A compelling reason to check for flatness before starting: At this old home, the exterior walls had settled, creating this drastic slope in the wood floor. (All photos courtesy of Roy Reichow)
A recent forum post on woodfloorbusiness.com was a great example of just one of the messy situations you can encounter when doing a remodeling job. It began:
"Okay, here's the situation. 2nd floor living room. Existing flooring is a 2' square ¼" thick plywood tile. The subfloor is a little strange. It is ¾ T&G, then ¾" cementitious, then the ¼" thick plywood tiles. Here's my simple question: can I lay down ¾" hardwood on top of the plywood tiles? Existing floor is in okay shape, no loose or creaking tiles, just visually scratched and beat up."
You can't make this up. But if you've done enough remodeling jobs, you can probably relate; in fact, you can probably offer a few (or more) wacky examples of your own.
You might have even fallen prey to some of the other common traps that lie in wait when tackling a wood flooring job in a remodeling project. Have you ever said some of these things, or heard other contractors say them? "The existing wood floor is OK, so I'm sure this one will be fine." "We don't have to test for moisture, because we're putting in an engineered floor." "It's an old slab, so it's dry by now."
Below are a few of the most common traps wood flooring contractors walk into on a typical remodeling job. Make sure you don't fall victim by making these mistakes on your next remodeling job.
1) Mishandling Existing Floor Coverings
When you begin a remodeling job, you never know what awaits as you peel back the layers. And what you discover can land you in big trouble if you aren't mindful of the proper way to handle those products.
By now, everyone should be well aware of the legalities and health risks involving lead. If you work on a home built before 1978 and disturb more than 6 square feet of "lead-painted" areas, you must be certified to work using lead-safe practices. Although many wood flooring contractors still seem to think this means only paint, the law defines "paint" as "paint or surface coating"—that includes any wood floor finishes and stains, so wood flooring and baseboards are included. If you get caught doing such work without certification, you can be subject to five-digit fines. (See the article "Get the Lead Out" in the August/September 2014 issue for details on this law and how to comply.)
Another health hazard that may lurk on a remodeling job is asbestos. This known carcinogen may be present in old resilient floor coverings, including some vinyl composition tile, vinyl tile and sheet, linoleum tile and sheet, and rubber tile and sheet, as well as their adhesives. If you suspect a product may contain asbestos, don't disturb it, which exposes you to liability. The best option, when possible, is to leave it in place and install over it, since it is a risk only when it becomes airborne. If that isn't an option, ask the homeowners to hire a certified testing firm to test for asbestos. If it tests positive, a professional trained in asbestos remediation will have to remove it.
Speaking of professional remediation, mold is another discovery that is best handled by professionals. While it may present a health hazard, for the wood flooring installer, its presence should be particularly concerning since it indicates a serious moisture problem that must be addressed before any wood flooring work should be considered. In all cases, it's critical for the wood flooring professional to seek out certified testing/remediation companies to take care of the concern before beginning work.
2) Not Using the Appropriate Subfloor
Subfloor prep can be particularly challenging on remodeling jobs. Above: A high spot that turned into squeaky floor when wood flooring was installed over it.
The usual mantra for wood flooring professionals is to make sure your subfloor is clean, flat and dry. On a remodel, those rules still apply, of course, but before you even get there, you must figure out: What lurks underneath that existing floor covering? One contractor tells of a remodeling job where the crew discovered six different types of subfloors just in the area where they needed to install their hardwood flooring. It was a beast of a job, but the contractor had the expertise to make the subflooring consistent and choose a wood floor that would work throughout the entire installation.
How do you even know what your subfloors are on a remodel job? Sure, you can peel back some carpeting in a closet or remove a vent to take a look. But is that particleboard really there throughout the entire area? Are there rooms where they already added onto the house, and the subfloors there are different? Part of the home could have old board subflooring, part could be over a slab … or something else. Now what?
High spots should be marked and addressed so they are within the tolerances of the NWFA Installation Guidelines before wood flooring installation can begin.
Experts emphasize that you need to use the same subfloor over the entire job so that the flooring will perform consistently. Just like you should never mix staples and cleats on a job, you should use the same subflooring. This can mean extensive preparation. You should never add a cementitious subfloor over a plywood floor, so having a consistent subfloor throughout a job may mean adding plywood subflooring over a slab—but what if there isn't room? You might be faced with the customer not being able to install the flooring they want due to height issues with cabinets or doorways.
The potential problems with subfloors are too numerous to list them all, but, in addition to the usual "clean, dry and flat" mantra, here is a checklist of some common concerns on remodeling jobs:
• Are there areas of the subflooring that have water damage, pet stains or other damage? Are the joists under that damage still structurally sound?
• If you add subflooring and new flooring, will it lock in kitchen appliances?
• Are the plywood or other wood subfloors so old and brittle they don't have enough holding capacity left for fasteners?
