Our Flooring Work in New York

Finished Floors in New York Homes

These photos are from carpet installation jobs. Carpet looks simple, but it shows every shortcut: wavy seams, loose edges and stair treads that don’t line up. Next to each photo is how that kind of job is done.

Hallway carpet

Long hallways are all about straight lines. We snap a line down the center and run the carpet in one length wherever the roll allows, so there are no cross seams in the walkway. New tack strip goes along both walls, and the carpet is power-stretched from end to end so it stays flat under heavy foot traffic.

At doorways we fit metal or wood transitions so the edge cannot fray or catch a toe. The edges along the baseboards are tucked tight and trimmed clean.

Stair carpet

Stairs take the most time per square foot of any carpet job. Every tread and riser gets its own pad and tack strip, and the carpet is wrapped over the nose of each step so it holds tight. Winder steps, like the pie-shaped ones in this photo, are templated one at a time.

We keep the weave running the same direction from the bottom step to the landing, so the staircase reads as one clean run instead of a patchwork.

Room carpet replacement

For a full room, the old carpet, pad and staples come out first, and we check the subfloor for squeaks while it is open. Patterned loop carpet like this one has to be matched at every seam, so we plan the layout to keep seams out of the middle of the room and away from the windows where light shows them.

Last, we vacuum the new carpet, trim the doorways and haul away the old roll.

How Other Flooring Jobs Are Done

Not every job makes it into a photo, but the same care goes into everything we put down. A quick look at the main steps:

Hardwood floors

Boxes of wood sit in the room to adjust to the air. We check moisture in the boards and subfloor, roll out a vapor retarder, and start from a straight line along the longest wall. Boards are racked out from several boxes so color and length mix naturally, then nailed every few inches along the tongue.

Tile installation

The base has to be stiff and flat, so we add backer board or a membrane over the subfloor. We dry-lay a row to plan the cuts, mix thinset in small batches and back-butter larger tiles. After the thinset cures we grout, clean the haze and seal the grout if the tile calls for it.

Vinyl and waterproof flooring

Thin floors show every bump, so most of the work is leveling: patching dips, grinding ridges and vacuuming twice. The planks click together row by row with staggered ends, and in kitchens and bathrooms we seal the edges so water stays on top.