Flooring installation in Albion, Maple Ridge

Basement suites sit on concrete

Many detached houses in Albion have a finished basement, often with a suite. A basement floor sits on a concrete slab, and a slab can carry moisture up from the ground. Rigid-core vinyl plank and vinyl tile have waterproof cores, so damp from below won't swell them. Laminate can work on a dry slab, but its core is wood fibre, so it needs a vapour barrier under it. Either way, the slab gets a moisture reading at the free measure, before any flooring is ordered.

Townhomes: check the strata bylaws first

If you're in one of Albion's townhome complexes, read your strata bylaws before you pick a floor. Many stratas ask for written approval before carpet is replaced with a hard floor, and set a minimum sound rating for the underlay, especially upstairs, where footsteps carry to the unit below. Bring the bylaw to the measure, and the underlay can be chosen to meet it from the start rather than argued over later.

Carpet or wood on the stairs

Many Albion homes of this age have carpeted stairs. When the main floor is being redone, that's the natural time to decide what happens to them. New carpet, like the Albion house below, stays soft and quiet underfoot. Wood treads matched to the new floor, like the hardwood stairs below, make the floor and the stairs read as one. Either way, the stairs are priced per step at the measure.

Recent jobs in Albion

Albion is where several of our recent jobs have been. In two houses, the old laminate on the main floor came out and new 12mm AC4 waterproof laminate and new baseboards went in, and one of them had new carpet put on the stairs as well. In another, a new hardwood floor went in with the stairs done in hardwood to match.

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  Albion

  Hardwood floor and hardwood stairs

  A new hardwood floor through the upstairs hall, with the stairs finished in hardwood to match.

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  Albion

  New main floor, baseboards and stair carpet

  Old laminate replaced with 12mm AC4 waterproof laminate, new baseboards, and new carpet on the stairs.

Two of the most asked-for jobs nearby

Vinyl tile in bathrooms and laundry rooms, and taking the carpet off the stairs, are two of the jobs people around Maple Ridge search for most. These two were done close by.

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  Maple Ridge

  Vinyl tile bathrooms

  Large marble-look vinyl tile: waterproof, and warmer and quieter underfoot than ceramic.

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  Cottonwood, Maple Ridge

  Carpet off, wood stairs on

  The old stair carpet replaced with wood-look treads, white risers and square nosings.