Floor removal & demo in Terrell, TX

Pull a corner and look at the board thickness first. Solid boards from the 1880s to 1920s usually have plenty of material left and refinish beautifully. Replacement only makes sense if the boards are cupped past sanding, water-damaged near the exterior walls, or if too many are missing from old plumbing runs. We'll tell you honestly which you're looking at before you spend anything.

To a point, and we're straight about the limit. On a pier-and-beam house we can shim and sister joists, re-deck bad sections and bring the surface flat enough for plank or tile to sit right. What we can't do is correct a foundation that is still moving, that's a foundation contractor's job, and doing the floor first just means doing it twice.

Once the slab is dry enough to test clean, which we check rather than guess at. New Terrell slabs can still be giving off moisture months after pour, and that's what ruins a glue-down. Floating LVP is more forgiving and can often go in sooner. Estimates are free, we bring samples out, and we can usually start within about two days of you deciding.

Occasionally. A floating floor can go over sound, fully bonded tile in some situations. What stops it more often is height. Every inch you add changes door swings, thresholds, the transition into adjoining rooms, the clearance under a dishwasher and the fit of a refrigerator into its opening. You also inherit whatever is wrong with the old floor, flatness and cracks included.

With containment set up properly, most families stay. We build plastic barriers at the openings, seal the registers and returns in the work zone so nothing travels through the ductwork, and grind with vacuum attached at the tool. Expect noise, and expect the work zone off limits during the day. Demolition done without any of that is what people mean when the dust never seems to end.

It might be, and it should be tested rather than guessed at. Nine-inch tile and black cutback adhesive were both common then, and either can contain asbestos. Intact and covered, they are not a hazard. The risk comes from grinding or sanding them dry. We sample and test before anything is disturbed, and a positive result goes to a licensed abatement firm before we return to prep and install.