Floor Installation
Engineered Hardwood Installation in Fairmount, Philadelphia
Real wood over a stable core. The answer for concrete slabs and basements, where solid wood does not belong. In Fairmount, Philadelphia the median home dates to 1928 and 69.5% of the housing predates 1940, which changes what Deco Hardwood Floor expects to find before the work starts.
Where engineered wood belongs in an old house
In Fairmount engineered wood is the answer for the rooms that solid hardwood cannot take: the basement, a kitchen addition on a slab, or a floor over radiant heat.
An old house usually has solid floors worth keeping on the main levels. Engineered wood earns its place below grade and over concrete, where its cross laid core keeps it flat in conditions that would cup a solid board.
The detail that takes planning is height. Engineered boards are often thinner than the solid floor in the next room, so the subfloor is built up or the transition is designed before the material is ordered, not discovered at the doorway.
Before you get a quote
Basements under old houses in this region are often damp. A slab gets a moisture test before any wood goes on it, and the result decides the adhesive, the underlayment, or whether wood goes down at all.
How the housing in Fairmount compares
Of the 3,726 housing units in Fairmount, roughly 2,600 were built before 1940 and approximately 3,300 before 1978.
That makes the housing here older than the 132 Philadelphia neighborhoods in our data taken together, where approximately 82.8% of 733,961 units predate 1978, and above the 60.5% figure for our whole service area. By the share built before 1940, Fairmount ranks 8th of those 132. The full table is published as open housing data.
Within Philadelphia, the oldest housing in our data is in Cedar Park, with a median year of 1925, and the newest is in Kensington, Old, at 1997.
| Place | Median year built | Built before 1940 |
|---|---|---|
| Fairmount | 1928 | 69.5% |
| Brewerytown | 1943 | 46.6% |
| Francisville | 1937 | 52.9% |
| Sharswood | 1974 | 31.4% |
| Spring Garden | 1962 | 38.8% |
| Powelton | 1955 | 38.5% |
| Logan Square | 1972 | 19.7% |
For engineered wood, the median year is the useful figure. Newer housing means more concrete slabs and finished lower levels, which is where engineered flooring does the work solid cannot.
What is usually under the floor here
Housing this old normally holds narrow strip oak laid straight over joists, and often it has only one sanding left.
In a place where a large share of the housing predates 1940, the floor under the carpet is usually the original one. That means narrow strip oak, sometimes heart pine on upper floors, nailed straight to the joists with no plywood in between. It also means the floor has probably been sanded before, possibly more than once.
Only the wood above the tongue can be sanded, roughly a quarter inch on a traditional floor. A floor that has already given up two of those sandings is a different job from one that has given up none, and the difference is not visible from standing height. We measure at the edge of a board before quoting.
Worth knowing here
Parquet and herringbone turn up under carpet in this stock more often than people expect, and they sand differently: the grain runs in two directions at once, so a drum sander used the normal way tears them.
The federal lead rule applies to most of the housing here
Approximately 89.6% of the homes here were built before 1978, which is the line the EPA rule draws.
Paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in pre-1978 housing falls under 40 CFR Part 745, and floor sanding reaches painted surfaces more often than people expect: the edger runs to the baseboard, the shoe molding and the door casing, and in older housing those carry many layers.
The part that matters for the equipment is 745.85(a)(3), which prohibits high speed machines that strip a coating on painted surfaces unless they carry containment and a HEPA vacuum collecting dust at the point of generation. That is a description of how the sander has to be assembled, not a suggestion about tidiness.
How engineered hardwood installation runs
We identify the substrate
Slab or wood subfloor, above or below grade. This decides everything downstream.Moisture testing
In-situ probe on concrete, meter readings on wood.Material chosen with the wear layer stated
Samples at your house, with the specification written down, not just the brand name.Substrate prepared
Flatness corrected, moisture barrier where the readings call for it.Installed by the method the substrate requires
Glue, float or nail.Trim and transitions
Expansion respected at every wall and doorway.
What an engineered hardwood installation includes
The quote covers identifying the substrate, testing it for moisture, the material with its wear layer written down, the preparation, the installation and the trim. Material and labor are one number, set after the owner has seen the room.
Included
- A visit from the owner to identify the substrate and measure the room
- Moisture testing: an in-situ probe on concrete, meter readings on a wood subfloor
- Engineered flooring supplied by us at the distributor's store price, with the wear layer stated in writing
- Samples and larger offcuts brought to your house
- Flatness correction, and a moisture barrier where the readings call for one
- Installation by glue, float or nail, then trim and transitions with expansion respected
Not included, or quoted separately
- Fixing the source of a wet slab. Drainage, grading and sump work belong to other trades
- Radiant heat systems. We install flooring over them, we do not install or service them
- Any future sanding, which depends on the wear layer and is a separate refinishing job
- Stair treads and railings, which are a separate service with their own quote
What changes the price of engineered hardwood installation
The price is set after we see the room and the substrate. The three things that move it most are the wear layer thickness of the product, the installation method the substrate requires, and what the moisture test says about the slab.
