Subfloor prep: the Houston cost nobody quotes upfront
Leveling, moisture mitigation, squeak repair and tear-out are where Houston flooring budgets blow up. Here's what each one costs and how to get it priced before demo day.
Ask any Houston flooring contractor where projects go over budget and you will get the same answer: what was under the old floor. Subfloor prep is invisible during the sales conversation and unavoidable once the carpet comes up, which makes it the most common source of change orders in the metro.
Slab flatness and leveling
Industry tolerance for most floating floors is about 3/16 inch over 10 feet; large-format tile wants tighter. Plenty of Houston slabs, especially in homes built quickly during a boom, do not meet it.
Self-leveling compound runs roughly $1–$3 per square foot installed depending on depth, and grinding high spots is billed hourly. On a bad slab this line can rival the flooring material itself.
The way to control it: ask the contractor to check with a straightedge during the estimate and state a per-bag or per-square-foot leveling rate in the quote, even if the quantity is unknown.
Moisture mitigation
Houston's clay soils hold water and slab-on-grade construction wicks it upward. A relative-humidity probe test (ASTM F2170) reading above roughly 75–80%, or a calcium chloride result above 3 lbs per 1,000 square feet per 24 hours, means the slab needs treatment before glue-down wood or some vinyl systems go over it.
Epoxy moisture-mitigation coatings typically run $2–$4 per square foot. Skipping the test to save a few hundred dollars is how people end up replacing an entire glue-down floor in year three.
Ask for the actual reading and the test method in writing. A contractor who tested will happily tell you the number.
Wood subfloor repair
In older Houston-area homes — Spring, Memorial, Old Town neighborhoods, and rural pier-and-beam properties — the subfloor is plywood or plank, not slab.
Squeaks come from loose sheathing, and new flooring makes them worse, not better. Screwing down loose sections is cheap when it is planned and annoying when it is discovered mid-install.
Soft spots and water damage around toilets and dishwashers mean cutting out and replacing sheathing, typically billed per sheet plus labor. Budget a contingency if the home is over 25 years old.
How to keep prep from becoming a surprise
Ask three questions before you sign: what prep is included at this price, what are the unit rates if more is needed, and will you show me the readings and measurements you took. Contractors who prep properly are used to these questions. The ones who are not will tell you plenty by how they answer.