Carpet to Hardwood in Murfreesboro, TN
Tired of worn carpet? We strip it out and lay a wood floor in its place in Murfreesboro homes.
- Quotes in writing
- 18 areas covered
If the carpet in your Murfreesboro home is worn, stained or just not what you want, we can take it out and put a hardwood floor where it was. One room or the whole house, we handle the tear-out, the floor check and the new boards.
Day one: what comes out
We start by clearing the room down to the bare floor. We roll up the carpet and the foam pad below it. Then we pry up the tack strips, the thin wood strips with small sharp points that grip the carpet edge along each wall. We pull every pad staple too, so nothing pokes up under the new boards. We haul the old carpet and pad away with us.
What the pad can be hiding
Now and then we find a wood floor under it that only needs sanding and a new finish, and if so we'll tell you before you spend money on new boards. Our hardwood floor refinishing page explains that work.
Other times we find an old vinyl floor or dark glue. The EPA names vinyl floor tiles, the backing on vinyl sheet flooring, and flooring adhesives as products that may contain asbestos, and it says you generally can't tell just by looking unless the material is labeled. So we don't scrape or sand it. The EPA's advice for asbestos flooring is to put the new floor over it when you can, and it says a trained and accredited asbestos professional is needed for repair or removal if your changes might disturb it.
Letting the wood get used to your house
Wood soaks up water from the air around it, the Forest Products Laboratory says. Its Wood Handbook warns that a wood floor can crack if the boards take on moisture before or after they go down and then shrink once the heat comes on.
So before we lay a single board, we test the moisture in the new wood and in the floor below it. Along each wall we leave a narrow space that the trim covers, so the floor can swell and shrink a little with the seasons.
Choosing your boards
We lay solid hardwood flooring, which is one piece of wood from top to bottom, and engineered hardwood flooring. A Forest Products Laboratory study describes engineered flooring as layers of solid wood sheets, called veneer, glued together using heat, pressure or both.
Keeping the mess and the smell down
OSHA, the federal agency for workplace safety, says wood dust turns into a possible health problem once sanding and cutting send the particles into the air. We seal off the room we're in and set up our saw as far from your living space as we can.
If your boards come unfinished, we sand and finish them in place. The EPA notes that varnishes hold organic solvents that can give off chemicals while they're being used, and it says to bring in plenty of fresh air and keep these products away from kids and pets. We'll plan the finishing days around you.
How we put your quote together
We measure first, then give you a written price. We base it on how big the rooms are, how many doorways and corners we cut around, and whether you choose solid or engineered wood. We also count in the tear-out and haul-away, any fixes to the floor below, and on-site sanding and finishing for unfinished boards.
Whoever you hire, a good quote spells out the species of wood and says solid or engineered. It confirms that hauling off the carpet, pad and tack strips is part of the price, and it says what happens if vinyl or old glue turns up. It should also say how the boards and the floor below get tested for moisture, and whether doors get trimmed and the trim along the walls goes back on.
Questions about carpet to hardwood in Murfreesboro
Does Murfreesboro want a permit for new floors?
The city's building FAQ says you need a permit to build, alter, repair or demolish a building or any part of one. It also lists floor finishing among normal maintenance repairs you can do with no permit, as long as the work doesn't break the code. When a job turns up damaged plywood or boards under the floor, we check with the city before we fix them.
My stairs have carpet too. Does the handrail have to stay?
The City of Murfreesboro says handrails are required where there are more than two steps, and that taking one off breaks the code. So when we turn carpeted stairs into wood, the rail stays put. See our hardwood stairs page for how we do treads.
Will my doors still close once the wood is down?
A wood floor won't sit at the same height the carpet and pad did, so we check every door before we start. If a door would drag, we trim the bottom so it swings clear.
What happens where the new wood meets the room next door?
Where the wood stops at tile or at carpet you're keeping, we fit a transition strip, a narrow piece that covers the joint between the two floors. That lets you do one room now and leave the rest for later.
Does pulling up carpet get rid of dust mites?
It helps, but carpet isn't the only place they live. The EPA says dust mites are found in carpets and also in mattresses, pillows, upholstered furniture and bedding, and their body parts and droppings can trigger asthma in people allergic to them. The EPA suggests vacuuming carpets and furniture every week.
How many layers does engineered flooring have?
The Forest Products Laboratory study says engineered boards come with two, three, five, seven or nine plies, but three and five are the most common. We'll show you samples so you can see the layers.
What indoor humidity is best for a wood floor?
The EPA suggests keeping indoor humidity below 60 percent if you can, and ideally between 30 and 50 percent. We'll talk through how you run the AC through the year.
Get a quote for carpet to hardwood
Ring us, or use the quote form and tell us your ZIP code and which rooms have carpet you want gone. We come out, measure, show you wood and finish samples, then put the price in writing. Our Murfreesboro Hardwood Flooring home page lists the rest of our floor work.
Ready to talk about your hardwood flooring job?
Call us or send the quote form with your ZIP code and what you need. We will get back to you with a written quote.