The quiet discipline of installation tolerances

Field notes from our install crew on subfloor preparation, expansion gaps and acoustic underlay.

A flooring system is only as quiet as its weakest layer. Subfloor flatness, moisture barrier continuity and a properly specified acoustic underlay determine how the finished floor sounds and feels underfoot.

Our install protocol calls for ±3mm over a 3m straightedge, a sealed vapor membrane on all ground-bearing slabs, and a 10mm perimeter expansion gap concealed by the skirting detail.

The result is a floor that does not click, creak or telegraph footfall, the kind of restraint that defines a project years after handover.