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Wood moves.
Slabs hold water.
Plan for both
or it cups.

Hardwood and engineered wood flooring across South Florida. In this climate the installation is a moisture problem before it is a joinery problem: slab moisture, indoor humidity and acclimatisation decide whether a floor stays flat or cups, gaps and lifts.

Get a Floor Assessment See the Detailing

Licensed, bonded & insured · CBC1265280
104 municipalities across 3 counties
Design-build: permitting & construction in-house

Miami-Dade · Broward & Palm Beach Counties

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Close view of herringbone wood flooring blocks cut to a consistent line at the wall

09 64 00

Division 09 — Wood flooring

A wood floor
is a moisture
calculation.

Wood takes on and gives off moisture with the air around it, expanding and contracting as it does. In South Florida the air is humid, most houses sit on concrete slabs that release vapour, and the air conditioning swings the indoor humidity every day. All three act on the floor at once.

Light oak herringbone wood flooring running through a double-height living space in a completed South Florida home

Herringbone wood flooring in a completed South Florida home. One of several separate Elbaz installations shown on this page.

That is why the same product can be flawless in one house and cup in the next. The variables that decide it are the slab's moisture vapour transmission, whether the material was acclimatised in the actual room, the expansion gap at the perimeter and how the floor is fixed down.

So we test the slab before specifying anything, choose solid or engineered on the evidence rather than on preference, acclimatise the material in the conditioned space, and leave the movement gaps the product needs — then hide them properly.

slab test decides solid versus engineered

Moisture vapour transmission through concrete is measurable. It is the single most useful number in the whole specification and it costs very little to obtain.

humidities matter: the slab and the room

A floor is in equilibrium with both. Installing before the air conditioning is running is one of the most common causes of movement after handover.

floors survive without an expansion gap

Wood needs somewhere to go. A floor fitted tight to the walls has nowhere to expand and will lift or cup at the first humid spell.

Wood plank flooring running along the length of a hallway

09 64 16

Division 09 — the floor assembly

What a wood floor is made of

Six parts, from the slab up. Only the top one is chosen for how it looks.

Subfloor & moisture

The variable that decides everything else.

A concrete slab, a plywood subfloor, or a slab with an existing finish on it. Slabs must be tested for moisture vapour transmission and for flatness, and both results feed directly into what can be installed and how.

Suitability. Every installation, tested before anything is ordered.

Maintenance. None, but keep the test results with the house file.

Test forMoisture vapour and flatness

GovernsSolid vs. engineered, and fixing method

ToleranceFlatness within the product's stated limit

Failure modeCupping, lifting and hollow spots

Moisture barrier

What stops the slab reaching the wood.

A membrane or a roll-on barrier between slab and floor, selected for the moisture level actually measured. On a slab with high transmission this is the component that decides whether the floor survives.

Selected onMeasured moisture, not assumption

TypesSheet membrane or liquid-applied

Common errorOmitting it on a slab that tested high

Wide light-oak plank flooring running the length of a living area

Material: solid or engineered

The decision the slab test usually makes for you.

Solid timber is one piece of wood and moves as one. Engineered board has a hardwood wear layer over a dimensionally stable core, so it moves far less with humidity — which is why it dominates slab-on-grade installations in this climate.

SolidSands many times; moves most

EngineeredFar more stable; sands fewer times

On slabEngineered is usually the right answer

Wide plank wood flooring continuing through an open-plan space without a threshold

Fixing method

How the floor is held down, or not.

Full-spread adhesive, mechanical fixing to a plywood subfloor, or a floating installation on an underlay. Adhesive gives the most solid feel underfoot and the quietest floor; floating is the most tolerant of a slightly imperfect substrate.

GluedSolid underfoot, quietest

NailedRequires a timber subfloor

FloatingMost forgiving, slightly hollower sound

Layout & pattern

Set out before the first board, never during.

Board direction, starting line and where the pattern lands at doorways all get decided first. Herringbone and chevron are set out from a centre line and are far less forgiving than straight plank — a small error at the start is magnified across the room.

Decide firstDirection and starting line

PatternsStraight · herringbone · chevron

WatchWhere cuts land at doorways

Transition where wood flooring meets an adjoining floor finish

Expansion, trim & transitions

Where movement is accommodated and hidden.

