Fix 5 of 6
New floors over a concrete slab
Most ranch houses were built on a slab, with carpet or vinyl on top. A new floor, run from room to room, does more for the house than almost anything else, and it can be done without moving a wall.
A slab has to be right before anything goes on it. We pull the old floor, grind off the glue, check for cracks and low spots, and level where needed. Cracks get a flexible membrane so they don't show through tile. Then the tile or wood-look plank goes down in one pattern through the rooms, with thresholds and baseboards done to match. Floor tile and vinyl from before the 1980s are tested before they are touched.
What the job includes
Old flooring removed and hauled away
The slab cleaned, ground and leveled
A flexible membrane over cracks
Tile or wood-look plank set in one run
Baseboards, thresholds and door trim fitted
A lab test on old floor tile or glue before it is disturbed
What changes the cost
What moves the cost of a new floor
No figures here: the number comes after the walk-through. These four things decide it.
How flat the slab is
A slab that is flat needs little. One with dips and humps needs leveling compound, and a lot of it adds up.
The material and the pattern
Large tile, small tile, plank, a diagonal pattern: each sets differently and wastes a different amount.
What is coming up
Carpet is quick. Glued vinyl and old tile are slow, and they are tested before they are touched.
Doors, thresholds and baseboards
A new floor is thicker than carpet. Doors are trimmed, thresholds are set and baseboards are redone to suit.
How it goes
How a new floor goes
Typical days, for planning. Your written schedule sets yours.
- 01Days 1 to 3
Step 1: Test and prep
If the old floor needs a test, the lab result comes first. Furniture is moved and the old floor comes up.
- 02Days 3 to 5
Step 2: Level and membrane
The slab is ground, cracks are bridged and low spots are filled.
- 03About a week
Step 3: Set the floor
Tile or plank goes down room by room, working back toward the door so you can still get out.
- 04Days after setting
Step 4: Grout, trim and finish
Grout, sealer, thresholds and baseboards, then the final walk. Furniture goes back after the grout cures.
Questions
Before you pick a fix
Can you tile over my old tile?
Sometimes. If the old tile is sound, flat and tests clear, it can stay. It raises the floor and can leave a step at doors, so we decide at the walk-through.
Will the cracks in my slab come through?
Not if they are dealt with first. A flexible membrane goes over them before the tile, so a small movement in the slab doesn't crack the tile above it.
How soon can we walk on it?
About a day for the tile. Furniture goes back a few days later, once the grout and sealer have cured. Your schedule gives the exact days.
Ready to see your slab?
Text a photo of the floor in the room that bothers you most, and of the one next to it.