High spots and low spots in a subfloor are invisible until the new flooring starts cracking at the joints. For homeowners in Washington County, we test flatness across the full floor area, grind down peaks with commercial equipment, and fill low spots with the right patching compound — so your warranty holds and the floor doesn't fail in year two.
Most people do not know their subfloor has a flatness problem until the new floor starts cracking. By then it is already a problem. Floating floors require no more than 3/16 inch variance over 10 feet — tile and hardwood are stricter than that. If you are not sure, we test it. If the floor already passes, you are done. If it does not, we show you exactly where the problem spots are before recommending anything.
Subfloor unevenness comes from several sources: original construction that was not level, subfloor panels that shifted or warped over time, previous repairs done with incompatible materials, and high spots left behind by improper thinset removal. In older homes the subfloor itself may have settled unevenly. None of this is visible until a straightedge goes down — which is why installers catch it at the last minute and it becomes your problem rather than theirs.
Straightedge test across the full floor area. High and low spots measured and mapped.
Commercial floor grinders with attached vacuums take down peaks without creating dust.
Low areas filled with appropriate patching compound. Applied correctly, not just poured in.
Flatness re-checked against manufacturer spec. We document what was done and the final readings.
Two things drive leveling cost: how many problem areas exist, and how bad each one is. A single low spot in a corner costs less than several mismatched panels spread across a large room. Grinding high spots takes commercial equipment and time relative to how much material has to come off. Patching compound is priced by depth and coverage. We give you a specific scope before any work begins — nothing discovered mid-job.
Tell us about your project and we'll get back to you within one business day.
Old tile has to come up before anything new goes down — and the old way meant jackhammers, a cloud of ceramic dust, and days out of your home. We pull ceramic, porcelain, stone, and vinyl tile for homeowners across Washington County using commercial vacuums that capture particles before they go airborne. Your living space stays usable throughout, and the subfloor is clean and ready for the next step when we leave.
After tile comes up, the subfloor is not ready for new flooring — not yet. Thinset, adhesive, and surface damage stay behind, and homeowners and contractors who skip prep find out the hard way: new floors fail early and warranties won't survive it. We grind away the residue, clean the surface, and deliver a subfloor that meets installer specs across Washington County.
If there's adhesive, paint, epoxy, or thinset on your concrete slab, new flooring won't bond correctly — no matter how good the installer is. Homeowners and contractors across Washington County call us when the slab needs to be cleaned before new flooring goes down. We grind it off using electric equipment with vacuums attached. No fumes, no dust cloud, no disruption.