Flooring & Tile

Overview

Large-format tile is unforgiving. A slab that is out of level by a few millimeters over three meters is invisible under carpet and glaringly obvious under 1200mm porcelain, where every lipped edge catches the light down the length of a room. Most bad tile floors are not bad tiling — they are good tiling laid over a floor nobody bothered to flatten first.

So the work happens before the first tile goes down: surveying the slab, self-leveling where required, choosing the right uncoupling or acoustic membrane for the assembly, and setting out so the cuts land where they are least visible rather than in the middle of the doorway you walk through every day.

Choosing a floor for the Florida climate

Humidity and slab moisture rule out more products than people expect. Solid hardwood over a concrete slab in this region is a risk unless the moisture content is measured and managed. Engineered wood handles it far better. Porcelain handles it perfectly and now imitates almost anything convincingly. We measure slab moisture before recommending anything — it is a test that takes a day or two and prevents a very expensive failure. More on choosing here.

Flooring in a condo: the rule nobody reads

Almost every high-rise in South Florida requires a minimum sound rating for hard flooring, specified as STC and IIC values, and requires the assembly to be approved before installation. Laying tile without the correct underlayment is one of the few things that will get a floor ordered out after it has been installed. We specify a compliant assembly and submit it with the approval package.