A perimeter expansion gap covered by skirting or scotia, plus transitions where the wood meets tile, stone or another floor. Stairs are their own problem: treads, risers and nosings are joinery rather than flooring.

PerimeterExpansion gap, covered not filled

TransitionsDetailed, not improvised on the day

StairsJoinery work with its own set-out

Herringbone wood flooring meeting the edge of a staircase in a completed installation

09 64 00

Installation record — several projects

Wood floors in South Florida homes

These frames come from SEVERAL DIFFERENT completed Elbaz installations rather than one project, and each is labelled as its own. They are grouped by what they show, not presented as a single job.

Herringbone, open plan — installation A

Light oak herringbone carried across a large open space. A pattern like this is set out from a centre line so the blocks stay square to the room over its full length.

Dark-toned wood plank flooring in a completed South Florida interior

09 64 19

Material analysis

Four decisions that show up years later

Wood flooring is unusual in that most of what determines its success is invisible and irreversible. These four are decided before installation and cannot be revisited afterwards.

Solid or engineered

Decided by the slab, not by preference

Solid timber is the traditional choice and can be sanded many times, but it moves significantly with humidity. Engineered board has a real hardwood wear layer over a stable core and moves far less. On slab-on-grade construction in a humid climate, engineered is usually the honest recommendation — and the slab test tells us which.

Board width

Wider looks better and moves more

A wide plank reads calmer and more contemporary, and it is what most clients want. It also expands and contracts more across its width than a narrow board, so any seasonal gapping is more visible. Wider boards make acclimatisation and moisture control matter more, not less.

Finish

Where wear actually shows

A factory-applied finish is generally harder than one applied on site and comes with a predictable wear performance. A site-applied finish allows a continuous surface with no bevels and can be repaired seamlessly. Matt finishes hide dust and traffic markedly better than gloss in a bright climate.

Pattern

Herringbone is a different job

Herringbone and chevron are set out from a centre line and every block is cut to that geometry. They take substantially longer to lay, waste more material and are far less forgiving of a substrate that is not flat. The result is worth it — but it should be priced and programmed as the different job it is.

None of this is visible on the day a floor is handed over. All of it is visible two summers later, which is why the specification conversation matters more than the sample board.

09 64 00

Division 09 — flooring options

The wood flooring explorer

Seven decisions, judged on what actually matters in a humid, sunlit, slab-on-grade climate. All of it is in the page whether you open a panel or not.

09 64 29

Engineered wood

Hardwood wear layer over a stable core

Real wood, engineered to move less. The default recommendation on a slab here.

AppearanceIndistinguishable from solid once laid — the wear layer is real hardwood.

StabilityFar more dimensionally stable with humidity swings than solid.

RefinishingCan be sanded, but only as many times as the wear layer allows.

FixingGlue-down, floating or mechanically fixed.

Cost influenceBroad range; a thick wear layer costs more and is worth it.

South FloridaThe right answer for most slab-on-grade installations here.

Best useGround floors on slab, open plans, wide plank formats.

Watch forThin wear layers that cannot ever be sanded.

Timber stair treads and risers with a nosing detail in a completed installation

09 64 00

Installation record — details

Four details, from four separate installations

Each row pairs a wide view with a detail. These come from DIFFERENT completed Elbaz installations and are labelled as such — they are not one project.

Protect the floor while other trades finish, then clean down and hand over the care instructions and spare material.

Quality check

Breathable protection — not plastic sheet, which traps moisture.

Prevents

Damage in the last week of a project, or a floor sweating under plastic.

01 31 00

Division 01 — coordination

Where flooring sits in the programme

Flooring is rarely permitted work on its own, but it is heavily dependent on everything around it — and on the building being conditioned.

Usually no permit required

Replacing a floor finish like for like with no structural change.
Refinishing or re-sanding an existing wood floor.
Replacing thresholds and transitions.
Stair covering replacement where the structure is unchanged.
Adding underlay or a moisture barrier beneath a new finish.

May engage permits or approvals

Structural alterations to a subfloor or stair.
Condominium acoustic requirements between units.
Levelling that materially changes floor heights and thresholds.
Work forming part of a wider permitted renovation.
Association rules on hard flooring in multi-storey buildings.

Condominium acoustic rules

Many associations specify a minimum impact-insulation performance for hard flooring over another unit, and require the underlay specification to be approved in advance. This is the most common approval issue in flooring work.

