Prep: The Make or Break Below the Surface
Customers are always willing to spend money on the gorgeous new hardwood, the luxurious vinyl plank, and the modern porcelain tile. They are less inclined to want to spend the money on what needs to be done below the surface to ensure a successful installation. We get it – buying a new car is much more fun than paying for its maintenance. However, that car won’t perform very well on bald tires with sludge for oil. Flooring is similar; the best-looking floor will still perform terribly over a poor substrate. Our goal is to provide a beautiful floor that will last for years.
The Enemy Underneath
The two primary enemies of a successful flooring installation are uneven substrates and moisture. The challenge with both scenarios is that they can be extremely difficult to identify in a residential setting. Until the existing flooring is removed upon starting a new installation, it's not possible to be certain of the substate's condition.
Within the Scope
As such, all our proposals include a reasonable amount of preparation expense to create an adequate substrate for the new flooring based on the assumption that the existing substrate is flat and without moisture concerns. This includes filling expansion joints, feather patching minor imperfections, and buffing plywood seams as needed. This does not include moisture barriers if a moisture issue is revealed or grinding or self-leveling to address out of level substrates. We are primarily going to focus on flatness in this article, because moisture problems residentially are quite uncommon.
Who is to Blame?
What is the main culprit of additional preparation expenses outside the initial scope? That’s easy – hard surface flooring over concrete, which are typically basements. Some basement concrete is excellent; most is more resemblant of a wave pool. Until existing carpet is removed, the condition of the concrete can't be known. The general industry requirement for substrate flatness is 3/16” of an inch in 10’. That means in a 10-foot length the flooring manufacturers want less than a ¼” of deviation in the substrate. That is flat!
What is the Big Deal?
What is the problem with having an uneven substrate, you may ask. Well, floating floors with locking systems can be particularly problematic. Low areas in the substrate can create a bouncy, trampoline feeling when walked across. Even more severe, humps in the concrete can sometimes stress the locking joints enough to disengage or break the joint. Low areas beneath tile installations can create hollow spots presenting an opportunity for the tile to crack when loaded. Hardwood can also experience deflection and ledging between boards when traversing an uneven substrate. The most resilient flooring to install over wavy concrete is glue down luxury vinyl plank. Though the floor may still not be flat, the flexible nature of the glue down LVP allows it to conform to the substrate without much compromise in its performance.
Outside the Scope
The remedy for bad concrete nine times out of ten is self-leveling underlayment. This is a pourable concrete that gets mixed on site and then poured and spread in all the low spots. The severity of the existing substrate and budgetary limitations will determine the level of flatness that we achieve, but the minimum requirement is a standard that will ensure the flooring won’t fail. The combined cost of material and labor for one bag of self-leveler is roughly $100 at the time of writing this. When additional preparation is needed, usually between three and twenty bags are used. The math on 20 bags comes out to around $2k, which is why we want to inform our customers of this possibility. If you would like to learn more about what your job may require ensuring a successful installation, please contact our sales team at 719-633-7724. We believe in educating our customers so there are no surprises, just beautiful, long-lasting floors.