Flooring · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to flooring
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any flooring contractor in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Estimate request
Which floors, how many rooms, and what is under them?
Straight to us, and a reply the same day.
By Michael Blair, owner, Nashville's Flooring · who we are
Warning signs
How to know you need us
Recognize one? Have it looked at before it grows.
- Carpet matted in the traffic lanes or showing seams
- Hardwood cupping, gapping in winter, or gray where the finish has worn through
- Tile that sounds hollow when tapped, or grout lines cracking in a line
- Vinyl peaking or gapping at the ends of long runs
- Soft or springy spots underfoot, which is a subfloor problem not a flooring one
- A floor covering that stops in the middle of an open plan for no reason
Your options
More than one right answer.
Hardwood, vinyl plank, tile and carpet each suit some rooms and fail in others. We lay out the options for the room you have, not the one in a showroom.
Luxury vinyl plank
Waterproof, dimensionally stable and the practical answer for crawl-space homes, kitchens and houses with dogs.
Engineered hardwood
Real wood wear layer over a stable core. Handles Middle Tennessee humidity swings far better than solid over a crawl space.
Solid hardwood
Sandable many times over and the right answer where there is already original wood worth matching.
Refinish rather than replace
If the existing wood has thickness left, sanding and refinishing costs less than replacement and keeps the original floor.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
Flooring prices hinge on square footage, the material, the tear-out, the stairs and what the subfloor needs, and that last one only shows on a visit.
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Subfloor condition
Flatness tolerances are unforgiving for hardwood and rigid vinyl. Leveling a wavy subfloor is real work and it is invisible when finished.
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Material
Carpet, luxury vinyl plank, engineered hardwood, solid hardwood and tile span a wide range, and installation cost varies as much as the material.
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Removal and disposal
Pulling glued-down vinyl or ceramic tile is far more labor than pulling carpet, and old adhesive can need mitigation.
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Layout and transitions
Stairs, thresholds, fireplace hearths and cased openings are priced individually because each one is hand work.
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Moisture control
Crawl-space homes and slabs may need a vapor barrier or a moisture test before anything is installed, and skipping it voids most warranties.
Estimates are free, written and without obligation. Anything found only after starting is priced up front.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Measure and estimate
Measured on site, with subfloor and moisture checked before a price is given rather than after the old floor comes up.
Acclimation
Wood needs days in the house before it goes down. Skipping this is why floors gap in their first winter.
Removal and prep
Tear-out, leveling and moisture barrier. Usually the noisiest and dustiest phase.
Installation and trim
Install, then shoe molding and transitions, which is the detail that makes it look built-in rather than laid on.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
Shortcuts that cheapen the quote and cost you later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Installing over a subfloor that is out of flat
Every rigid floor telegraphs the deck beneath it. Leveling first is cheaper than replacing later.
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Skipping acclimation
Wood delivered and installed the same day will move once the house gets hold of it.
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No expansion gap
A floating floor needs room at the perimeter. Trapped against the wall it peaks in the middle of the room.
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Ignoring a moisture reading
A slab or crawl that tests wet will destroy the floor and void the warranty, and it costs nothing to check first.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any flooring contractor.
Including us. If a flooring contractor cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Will you test the subfloor and the slab for moisture first?
Floors fail from underneath. An installer who skips the meter is the one back in a year explaining the cupping.
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Is the subfloor repair on the estimate, or a surprise?
A per-sheet price for soft subfloor and a flattening allowance for the slab belong on the quote before the first box is opened.
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Does the product suit this house — crawl space, slab, pets, humidity?
Solid hardwood over a damp crawl and site-finished wood on a wet slab both fail. The honest answer sometimes changes the product.
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Does the price include tear-out, disposal, transitions and trim?
Everything from the old floor going out to the last piece of quarter round, itemized. The bare square-foot price is half the job.
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Who installs — your crew or a subcontractor — and who carries the insurance?
Either can be fine; you should know which, and the liability certificate should cover whoever is in your house.
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What is the workmanship warranty, separate from the manufacturer’s?
The manufacturer covers the product; the installer covers the install, in writing. Gaps, squeaks and lifted planks are the install.
FAQ
Choosing a flooring contractor in Nashville
How do I choose a flooring contractor in Nashville?
Our flooring crews carry liability insurance on file with us, and the installers doing hardwood and tile have done it in this region’s crawl spaces and slabs on jobs we know. Ask the six questions below of anyone, including us.
Should I get more than one quote for flooring?
Yes — and compare the scope, not the total. Flooring in Nashville is priced by the square foot for material and installation, plus the tear-out, the subfloor repair and the transitions — the three lines that vary most from house to house.
Is the cheapest flooring quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically; a low number is information. It cups and it does not come back; the reading decides the product, not the other way round.
Do I need a permit for flooring in Nashville?
Flooring needs no permit from Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties; a tile shower does when the plumbing moves, and a good installer knows which side of that line the job is on.
How far in advance should I book flooring?
Material for a Nashville floor is usually on site within a week or two of the order; the installation itself is one to three days for most rooms, and the schedule is in the quote.
Free estimate
Thinking about new floors? Start with a measure
Tell Nashville's Flooring the rooms and the floor you are leaning toward, and a written estimate, tear-out included, comes back at no cost and without any obligation.