Air conditioning must be running

Acclimatisation only means something if the room is at its normal operating humidity. Installing into an unconditioned house is a common and avoidable cause of later movement.

Sequence

Flooring goes in after wet trades and, usually, after painting has been largely completed — but before final skirting fixing, so the expansion gap can be covered properly.

Levels and thresholds

Floor build-up changes door clearances and the relationship with adjoining finishes. Doors may need easing and thresholds designed.

Moisture testing

Not a formality. It is the measurement that decides solid versus engineered and which barrier is required.

Wet areas

Wood flooring is not appropriate in bathrooms or directly adjoining a shower. Transitions to tile in those rooms are planned at design.

Protection

Wood is usually installed before other trades have finished. Protection must be breathable — plastic sheet traps moisture against the finish.

Spare material

Keep boxes from the same batch. Colour and grade vary between production runs, and a future repair is far easier with matching stock.

Timelines are not promised here. Acclimatisation, site finishing and curing all take real time that varies with product and conditions. We give a written programme showing those periods explicitly before you commit.

01 25 00

Division 01 — substitutions

Three flooring decisions worth understanding

Each is a genuine trade-off. Nothing below is presented as the obvious answer.

Compared onSolid hardwoodEngineered wood

Construction

One piece of timber through the full thickness.

A real hardwood wear layer bonded to a dimensionally stable core.

Movement

Expands and contracts noticeably with humidity.

Far more stable — the core resists the movement.

On a slab

Higher risk; needs careful moisture control and is often unsuitable.

Designed for it, and the usual recommendation here.

Refinishing

Can be sanded many times over a long life.

Limited by the wear layer thickness.

Appearance

Identical once installed.

Identical — the surface is real hardwood.

Cost influence

Comparable to good engineered.

Wide range; thicker wear layers cost more.

Best use

Upper floors and timber subfloors.

Slab-on-grade, open plans and wide formats.

Limitation

Movement and slab moisture sensitivity.

Finite number of refinishes.

09 64 00

Technical record — drawn, not photographed

What is under a wood floor

Five layers and one gap. The gap is the part most often left out, and the one that causes the most visible failures.

Drawn diagram, produced for this page. It is a generic illustration of a typical wood floor build-up over a slab — not a detail for any specific project, and not a photograph of completed work.

Concrete slab

The substrate, and the source of the moisture that governs the whole specification.

Moisture barrier

Selected on the measured vapour transmission, not assumed. The component that protects everything above it.

Levelling

Brings the substrate within the product's flatness tolerance. Large formats and patterns are least forgiving.

Adhesive or underlay

Full-spread adhesive for a bonded floor, or an underlay where the floor is floating.

Board

Solid or engineered, laid to the agreed set-out with the pattern squared to the room.

Expansion gap

A continuous perimeter gap, covered by skirting or scotia — never filled. This is where the floor is allowed to move.

01 · Test

Slab moisture and flatness measured before anything is chosen.

02 · Specify

Solid or engineered, width, finish and fixing on the evidence.

03 · Set out

Direction, starting line and where cuts land, agreed on a drawing.

04 · Acclimatise

Material equalised in the conditioned room, not the garage.

05 · Install

Substrate prepared, barrier laid, floor fixed with its expansion gap.

06 · Protect

Breathable protection until the other trades are finished.

01 21 00

Division 01 — allowances

What moves the number, and how it ages

No fixed prices are published here. Flooring is priced per square foot of a specific product in a specific room, and the substrate is the unknown.

What moves the number

Material grade and wear layer

The widest single variable. A thick wear layer on engineered board costs meaningfully more and is what makes it refinishable.

Pattern

Herringbone and chevron carry substantially higher labour and more waste than straight plank.

Substrate condition

Levelling, removing an old finish and installing a moisture barrier are frequently the largest unexpected items.

Board width

Wider formats generally cost more per square foot.

Fixing method

Full-spread adhesive costs more than floating, and performs better on slab.

Site finishing

Sanding and finishing on site adds labour and days, and requires the area to be empty.

Stairs

Priced per tread and riser. A full staircase is a significant line item and is joinery rather than flooring.

Furniture and access

Moving and storing furniture, and working in an occupied house, both add real time.