• Is the slab lightweight concrete and therefore not appropriate for a direct glue-down job?
• Is the floor uneven? It may be flat, but does it have a noticeable slope like the flooring on the first page of this article? Will the customer be OK with the slope? Old homes often settle, especially in exterior walls, so this is a common issue.
As the wood flooring contractor, protect yourself by ensuring there is a clause in the contract excluding major subfloor preparation and making it clear that subfloor work must be assessed after the subflooring is actually exposed.
3) Assuming Environmental Conditions Are OK
Not an uncommon scenario on a remodeling job: This is what happened when the roof was torn off the house before the wood flooring was supposed to be laid. Simply replacing the plywood is the fastest option.
There seems to be a common misconception when remodeling that you don't have to worry about the moisture content of the subfloor or the RH in the home. After all, the home and its subfloor have been there for a while, possibly decades or even longer. But just because the home and its existing flooring have long ago reached equilibrium doesn't mean new flooring will happily adapt. Slabs continue to soak up and release moisture like a sponge. Conditions in basements and crawlspaces change. Remodeling often involves adding substantial moisture to the home with new concrete, new tile, new drywall, new paint and more. Sometimes remodeling can even involve a change in the HVAC, such as going from old radiators to radiant heat. Approach every remodel with the same caution as you would that new home with the 30-day-old slab or the freshly poured basement.
In particular, contractors seem to make the mistake of …
4) Thinking Engineered Flooring is Impervious to Any Conditions
On many remodeling jobs, engineered products are the go-to option, and with good reason—they're more stable than their solid counterparts, making them a good fit for a variety of job sites. They're usually prefinished, meaning they offer an appealing turnaround time, with no potential smells during finish curing. These days there are engineered products in every size, shape, species, color and finish option you can imagine, and there are many high-quality options on the market.
"I would never put them in a state of panic by saying the 'M' [mold] word. I would let them know there are moisture issues that need to be addressed by a professional. Unfortunately people hear 'mold' and automatically think of the deadly 'black mold.'"
—Brett Miller, VP of certification and education, NWFA, Chesterfield, Mo.
The downside is that many retailers and even contractors seem to think these products are impervious to any conditions, and consumers end up with that same impression. This contributes to the burgeoning wood flooring inspection business and creates consumers who feel misled. (For detailed information on some of the problems that can result, and how to prevent them, see the articles "Engineered Enigmas" in the December 2011/January 2012 issue and "Engineered 101" in the February/March 2015 issue.)
Yes, engineered products are more stable, but they aren't impervious to their environment. If the customer is tearing out 1 1⁄2-inch maple strip in their old farmhouse with no humidity control and putting in 6-inch engineered plank, things can go disastrously wrong in a short time.
The key factor: Know the engineered product you are using, the environmental conditions it requires and the environmental conditions that will be in the home. Does the product require acclimation? Some manufacturers explicitly instruct to not open the packaging or acclimate their products in case of problems with the tongue and groove not fitting.
If you know the product will work in that home, consider: Do you have the right adhesive? If nailing down, do you have the right fasteners? Is the slab or wood subfloor acceptable? Sometimes using engineered flooring may require a subfloor change, even when the existing subfloor was fine for the old strip flooring that was nailed down long ago. Make sure you have the holding power or adhesion you need.
Another word of caution: Against all advice, oftentimes the wood flooring is installed long before the other work in the home is completed. This can expose the flooring to extra moisture from other trades and unstable HVAC conditions, including extremely low RH, during construction. It's possible to pull the protective covering off the floor months later and discover it's ruined. If the environmental conditions at the job won't be within the acceptable range for that wood flooring product, don't install it.
"Whether you are a professional or novice, the moment you install that first piece of wood flooring, the job is yours. You are responsible for the success or failure of the installation."
—Roy Reichow, National Wood Floor Consultants, East Bethel, Minn.
5) Trying to Match Existing Flooring
Remodeling projects can often leave you trying to match new flooring to the existing product. Is it possible? Sometimes.
If the existing flooring is prefinished, you may find the exact same product and be able to lace it in. But does the existing product show wear and tear? Has the color changed since installation? Using doorways and areas where the flooring changes direction can be helpful when trying to match up new flooring with existing flooring.
If the existing flooring was site-finished, first you'll need to identify the species, then try to find the same species in the same dimension. Keep in mind that even the same species in the same grade can have variations in the color and grain depending on the manufacturer and where it was harvested. You'll also need to try to match the stain and finish. That's a tall order, even for many pros, so oftentimes sanding and finishing the entire floor is the best option.
Even when the new flooring matches old flooring well, it may have a tighter look than the existing flooring since it is newly installed.
"On a remodel job, there are all kinds of doors that open up. If you're not on top of your game, you can get in the middle and realize you didn't bid enough. Then you have to ask for approval on a change order, and they think you don't know what you are doing."
—Daniel Boone, Daniel Boone WFT Inc., Jacksonville Beach, Fla.
