Subfloor preparation, which is most of the job
We pull the old flooring, screw down loose subfloor sheets into the joists, replace any water damaged sections, and flatten high and low spots.
Hollow squeaks come from a subfloor that has separated from the joist. Laying new hardwood over that just gives you a squeaky new floor, so it gets fixed first.
In older homes around Riverside Park and Merivale the original subfloor is often diagonal plank rather than plywood, which usually needs a plywood layer over it before a modern floor can go down.
Acclimatization and seasonal movement
Indoor relative humidity in Ottawa can sit near fifty percent in July and drop below twenty five percent in January. Wood shrinks in that dry air.
So the boards get delivered and left in the room for several days before installation, so they reach the moisture content of the house rather than the warehouse. We also leave proper expansion allowance at the perimeter, hidden under the baseboard.
Small seasonal gaps that close again in summer are normal here and not a defect. Large permanent gaps usually mean the wood went down straight off the truck.
Solid or engineered, and where each belongs
Solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished several times, which makes it the long game on a main floor. Engineered has a real wood wear layer over a stable core and copes better with humidity swings and radiant heat.
Below grade, solid hardwood does not belong. For basements we recommend engineered over a proper subfloor panel, or vinyl plank, and we test slab moisture first.
What a hardwood installation quote includes
- Removal and disposal: old flooring out and hauled away.
- Subfloor work: screwing, patching and levelling as its own line.
- Material and grade: species, width, finish and waste allowance.
- Layout plan: board direction and where cuts land.
- Transitions: thresholds, nosings and reducers at doorways.
- Trim: baseboard or quarter round refit after installation.
Where hardwood floor installation sits in the bigger job
This work is part of our flooring contractor service, so it can run on its own or as one stage inside a larger project. When it is part of a bigger renovation we sequence it with the other trades rather than treating it as a standalone visit.
Clients booking this often pair it with floor refinishing, vinyl plank flooring installation, tile floor installation or laminate floor installation. One contract covers whichever combination you need, with a single schedule and one point of contact.
Hardwood Floor Installation across the Ottawa area
We take this work on throughout the greater Ottawa area. Recent jobs have run through Nepean, Merivale, South Keys, Kanata and the surrounding neighbourhoods. The consultation is free wherever you are in the city.