Tile, luxury vinyl plank, laminate, and hardwood. Most flooring failures aren't the flooring — they're what's underneath it, which is the part nobody sees and the part we don't skip.
Get a Free EstimateWhen tile cracks along a grout line, when planks separate at the seams, when a floor sounds hollow underfoot — the cause is almost always beneath the surface. Deflection in the subfloor, inadequate leveling, or a missing underlayment will destroy an expensive floor installed over it.
So that's where the work starts. We check the substrate for flatness and movement, level what needs leveling, and use the right underlayment for the material going down. On tile in particular, uncoupling membrane over a slab that may move seasonally is cheap insurance against a crack telegraphing straight through your new floor.
The default recommendation for most of the houses we work in, and for good reason: it's genuinely waterproof, it handles temperature swings well, it's comfortable underfoot, and it takes abuse from pets and grandkids without complaint. Quality varies enormously by wear-layer thickness — the cheap stuff scratches and looks it. Buy the better tier.
The most durable option and the right answer for bathrooms, entries, and anywhere water lives. It's also cold, hard, and unforgiving of dropped glassware. Large-format tile looks superb but demands a flatter substrate than smaller tile — a floor that's fine for 12" tile may need leveling before 24" planks will lie flat.
Unmatched character and it can be refinished decades later, which no other option offers. It moves with humidity, so it needs proper acclimation before installation and expansion gaps at the perimeter. Engineered hardwood is more dimensionally stable than solid and is often the smarter choice here.
Budget-friendly and visually convincing now, but water is its weakness — a dishwasher leak can swell the core permanently. Fine for bedrooms and living areas; we'd steer you away from it in kitchens and baths.
Transitions and thresholds matter more than people think. Where new flooring meets tile, carpet, or a doorway to another room, the detail either looks deliberate or looks like an afterthought. The same goes for how flooring meets the toilet flange, the fireplace hearth, and the bottom of door casings — casings should be undercut and the flooring slid beneath, not caulked awkwardly around. These small things are most of what separates a professional installation from a weekend one.
Sometimes, but it's usually a false economy. Going over existing flooring raises the floor height, which creates problems at doors, appliances, and transitions — and it hides whatever condition the substrate is actually in. Where the existing floor is sound, flat, and well-bonded it can work. We'll tell you honestly which case you're in rather than take the shortcut and hand you the consequences.
Plan on roughly 10% over the measured square footage for waste, more for diagonal layouts or rooms with lots of cuts. It's also worth keeping a box or two after the job — if a plank is ever damaged, matching a discontinued run later is often impossible.
We handle moving furniture within the house as part of the job. What helps enormously is if you clear the small stuff first — closets emptied, breakables and electronics packed away, and anything irreplaceable moved yourself. Tell us at the estimate if there are heavy or delicate pieces (a piano, a large aquarium, a gun safe) so we can plan for them.
Vinyl plank and laminate are walkable immediately. Tile needs the mortar to set before traffic and the grout to cure before heavy use — typically a couple of days for the room to be fully back in service. Hardwood depends on the finish. We'll give you specific timing for your material.
Tell us the rooms and roughly the square footage and we'll come measure properly. Free estimates across Kerrville and the Hill Country.