6) Ignoring Code Compliance & Industry Standards
Perhaps you've figured out how you're going to add plywood layers to bring the entire subfloor up to a consistent height before you install the new wood floor. It's a perfect plan—until you realize you'll reduce the height of the doorway so much it will be substandard per your local and state building codes. The same thing can happen to stairwells when you reduce the rise of the first step or make the top step too high.
You can encounter any manner of subfloor when dealing with remodeling projects. Cutting away a portion of this wood flooring where tile was going to be installed revealed the old pine board subfloor that was causing the panelization of the existing flooring during winter months. New subflooring would have to be installed before any new flooring could be installed.
You may also be faced with tricky situations that might tempt you to violate industry standards. For example, as you're adding that plywood subfloor, you see you need to go from ¾-inch plywood in one area to ⅝-inch in another and ½-inch in another … but now you have a subfloor that doesn't meet the flooring manufacturer's directions or the NWFA Installation Guidelines.
Likewise, you can be faced with someone else's subpar work when trying to match existing flooring. What if you are going to lace in flooring and realize the existing flooring is nailed over particleboard (and the homeowner says that flooring is "just fine")? Of course, if you succumb to the pressure to install in a situation you know is contrary to industry standards, you'll be on the hook when the inspector arrives.
7) Not Managing Customer Expectations
Many of these situations can be handled by being proactive about customer expectations. Make sure your contract is flexible based on the problems you might encounter as you peel back the layers, and explain the reasons why your extra steps are necessary. Be thorough in telling the customer why you can or cannot do what they want (or why you can't do what the other contractor—who bid the job much cheaper—said he would do). From color matching to environmental conditions to flooring height differences, if the customer is taken by surprise, you're headed for trouble. Make your life easier and help both of you sleep better at night by handling the job like a pro from start to finish.
Sources for this article included: Daniel Boone, Daniel Boone WFT Inc.; Todd McDonald, Glitsa, div. of Rudd Company; Brett Miller, National Wood Flooring Association; Roy Reichow, National Wood Floor Consultants; and Rusty Swindoll, NWFA.
Flooring as Subflooring
A frequent topic that arises is whether contractors can just install over the existing flooring. Sometimes the answer is obvious: There's spongy vinyl flooring, or you find areas where the existing flooring is already squeaky. Barring that, whether you can install over existing flooring is specific to each job since the subflooring, existing flooring and new flooring are all determining factors.
Some critical questions to ask in those cases are:
• Was the existing flooring installed correctly?
• What is the subfloor under the existing flooring?
• Is the existing flooring well-bonded to the subfloor?
• Will your fasteners have holding power?
• Can your adhesive bond to that substrate? When in doubt, ask the adhesive manufacturer and do a bond test in that area.
• Does the existing flooring have any damaged areas?
If you are uncertain about any aspect of the installation, talk to the manufacturers of the flooring, the fasteners and/or the adhesive company.
Having Compassion for Kicking Them Out
… Or as NWFA's VP of certification and education and longtime contractor Brett Miller more gracefully puts it, "The art of removing homeowners from their home." Are you considerate of how disruptive the work you do is to your customers' lives? "This is an issue we don't recognize often enough," Miller says, adding that contractors should think about these factors (in his words):
• We enter someone's home and ask them to stay away.
• We ask them to trust us in their home, with their keys, while they're away.
• We ask them to trust our crews, even though they have not seen or met them before.
• We require them to move everything out (which can require a portable storage unit, or filling the garage, or hiring professional movers).
• We ask them to board their pets.
• We then violently tear out their existing floor coverings (which may be old nasty carpet, but may still hold memories for the family).
• We remove baseboards (often causing unintentional damage requiring repair or replacement), or damage the drywall corner-bead (requiring drywall repairs).
• We accidentally scuff the paint on their walls or ding their cabinets (requiring repairs or paint touch-up).
• As we leave the front door open while loading material/tools into the home, the dog or cat escapes, or an uninvited animal invites itself in.
• We create dust from the tear-out, installation and/or finishing processes.
"All of this can cause a lot of anxiety with many homeowners and leave them focused or worried about issues other than the new floors they are having you install in their home," he advises.—K.M.W.
All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.
Subfloor prep can be particularly challenging on remodeling jobs. Above: A high spot that turned into squeaky floor when wood flooring was installed over it.
High spots should be marked and addressed so they are within the tolerances of the NWFA Installation Guidelines before wood flooring installation can begin.
Not an uncommon scenario on a remodeling job: This is what happened when the roof was torn off the house before the wood flooring was supposed to be laid. Simply replacing the plywood is the fastest option.
You can encounter any manner of subfloor when dealing with remodeling projects. Cutting away a portion of this wood flooring where tile was going to be installed revealed the old pine board subfloor that was causing the panelization of the existing flooring during winter months. New subflooring would have to be installed before any new flooring could be installed.
