How to Choose a Flooring Installer on the Gold Coast

The short answer

New floors are a big purchase, and most of the problems people run into afterwards come from what was left out of the quote rather than from the flooring itself. A good installer checks your subfloor before quoting, prices the preparation it needs, explains how the product will be installed and puts everything in writing.

The simplest way to choose well is to get two or three written quotes for exactly the same scope, compare them line by line, and ask every installer the same questions. This guide sets out what to look for, from a Gold Coast flooring business that has been measuring and quoting floors since 1994.

Get written, itemised quotes for the same job

A verbal price or a single figure on a text message is hard to compare and easy to dispute. Ask for a written quote that names the product, the area in square metres and every task included. If one quote is much lower than the others, it is usually because something has been left out, most often subfloor preparation, removal of the old floor or trims.

Make sure every installer is quoting the same rooms, the same product range and the same finish at doorways and stairs. It is worth walking each installer through the house and pointing out the same things, such as an uneven patch of slab, a tiled area you want covered or stairs you want included.

• The product name or range, and the total area in square metres
• Removal and disposal of the existing floor, including glued-down carpet, vinyl or tiles
• Subfloor preparation: grinding, levelling compound and fixing down timber subfloors
• Underlay, including any acoustic underlay an apartment building requires
• Trims at doorways, tiles and sliding doors, plus skirting or scotia if needed
• Stairs and stair nosings, priced clearly
• Whether the price is fixed, and what would change it

Ask how the subfloor will be checked

Subfloor preparation is the single biggest variable in a flooring job and the most common cause of problems later. Floating floors such as hybrid and click vinyl plank need a subfloor that is flat within the manufacturer's tolerance, or the joins can flex, peak, gap or sound hollow. Glue-down vinyl plank follows every bump in the slab, so it needs an even smoother surface. Carpet is more forgiving but still shows ridges and old glue.

Ask each installer whether they will check the floor with a straight edge before quoting, how they will deal with high and low spots, and whether that work is included in the price. An installer who quotes without looking at the subfloor is guessing, and the guess is often corrected on installation day with an extra charge. Our guide to hybrid flooring problems explains what goes wrong when preparation is skipped.

Check licences, insurance and who will do the work

In Queensland, some building work needs to be carried out by a licensed contractor, and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) keeps a public licence register you can search. In New South Wales, including Tweed Heads, NSW Fair Trading has its own licensing rules and register. Ask each installer for their licence details where the work requires one, and check them yourself.

It is also reasonable to ask whether the business has public liability insurance, who will actually install the floor, how long the job will take and how they will protect your home during the work. Clear answers to these practical questions are a good sign that the job will be well organised.

Ask about the product and the manufacturer's instructions

Every hybrid, vinyl plank, timber and carpet product comes with the manufacturer's installation requirements, covering subfloor flatness, moisture, expansion gaps, underlay and acclimatisation. Product warranties often depend on those instructions being followed. Ask the installer which product they are quoting, whether it suits your rooms, and how they will meet its installation requirements.

For floating floors, ask about expansion gaps around walls and fixed objects, expansion breaks across long runs and doorways, and how kitchen islands or built-in furniture will be handled. For carpet, ask about the underlay, how seams will be placed and how stairs will be finished.

See samples in your own light

Floors look very different under showroom lighting than they do in a Gold Coast living room with big glass doors and bright afternoon sun. Whichever business you choose, try to see the actual samples in your home, next to your walls, cabinetry and furniture, before you commit.

Some flooring businesses run a retail showroom, and others, like ours, run a mobile showroom that brings samples to your home and measures up during the same visit. Either way, take your time, look at the samples at different times of day and ask for larger pieces if you are unsure.

Apartments: approval and acoustic ratings

If you live in an apartment or a townhouse in a complex, check the body corporate by-laws (or strata by-laws in New South Wales) before choosing a hard floor. Most Gold Coast buildings set an acoustic rating for hard floors and require approval before work starts, and many limit trade hours and lift use.

Ask each installer which floor and underlay system they would use to meet the rating, whether they will help with the approval paperwork, and how they will manage access, lifts and noise. Our guide to apartment flooring and body corporate acoustic rules explains how it works.

Red flags to watch for

Most Gold Coast flooring businesses do good work, but a few warning signs are worth taking seriously when you compare quotes.

• A price given without anyone looking at the subfloor
• A quote that says nothing about removal, preparation, trims or stairs
• Pressure to sign or pay quickly, or to pay most of the price before work starts
• No written quote, or a quote with no product name
• Vague answers about who will install the floor and when
• No mention of expansion gaps or the manufacturer's installation instructions for a floating floor
• Reluctance to give licence details where the work requires a licence

Read reviews across more than one place

Reviews are useful when you read them for detail rather than just the star rating. Look at how recent they are, whether they mention the kind of job you are planning, and how the business responds when something has gone wrong. Reading reviews on more than one platform gives a more balanced picture than relying on a single site.

It also helps to ask friends, neighbours and your body corporate manager who they have used, and to look at the installer's own explanations of how they work. A business that explains its process clearly in writing is usually easier to deal with on the day.

Questions to ask every installer

Ask each installer the same questions so you can compare the answers side by side.

• Will you check the subfloor before quoting, and is the preparation it needs included?
• Is removal and disposal of the old floor included?
• Which product and underlay are you quoting, and does it suit these rooms?
• How will you finish doorways, tiles, sliding doors and stairs?
• Is the price fixed and in writing, and what could change it?
• Who will install the floor, when can you start and how long will it take?
• Can you provide licence details where the work requires one?
• For apartments: which acoustic rating applies, and will you help with approval?

How we quote at Streatfield Flooring

We are a family-owned flooring business based in Mudgeeraba, supplying and installing carpet, hybrid, vinyl plank, timber and commercial flooring across the Gold Coast from Coomera to Coolangatta and Tweed Heads since 1994. Our mobile showroom brings samples to your home, and at the same free visit we measure every room and check the subfloor.

You then get a fixed written quote that includes removal of the old floor, subfloor preparation and levelling, stairs and trims, so you can compare it fairly with other quotes. If you have a written quote from another licensed installer for the same job, our Price Beat Guarantee means we will beat it.