How Should I Prepare for Flooring Installation?
Planning for a flooring project can feel hectic, but we are here to tell you steps to take to insure a proper installation can happen, and your investment will last for years to come.
Floor preparation can differ between projects, but all of it boils down to the same steps once you have your “clean slate” to start installation. Our in-house installers typically handle everything from furniture moving to demolition of old flooring if the project space is lived in. We usually have clients move small items like shoes from closets, picture frames from tables, trinkets from china cabinets, and items that could fall while moving and shifting furniture around. If you are hiring an installer you will want to ask them if they can handle moving furniture for you, or if you need to hire a 3rd party to do those things. Do not wait until last minute to mention these things or your installation date could be pushed off! Typically, in a new construction home there would not be much to move, unless other materials are on the site. Most workers do not like to handle materials that belong to another crew, so if you have a covered porch, or garage those items could be stored in, it would be best to go ahead and have those things out of the way for the installer.
Remodel and lived in floor preparation Reccommendations
As mentioned above, you always want to be clear about the scope of your project with the installer you have hired to understand what expectations they have for you. Of course, it is easiest with no furniture and items in the areas of install, but it’s not impossible to work if there is. To ease your headache of completely removing everything from the home, most of the time, you will be able to shift the furniture.. This way the installer can work his way from one side of the room to another. If you have floor that needs to be taken up before install, these requirements could change. For instance, carpet can be cut into strips, so it is still likely you could shift furniture from one side to another. Same with a floating floor or laminate. Hardwood demolition could make this a little trickier since a crow bar is typically used to remove it. You wouldn’t want to have your new flooring installed up to the old and then it accidentally get damaged as they continue to demo. This would be an instance you may want to move all the furniture from one room to another and have the flooring installed in “phases”, or room by room. What will typically happen for these instances would be furniture will just be moved from one room to another, then once the new flooring is installed, the furniture will be moved back into its place on the new flooring.
Do not think just because the old flooring is up, you can start installing the new flooring right away! There are steps to take before every install once you are finally at the “clean slate” phase, which is when you are ALMOST ready to install!
Clean slate, New construction flooring preparation
Now that we can see subfloor, we are ready to truly prep for the installation of your new flooring! No matter if you are doing sheet vinyl, luxury vinyl plank, laminate, hardwood, or engineered hardwood you want your subfloor to be completely clean and free of all debris! It is good to sweep up all of the dust, then after it is swept, hit it with a shop vac all throughout the install areas. If it seems that there are bumpy areas of leftover glue, staples, or drywall, go through it with a floor scraper. If any debris is left under the flooring you will either feel it, it will cause movement, or it will damage the integrity of the flooring itself.
Another thing you may want to check for is wavy or uneven areas in the subfloor. If it seems the joints are not even you will want to sand those down, and possibly feather finish or level any wavy areas. If you lay flooring over a subfloor that is not level you may feel movement, or hear popping and squeaking. Typically anything 1/8” or smaller is not noticeable, but anything else you may want to check further into.
Floor Prep steps:
Now that we have touched base on all the steps for floor preparation, lets recap!
Step one: floor demolition
Move furniture and items out of the way and remove the old flooring completely from the project space
Step two: clean slate
Sweep, scrape, and vacuum with a shop vac to remove any and all debris from the install areas. Be sure to get up against the walls and everywhere the flooring is to be installed! You do not want to leave any debris at all on the subfloor when installing new floor
Step Three: Level the area
Now that we have a clean slate we can see how off level anything is, or any high joints. Use a palm sander or commercial grade sander to sand down any joints that are not even. If you have any waves in the subfloor or slopes larger than 1/8”, use a feather finish or self leveling agent to bring your subfloor to level. Repeat step two.
Once you have performed all of these steps you are ready to install your new flooring!