Just Bought a House? Floors Before You Move In

Why the Empty-House Window Matters

You just closed. The rooms are bare and the moving truck is booked. This is the best chance you’ll get to change the floors, and it doesn’t last long.

• It goes faster. With no furniture to move, installers can run straight through a room. A job that takes a week in a lived-in house often takes a few days in an empty one.
• It’s cleaner. Old carpet and pad come out without dragging dust past your stuff. Nothing gets boxed up twice.
• One floor can run through. No working around a piano or a full kitchen. You can do the whole level in one pass, with clean transitions.
• You settle in once. Unpack onto the floor you actually want, instead of living with one you plan to rip out next year.

What to Measure and Decide First

A few decisions shape the rest. Make these early and the shopping gets much easier.

• Whole level or room by room. One floor through the main level looks bigger and means fewer transitions at the doorways. Room by room lets you put soft carpet in bedrooms and something waterproof in the kitchen.
• What’s under the carpet. Sometimes it’s hardwood. Sometimes it’s old vinyl, tile or plain plywood. We check on the measure so you know what the prep looks like before you pick.
• Transitions. Where does one floor meet the next? Height differences between kitchen tile and hallway wood matter. We plan them so nothing feels like a step.
• Stairs. Carpet, vinyl plank or hardwood treads all work. Stairs take longer than flat floor, so decide early if they’re part of the job.

Sequencing With Your Closing Date and Painters

You can’t start work on a house you don’t own yet. Some buyers ask the seller if we can measure before closing. If that’s not possible, we measure the first day you have keys.

Then there’s paint. Here’s how most people order it.

1. Paint walls and ceilings first. Drips, ladders and drop cloths don’t land on a brand-new floor.
2. Floors next. Old flooring comes out, the subfloor gets prepped and the new floor goes in.
3. Trim touch-up last. Baseboards often come off or get new shoe molding. A quick touch-up after the floor makes it all look finished.

There’s one common reason to flip it. If you’re putting in all new baseboards, many people do floors first. The new trim then sits tight to the finished floor and gets painted once. Either way works. Tell us what your painter plans and we’ll fit around it.

Stock lines usually arrive faster than special orders. If your move-in date is tight, tell us on the first call. We’ll show you options that can make it.

Build in a small buffer before the movers come. Some floors need to sit in the house for a day or two before install, so they adjust to its temperature and humidity. We’ll tell you if yours does. Then leave a day between the last board going down and the truck pulling up. It gives you time for a walk-through, a final vacuum and a look at every room before the boxes hide it.

Common First-Home Picks by Room

• Kitchen, entry and powder room. Waterproof rigid core luxury vinyl plank is the most common pick. Porcelain tile is the other strong choice.
• Living and dining rooms. Hardwood or a wood-look vinyl plank. Engineered hardwood handles Madison’s humidity swings well.
• Bedrooms. Carpet still wins for warmth and quiet. A good pad makes a real difference.
• Bathrooms and laundry. Tile or waterproof vinyl plank. Both handle water far better than wood or laminate.
• Basement. Vinyl plank goes right over a dry concrete slab. Carpet works for a family room you want soft.

One Coordinator From Showroom to Move-In

Buying a house already means juggling a lender, an agent, movers and maybe a painter. Your floors shouldn’t add more calls.

One coordinator handles your project from the first visit to the final walk-through. Our trusted local installers do the work, and every job carries our 1-year installation guarantee.

Showroom Visit, Then an In-Home Measure

Start at the showroom. Bring your floor plan or a few phone photos from the listing. We’ll walk you through the options that fit each room and send samples home with you. Seeing them in your own light, against your own walls, settles a lot of debates.

Then we measure the house, check the subfloor and give you a written quote. Financing options are available. Evening and weekend appointments available on request, since a lot of new owners are still working full days while they move.

We work in Madison and the towns within about 45 minutes of the Capitol. See our service areas. Got your closing date? Call, text or send us a note and we’ll plan backward from move-in day.