| What changes it | How it moves the price | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wear layer thickness | More real wood on top costs more as material. It is also the part that decides whether the floor can ever be sanded. | A board with a 4 mm wear layer costs more than one under 2 mm. The first can be sanded later and the second cannot. |
| Installation method | Glue down takes more labor and adds the adhesive. Floating is faster. Nailing needs a wood subfloor under it. | The same board glued to a slab costs more to install than it does floated over underlayment in the next room. |
| Moisture test result | A slab that reads high needs a moisture barrier or a different method before any wood goes on it, and both add to the job. | Two basements of the same size can differ only in the probe reading. The wetter one costs more to prepare. |
| Substrate flatness | Grinding high spots and filling low ones is labor and material that comes before the floor. Glued and floated floors both need it. | A slab poured flat needs little. One with a hump along an old wall line gets ground down before the first row. |
| Area, layout and transitions | Total area sets the base. Doorways, height changes to other floors and angled walls add cutting and trim pieces. | An open basement is simpler than a first floor that meets tile at the kitchen and carpet at the stairs. |
The full method, the equipment and what we will and will not promise are on the service page: Engineered Hardwood Installation.
Also in Fairmount
Hardwood Floor Refinishing
Sand the old finish off, repair what needs repairing, and put a new finish down
Dustless Floor Sanding
Vacuum-extraction sanding
Solid Hardwood Floor Installation
Solid wood, nailed down over a wood subfloor
Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) Installation
Waterproof, quiet, and it does not care about a wet basement
Custom Stair Installation
Treads, risers, stringers and skirt board, built to a drawing instead of a catalog page
Stair Refinishing
Stairs take more wear per square foot than any floor in the house, and they are sanded almost entirely by hand
Hardwood Floor Repair
Board replacement, weaving in new wood, squeaks, gaps and cupping
Why homeowners hire Deco Hardwood Floor
Deco Hardwood Floor is owner operated: the person who quotes engineered hardwood installation in Fairmount is the person responsible for it, and the material comes with the labor in one number.
Material and labor in one number
We buy the flooring direct from the distributor and pass the store price through, so you are not sourcing wood on your own between quotes.
Samples come to your house
Samples and larger offcuts come to you, so the color gets chosen in your own light instead of under a showroom lamp.
Stairs and railings built in house
Treads, risers, handrails and newel posts are drawn and built by our own crew. Most flooring crews subcontract stair work or decline it.
The owner quotes the job
The person who measures your floor is the person responsible for the work. There is no salesperson in between.
Measured before it is promised
Remaining thickness is measured at the edge of a board before we say a floor can be sanded, and no price is firm before we have seen the room.
Told straight, including the limits
Vacuum extraction catches most of the sanding dust and not all of it. We tell you that before the job instead of after.
More about who we are and what we will not claim on the About Deco Hardwood Floor page.
Questions about engineered installation in Fairmount
Can I put it over radiant heat?
Usually yes, and solid wood usually no. The manufacturer sets the surface temperature limit and it is worth respecting, because the failure mode is separation between the wear layer and the core.
Engineered hardwood or luxury vinyl plank for a basement?
Both can go below grade, and the choice is about water. Engineered hardwood installation gives you real wood, and it needs a slab that tests dry enough and stays that way. Vinyl plank is waterproof through the board and survives a leak that would ruin wood. If the basement has any history of water, Deco Hardwood Floor says vinyl.
How long does engineered hardwood installation take?
It depends on the area, the installation method and the moisture test. Floating is the fastest method. Glue down takes longer, and a slab that needs a moisture barrier adds a step before any board is set. The relative humidity probes also need time in the slab before they can be read. We give a schedule for an engineered hardwood installation after the test results, not before.
Is engineered hardwood worth it over solid wood?
It is worth it when the house requires it, and not otherwise. Engineered hardwood installation makes sense over concrete, below grade, over radiant heat or for wide plank. Over a dry wood subfloor above grade, solid wood can be sanded more times. Choose by where the floor is going and by the wear layer, not by which one sounds like the upgrade.
Can you tell me what my floor needs over the phone?
We can tell you what is likely, and this page is most of that answer. What we cannot do is quote a floor we have not seen, because remaining thickness and what is under the covering both decide the job and neither is visible in a description.
Do you bring the material?
Yes. We buy direct from the distributor and the material lands in the same number as the labor. Samples and larger offcuts come to the house so you choose in your own light.
My house is from the 1920s. Can the floor still be sanded?
Often, but it is a measurement rather than an assumption. Only the wood above the tongue can be sanded, and a floor that has been refinished twice already may have one pass left. We check at the edge of a board before quoting.
Engineered Installation near Fairmount
Send a photo and we will tell you what you are looking at
Engineered Hardwood Installation in Fairmount starts with someone reading the house. We quote every job ourselves, with no salesperson in between, and a photo of the floor gets you a straight answer faster than a form does.
