Coswick, Lauzon, Carlisle-style premium grades. |
Comparison reflects publicly visible practices as of 2026-05-27. We're happy to update any line we got wrong — drop us a note at [email protected].
When to pick Floor & Decor
- · Mixed-category project (hardwood + tile + LVT in one trip)
- · Entry-level engineered or LVT where price-per-sqft is the only spec that matters
- · Smaller jobs you can stage from a single weekend pickup
- · You want a parking lot, a cart, and to skip the appointment
When to pick TQF
- · Hardwood specifically — engineered, prefinished, unfinished, herringbone
- · You want live stock counts before you commit your week to the job
- · Contractor business — you need net-30, dedicated rep, jobsite delivery
- · Boutique brands (DuChateau, RIVA, Coswick, Lauzon) the chain doesn't carry
- · You're spec'ing for radiant heat, pets, or a 30-year install — the spec details actually matter
Try us
Ship me samples.
No call, no card.
Pick five hardwood samples — we ship them same day, free both ways. Hold them next to the chain's sample in your kitchen light. Decide there.