Flooring
Flooring installation, refinishing and subfloor preparation
We install and refinish floors in New York houses and apartments: hardwood, engineered wood, luxury vinyl plank and tile. Before anything is ordered, our project lead checks what is under the current floor, how flat the subfloor is and where the new heights will meet doors, stairs and adjoining rooms.
Scope
What the work can include
Every project is scoped individually. This is what is typically part of the work, not a package.
- Hardwood, engineered wood, luxury vinyl plank and tile installation
- Sanding and refinishing existing hardwood where the boards allow it
- Subfloor repair, new underlayment and leveling to the product's flatness rule
- Removal of old floor layers once older materials have been identified
- Thresholds, reducers and stair nosings planned room by room
- Baseboard and shoe molding reset after the new floor is down
New York homes
What is different here
Several floors stacked in one room
Older New York houses often hide two or three floors in the same room: sheet vinyl over tile, carpet over strip oak, extra plywood under a kitchen. Each layer that stays raises the finished height, and the count is rarely known until a threshold or register is lifted. We open an inconspicuous edge during the site visit, record what we find, and decide with you which layers come out before the product is chosen.
Upper floors over another household
In a two-family house or an apartment, a hard floor above someone else's ceiling carries footfall noise. Many apartment buildings, co-op boards and condominium associations set their own rules on underlayment, coverage and work hours in an alteration agreement. We ask for those building rules at the start and build them into the product choice and the schedule, rather than discovering them when the managing agent reviews the job.
Basements and slabs below grade
A below-grade concrete slab is a different substrate from a wood subfloor upstairs. Solid hardwood rarely suits a below-grade room, so basement rooms usually get tile or a vinyl product rated for that use, installed only over a slab that has been confirmed dry. Where a basement already has old resilient tile glued to the concrete, we treat it as a material to identify before any grinding or covering decision.
Choosing the approach
Refinish, overlay or replace
| Situation | Usual direction | What we check first |
|---|---|---|
| Solid hardwood with worn finish, boards sound | Sand and refinish | Remaining board thickness, old nail or staple repairs, pre-1978 finishes |
| Old resilient tile or sheet flooring | Cover or remove after identification | Lab result for the tile, backing and adhesive |
| Soft, bouncing or sagging areas | Pause the flooring decision | Whether the problem is in the subfloor or in the framing below |
| Concrete slab in a basement | Tile or below-grade-rated vinyl | Dryness of the slab and any history of water |
If joists, beams or other floor framing are sagging or damaged, that is structural work outside our flooring service. When a soft spot turns out to be framing, we stop and recommend an engineer before any finish goes down.
In New York City, DOB treats floor resurfacing as work that needs no permit, though whoever does it still needs a DCWP home improvement license. For the room-to-room height question, see planning floor transitions across several rooms.
Installation planning
Details we settle before installation day
- Expansion gap: floating floors need room to move at walls. One manufacturer specifies at least 3/8 inch and says transition moldings must not pinch the flooring or be fastened through it.
- Cabinets and appliances: whether the floor runs under the cabinets or stops at them changes dishwasher clearance and the kitchen sequence.
- Painted trim in older homes: removing baseboard and undercutting jambs disturbs painted surfaces, so EPA lead-safe rules apply to that step in homes built before 1978.
- Room order: where tile meets wood, we settle the installation sequence and which trade sets the transition strip.
Process
How a project runs
Written scope, written proposal, permits identified up front, and one project lead from start to finish.
Conversation
You describe the home and what you want to change. We ask about budget range and timing so expectations are clear early.
Site visit and scope
We look at the space, the structure of the house and any HOA, co-op or condo rules that apply, then write a scope of work.
Design and selections
Layout, materials and fixtures are agreed in writing before work is priced in full.
Written proposal
A written price and schedule for the agreed scope. Permits and any approvals are identified at this stage.
Build
One project lead coordinates the trades and keeps you updated. Some regulated work may require appropriately licensed specialty contractors.
Walkthrough
We review the finished work with you and resolve anything outstanding.
Design inspiration
Styles and materials to talk through
Questions
Common questions
Do you remove old vinyl or linoleum before installing a new floor?
Will a new floor stop my doors from closing?
How flat does the subfloor need to be?
Can new flooring go straight over an old floor?
Which floors suit an apartment with a downstairs neighbor?
Planning guides
Read before you plan
- Renovating an older home: what to check before you open walls Older houses reward planning. Know what might be behind the plaster, and who is qualified to find out.
- Cosmetic refresh or full renovation? A decision guide Sort your project into surface, systems and layout work, and you'll know how deep it really needs to go.
- Finishing a basement: moisture first, then legal use Two questions decide whether a basement project works: will the space stay dry, and what is it allowed to be used for?
Service areas
Where we work
MMA Construction & Remodeling works in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and Suffolk County.
Start with the room
Planning something else?
Pick a room to see how that project is planned.
Ready to talk about your project?
Call or email us to talk it through and arrange a consultation.