What happens after issue

Expected life

A good wood floor outlasts most other finishes and can be refinished rather than replaced — provided the wear layer allows it.

Humidity

Keeping indoor humidity reasonably stable is the single best thing you can do for a wood floor here. Long unoccupied periods with the air conditioning off are when movement happens.

Everyday care

Sweep or vacuum grit, which is what actually abrades a finish. Damp mop sparingly; never wet mop.

Sunlight

Strong South Florida daylight will change the tone of most timbers over time. Rugs and furniture left in place produce visible shading.

Repairs

Individual boards can usually be replaced, and site-finished floors can be spot-repaired. Keep spare material from the original batch.

Refinishing

Solid floors can be sanded many times; engineered floors as many times as the wear layer permits. Know which you have before booking a sanding.

09 64 00

Installation record

What the finished work shows

The sequence is assembled from photographs of several separate completed Elbaz wood-flooring installations, not one continuous project.

Pattern squared to the room

Herringbone is set out from a centre line so the blocks stay square across the full length of a large space.

Direction follows the sightline

Boards run along the longest view, which makes rooms and halls read longer and reduces visible cut ends.

The perimeter is covered, not filled

The expansion gap is hidden by skirting so the floor still has somewhere to move.

Stairs are made, not cut from stock

Treads and risers are measured and made individually so the stair matches the field.

Questions we are actually asked

Sometimes, but it is the higher-risk option and we would want the moisture test results before recommending it. Concrete on grade releases water vapour, and solid timber responds to that by cupping or gapping. Engineered wood has a real hardwood surface over a stable core and handles slab-on-grade conditions far better, which is why it is our usual recommendation here.

Yes. The surface you walk on and see is genuine hardwood — the difference is what is underneath it. A stable engineered core replaces the lower part of a solid board, which is what gives it dimensional stability. It is not the same thing as luxury vinyl plank, which contains no wood at all and which we would never describe as hardwood.

Almost always moisture. Either the slab was releasing more vapour than the barrier could handle, or the material was never properly acclimatised in the conditioned room, or there was no expansion gap at the perimeter so the floor had nowhere to move. All three are avoidable and all three are decided before installation.

It depends on the product and the conditions, and the important detail is that it must acclimatise in the actual room with the air conditioning running — not in a garage or a closed-up house. Acclimatising to the wrong humidity is no better than not acclimatising at all. We show the period explicitly in the programme.

Yes, meaningfully. Every block is cut to a set-out geometry, the labour is considerably higher and there is more waste. It is also much less forgiving of a substrate that is not flat. It looks superb and it is worth it in the right room, but it should be priced and programmed as the different job it genuinely is.

Usually, but check the association rules first. Many buildings specify a minimum impact-insulation performance for hard flooring over another unit and require the underlay specification to be approved before work starts. It is the most common approval issue in flooring work and it is easily resolved if raised early.

Not in a bathroom, and not directly adjoining a shower — standing water and wood are a poor combination however good the finish. Kitchens are usually fine with engineered wood provided spills are dealt with promptly, and we would plan the transition to tile in wet areas at design stage rather than on the day.

A solid floor can be sanded many times over a long life. An engineered floor can be sanded as many times as its wear layer permits, which is why wear layer thickness is worth paying attention to at specification. Before booking a sanding, establish which you actually have — sanding through a thin wear layer cannot be undone.

Qualifications

Why bring the floor to us

Licensed general contractor

CBC1265280 — licensed, bonded and insured, and able to coordinate flooring with the trades around it.

We test before we specify

Slab moisture and flatness measured first, because that is what decides solid versus engineered rather than preference.

Honest about materials

We will tell you when engineered is the better engineering answer, and we will never describe vinyl plank as hardwood.

Acclimatisation done properly

Material equalised in the conditioned room with the air conditioning running, not stored in a garage.

Set-out before delivery

Direction, starting line and cut positions agreed on a drawing — which is what makes a herringbone floor look precise.

Expansion gaps maintained

A continuous perimeter gap, covered by skirting rather than filled, so the floor can move.

Condo experience

Association acoustic requirements and underlay approvals across the tri-county area are routine work for us.

Spares and documentation

Spare boxes from the same batch left on site, with the product and finish details recorded for future repairs.

Verified Google reviews

What clients say

Published reviews from the company Google Business Profile, quoted as written.

