Flooring in Somerville, NJ
Somerville was carved out of Bridgewater in 1863, and our showroom is still in Bridgewater, under ten minutes away. Route 28 runs through the borough and the Somerville Circle sits on its western edge, so getting to you is not a scheduling problem. Come see full-size samples in person before anyone measures anything.
Why a Somerville floor is a different job
Most of Somerville was built a century before the townships around it filled in. The railroad came through in the 1840s and water power on the Raritan was developed in the 1850s, and that is when the borough filled in. Borough Hall is an 1888 Gothic Revival house. St. John's on High Street went up in 1895. The county courthouse dates to 1909.
Houses from that era do not have plywood under the floor. They have board subfloor, usually run on a diagonal, and the finish floor on top is often narrow strip oak rather than the wide plank people ask for today. Those boards have also had a hundred years to settle, so the floor is rarely dead flat.
None of that is a problem. It just means the prep is the job, and anyone who quotes your floor without going downstairs or pulling up a corner of the carpet is guessing.
The whole borough is 2.3 square miles
Somerville is about 2.34 square miles of land with roughly 5,400 housing units in it. Lots are small, driveways are short, and a lot of the older homes have one narrow stair run with a turn in it.
That changes two practical things. Material has to be carried in rather than staged in a garage, and stairs take longer than the square footage suggests. We would rather tell you that when we quote it than discover it on install day.
Rentals and converted apartments
Somerville is not all owner-occupied houses. Old factory buildings downtown were converted to apartments, there is more rental housing here than in the surrounding townships, and about a third of households are a single person.
If you own rental property in Somerville, the floor you want is not the floor a homeowner wants. You want something that survives a tenant, goes down fast between leases, and can be matched again in two years when another unit needs redoing. That means stocked material, not a special order with a lead time.
We keep carpet and vinyl plank on the floor in Bridgewater for exactly this. More on rental and property management work
Carpet in Somerville
Bedrooms in older Somerville houses are smaller than in a new colonial, and a fair number of them sit under a dormer with a sloped ceiling and odd corners. Carpet handles those angles better than plank does, because it can be cut and seamed to the room instead of fighting it.
Stairs are the other place carpet earns it here. A steep stair run with a turn in it needs a tighter pile that will seam cleanly on the winders and hold the nose of each tread.
Shaw Lantern Bay is the 40 ounce we keep in stock in Bridgewater. Soft enough for a bedroom, dense enough for a stair.
Vinyl plank in Somerville
Vinyl plank is what goes down most often in Somerville kitchens and in rental units. It is waterproof, it is rigid core, and once the subfloor under it is made flat it lies down properly even in a house that has settled.
That last part matters more here than in a newer town. In an old house the leveling is the difference between a floor that looks right and one that clicks and flexes underfoot.
We stock COREtec Pro Classics and Shaw Optimum. Both are on the floor in Bridgewater right now.
Hardwood in Somerville
This is the section that matters most here. A lot of these houses still have their original floors under the carpet, and the real question is rarely which new floor to buy. It is whether what you already own is worth saving.
Original narrow strip oak with thickness left in it is usually worth refinishing, and it will look better than anything you could buy to replace it. Where it stops being worth saving is when the boards have already been sanded too far, when water has gone through the tongue, or when a wall came out and a patch would never match.
We will walk the floor and tell you which one you are looking at. If the answer is refinish, we will say so, even though it is the smaller job for us.
When new wood is the answer, we order Bruce, Mirage, Kährs, IndusParquet, Ferma, and Expert by Elias Wilf. Laminate and tile are special order as well.
What we have on the floor right now
Carpet and vinyl plank are in stock in Bridgewater, so those can be scheduled right away. Hardwood, laminate, and tile are special order and arrive in about three to four business days.
Getting an estimate in Somerville
We come to the house, measure, and hand you an itemized number with materials and labor separated. It is free and there is no obligation. Somerville is minutes from the showroom, so a measurement is often same day or next day.
Common questions
Do you come to Somerville for estimates?
Yes. We are minutes away in Bridgewater, the estimate is free, and a measurement is often same day or next day.
My house is from the 1800s. Can you still put a new floor in it?
Yes. The difference is the prep underneath, not the material on top. We check the subfloor before we give you a number so the prep is in the quote.
Should I refinish the original floor or replace it?
We will look at how much thickness is left in the boards and tell you which one we would do. We handle both.
I own a rental unit here. How fast can you turn it around?
Carpet and vinyl plank are in stock in Bridgewater, so a unit can usually be scheduled right away instead of waiting on an order.
Does the quote include taking the old floor out?
Yes. Old floor removal and haul-away is priced into the job up front. Furniture moving is quoted with the job as well, so you see that number before you decide.
Can I see it before I commit?
Yes. The showroom is in Bridgewater and you can take samples home.