“Our knowledge, the time and experience and the fact that we only sell flooring,” Masselink said of making it almost four decades. “We do not sell blinds, drapes or furniture, so we really know our floors inside and out.”

Gallery of Floors was started by Masselink’s parents, Warner and Linda Yaggie.

Warner Yaggie had worked at the Groveland Mine until it shut down in the early 1980s. Yaggie then became interested in flooring after he began working at True Value Hardware.

When the building at 1202 Quinnesec Ave. in Quinnesec became available, Yaggie decided to open his own flooring store.

GALLERY OF FLOORS is at 1202 Quinnesec Ave. in Quinnesec. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

The timing for Yaggie was perfect — with the paper mill being established in Quinnesec, people were moving to the area and buying up and remodeling homes. His first years were busy.

Yaggie ran the Gallery of Floors store mostly on his own, with his wife, Linda, handling the accounting work until Masselink joined him in the business in 1994. Masselink attended Northern Michigan University and had previously managed a Hardee’s restaurant.

Since the Yaggies stepped aside to retire to North Carolina in 2002, Masselink has been managing the store along with one sales associate.

Gallery of Floors sells carpet, sheet vinyl, wood laminate, porcelain tile and luxury vinyl planks, by manufacturers such as Shaw, Dream Weaver, South Wind, Mohawk, Mannington and Paramount.

Masselink said a current trend is customers moving away from soft flooring like carpeting to the current bestseller, the luxury vinyl planking.

Gallery of Floors uses independent contractors for installation. Masselink said they’ve had the same installers for many years and they are some of the best in the area.

Customers looking for new flooring do not have to wait for a big sale at Gallery of Floors, as prices are always competitive, Masselink said, adding the best way to save money is to purchase what is already in stock.

“We always have sale prices on stock, as opposed to special ordering, and then our remnants are marked down even lower than the sale prices on our stock rolls,” Masselink said.

Customers should not, however, look to save money by trying to install flooring themselves, she advised.

“Sometimes people make the mistake of not having a professional installation and that is so important,” Masselink said. “There is such a big difference between a do-it-yourself job and a professionally installed job — plus, you keep all of your warranties for the product.”

Customer will be acknowledged the minute they walk through the door at Gallery of Floors, Masselink said. Either her or her sales associate, Brenda Wheeler, often follow up the in-store visit with a phone call to see if they can help with the customer’s purchasing decision.

“We ask them a lot of questions about what they have for existing and where they want to go with it and we point them in the right direction,” Masselink said. “Many times the installer who goes out to see their house and measure will also have input with their experience, they know which kind of floor will work and which does not.”

Masselink said they don’t try to talk someone out of a certain color or pattern, though sometimes they will recommend against a certain type of flooring because the floor or room may not be suited to that product.

Gallery of Floors stands behind their products.

“Even though we are not the manufacturer and are not responsible for flaws, working with the same vendors and sales people we have a really good backup that way,” Masslink said. “If there is a problem, all they need to do is call and we can reach out to our manufacturer’s representative and get some good results.”

Gallery of Floors will enter its 40th year in a low-key fashion, Masselink said. Masselink will have her daughter design a new display for one of the windows and she plans to add some extra stock to the in-store inventory.

Gallery of Floors is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.