Needed remodeling of my master bathroom in my house. After calling around and dealing with a bunch of unexperienced companies I found Elbaz construction and gave them a call. Just from the ease of communication and friendly talk I've had with the owner I knew this was going to be the company I was going to hire. They came 2 days later and started remodeling my bathroom and knocked it out in a timely manner. Great service, great communication, and amazing work. Will definelty refer and reuse this company for any future remodeling I might need.

Itzick Manasherov

Very professional! From start to end- personal kind treatment, always respectful every espect of the work was clear, and fair. Value for money 10/10. Thank you guys, see you at our next project, hope others will be smart and do the same!

roni yonani

Their work was absolutely superb, they did a fantastic job with my house renovation!! Definitely recommend

Sophie Brito

Redid my whole bathroom and kitchen. Great service - Great quality - very quick - very professional !! Highly recommended!

Adir Davidov

After I've been Looking for a good company to renovate my house , I found those guys! These people are super professional super honest super Fast !! Don't hesitate to Rent their service! They are number one!!

carmit cohen

Amazing experience with the entire company! They did a great job in my house for some work that needed to be completed, and I am extremely happy with the result. Super professional & great service. I highly recommend Elbaz Construction.

Mia Zafrani

Read every review on Google

00 31 00

Service Areas

Proudly serving homeowners across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach

(754) 236-0675

104 municipalities across three counties — and we hold the licence to build in all of them. Not sure about your address? Ask us.

00 00 01

Start here

Tell us the rooms.
We will test
the slab.

A flooring conversation starts with what is underneath. Tell us the areas and what is there now, and we will test the substrate so the specification is based on evidence rather than on a sample board.

What happens next

Within one business day

A named person calls you back — not an automated sequence.

First conversation

The rooms and areas, what is on the floor now, whether the property is a condominium, and how the house is conditioned.

What we send

Substrate test results, a material recommendation with the reasoning, and a written programme including acclimatisation.

No obligation

The assessment conversation is free and does not commit you to a construction contract.

Useful to have ready

Approximate areas and which rooms are involved
What flooring is there at the moment
Whether the property is a condominium with acoustic rules
Whether the air conditioning runs continuously
Any wood species, colour or pattern you already have in mind

LicenceCBC1265280

CoverBonded & insured

AreaMiami-Dade · Broward · Palm Beach

RoleTesting, supply & installation

Thanks — that came through.

Your enquiry has been sent to the Elbaz Construction team. A member of the team will call you back within one business day.

Wood moves.Slabs hold water.Plan for bothor it cups.

A wood flooris a moisturecalculation.

What a wood floor is made of

Subfloor & moisture

Moisture barrier

Material: solid or engineered

Fixing method

Layout & pattern

Expansion, trim & transitions

Wood floors in South Florida homes

Herringbone, open plan — installation A

Four decisions that show up years later

Decided by the slab, not by preference

Wider looks better and moves more

Where wear actually shows

Herringbone is a different job

The wood flooring explorer

Engineered wood

Solid hardwood

Plank width

Herringbone & chevron

Finish type

Installation method

Stairs & transitions

Four details, from four separate installations

Pattern, at scale and up close

Plank, along the sightline

Where the floor changes

Where the floor climbs

Ten stages, and the two nobody sees

Survey & expectations

Moisture & flatness testing

Material selection

Set-out planning

Acclimatisation

Substrate preparation

Installation

Stairs & transitions

Finishing

Protection & handover

Where flooring sits in the programme

Usually no permit required

May engage permits or approvals

Condominium acoustic rules

Air conditioning must be running

Sequence

Levels and thresholds

Moisture testing

Wet areas

Protection

Spare material

Three flooring decisions worth understanding

What is under a wood floor

Concrete slab

Moisture barrier

Levelling

Adhesive or underlay

Board

Expansion gap

What moves the number, and how it ages

What moves the number

Material grade and wear layer

Pattern

Substrate condition

Board width

Fixing method

Site finishing

Stairs

Furniture and access

What happens after issue

Expected life

Humidity

Everyday care

Sunlight

Repairs

Refinishing

What the finished work shows

Pattern squared to the room

Direction follows the sightline

The perimeter is covered, not filled

Wood moves.
Slabs hold water.
Plan for both
or it cups.

A wood floor
is a moisture
calculation.

Tell us the rooms.
We will test
the slab.