Flooring installation in Broward County & South Florida
Porcelain, ceramic, luxury vinyl plank and laminate — set on a substrate that has been levelled first, because that is what decides whether the floor still looks right in five years. Insured — $1M general liability, bilingual, free in-home estimates.
The floor is only as good as what is under it
Almost every flooring failure we get called to fix is a substrate failure, not a material failure. Tile that cracks along a line, planks that click apart at a seam, a hollow sound underfoot in one corner — those are slab and prep problems wearing the flooring's uniform.
South Florida builds on concrete slab, and fifty-year-old slabs are rarely flat to the tolerance modern large-format tile expects. A 24-inch tile will not forgive a dip that a 12-inch tile hid comfortably. That is why a large-format floor costs more per square foot to install even when the tile itself costs the same: the floor underneath has to be brought flat first.
Moisture is the other one. A slab on grade in this climate moves vapour, and laminate laid without the right underlayment over a slab that is passing moisture will cup at the seams within a couple of humid seasons. It is a cheap step to get right and an expensive one to redo.
We tell you which of these your floor needs at the estimate, with the levelling and the underlayment as their own line items rather than buried in a per-foot number that goes up once we start.
What's included
- Removal and disposal of existing flooring
- Substrate levelling and prep
- Moisture barrier and underlayment where required
- Tile, LVP or laminate installation
- Baseboard, trim and transitions
- Grout, seal and final clean
How it works
- Free in-home visit with slab check
- Levelling and underlayment quoted as their own lines
- Layout set out and confirmed with you before adhesive
- Full-room dust containment
- Walkthrough before trim goes back on
Why AP Interior Solutions
- Tile and floor installation are listed trades on our profile
- Substrate prep quoted openly, not absorbed and surprised later
- Insured — $1M general liability
- Service in English and Spanish
Floors we've installed
What flooring costs installed
Luxury vinyl plank
Per square foot installed. Waterproof, warm underfoot and the most forgiving choice over an imperfect slab.
- Underlayment and moisture barrier
- Plank installation
- Transitions and trim
- Old flooring removal
Porcelain & ceramic tile
Per square foot installed, standard formats. The default for wet areas and the most durable floor in this climate.
- Substrate prep
- Tile setting and grouting
- Sealing where specified
- Transitions and trim
Large-format & natural stone
Per square foot installed. Fewer grout lines and a calmer room, but the slab has to be levelled to a much tighter tolerance first.
- Full substrate levelling
- Large-format setting system
- Stone sealing
- Precision layout and cuts
These are installed prices per square foot including labour and standard materials, drawn from Broward and Miami-area contractor pricing. Two things move them more than the material does: how far out of flat your slab is, and how much old flooring has to come up. Both get their own line on your written estimate after an in-home visit, so the number you approve is the number you pay.
What we need to quote your flooring
Two things move a flooring quote more than the material does: how flat your slab is, and what has to come up first. Both get their own line on the estimate, so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
Before we quote
- Square footage, room by room
- What is down now, and how it is fixed — tile in thinset is a very different removal from floating laminate
- Whether the room is on slab or above grade
- The material you want, or whether you want a recommendation
- Baseboards — remove and reinstall, or new
- Any doors that will need trimming to clear the new height
- Whether any area has ever had water damage
On the day
- Rooms emptied of furniture before we start
- A spot to cut and stage material
- Access to a restroom
Choosing the floor
Luxury vinyl plank
Waterproof, quiet, warm underfoot, and the most forgiving over a slab that is not perfectly flat. The practical trade-off against tile is that it is softer, so it will show dents from heavy furniture legs that tile would shrug off.
Porcelain and ceramic
The default for kitchens, bathrooms and anywhere water lands. Harder than the alternatives, indifferent to humidity, and available in formats that read convincingly as wood or stone. Colder and louder underfoot, which some people want in this climate and some do not.
Large-format tile
Fewer grout lines makes a room read larger and calmer. It also means the slab has to be flat to a much tighter tolerance, so budget for levelling — this is the single most common reason a large-format quote comes in above what people expected.
Laminate
The lowest cost per foot, and perfectly good above grade in a dry room. Over a slab in South Florida it needs the right vapour barrier or it will cup at the seams. We will tell you honestly whether your room is a good candidate.
Transitions and trim
Where two floors meet, and where the floor meets the wall, is where a job looks professional or does not. Baseboards come off and go back on rather than being caulked around, and thresholds are cut to the actual gap instead of covered with a stock strip.
Materials and brands we work with
- Tile — Daltile, MSI
- LVP and laminate — Mohawk, Shaw, Pergo
- Setting systems — Schluter, Laticrete
- Levelling compounds — Mapei, Ardex
- Natural stone — marble, travertine, porcelain slab
We install around these brands and are not an authorized dealer for any of them. If you have already picked material elsewhere, bring the spec to the estimate and we will price the installation around it.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to level the slab before tiling?
- Often, and almost always for large-format tile. South Florida homes sit on concrete slab, and a fifty-year-old slab is rarely flat to the tolerance a 24-inch tile needs — a dip a small tile bridged comfortably will crack a large one or leave it lippage. We check the slab at the estimate and quote levelling as its own line so you can see what it costs.
- Can I put laminate over a concrete slab in Florida?
- Above grade in a dry room, yes, with the right vapour barrier. Without one, a slab passing moisture will cup laminate at the seams within a couple of humid seasons. If the room is a candidate we will say so; if it is not, LVP does the same job and is waterproof.
- Do you remove the old flooring?
- Yes, and it is quoted separately rather than folded into the per-foot price. Removal cost depends heavily on what is down and how it was stuck — tile set in thinset over a slab is a very different job from floating laminate, and you should be able to see that difference on the estimate.
- How long does a floor take?
- A single room is usually one to two days including prep; a whole floor typically runs three to five, plus cure time before heavy furniture goes back. Tile needs grout cure time that cannot be rushed, and we would rather tell you that up front than have you plan a move-in around it.
Related services
Ready to replace the floor?
Free in-home estimate across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach — including a slab check, so the quote holds.
