Flooring Contractor in Hollywood, FL - Floors Prepped Right From the Slab Up

The city's Building Division decides, and it issues permits for work that alters or repairs any building or structure, which the city says can include a driveway, patio deck or pool. That means a pool deck or patio job can fall under it as well as work inside the house. When a job needs a permit, we take care of it with the building office before work starts, and when it isn't clear, we ask the office instead of guessing.

State law now has the city exempt single-family owners and their contractors from building permits for work under $7,500, and floor tiles are among the work that may qualify. The value of the whole project counts, so it can't be split into phases to get under that line, and electrical or structural work and any property partly or fully in a flood hazard area still need a permit at any cost. To use it, you or your contractor send a written request with the contract showing the work and its value, as the city explains on its permit exemption page, and if your job is close to the line, I'll check with the office before we start.

Call the city's Floodplain Administrator at 954.921.3930, who offers free site visits, because many parts of Hollywood lie within floodplains, especially east of US1. It matters for a floor job because the $7,500 exemption doesn't cover property in a flood hazard area, so a permit may be needed no matter how small the job is.

A contractor registers with the city by filing a signed, notarized form with copies of the qualifier's driver's license, a business tax receipt, their certification or registration and a Broward County Certificate of Competency. Any business working in the city also needs a city Local Business Tax Receipt and Certificate of Use, and the county Tax Collector says anyone doing business in Broward County needs a county receipt unless they're exempt. We're licensed and insured, and it's fair to ask any contractor you're considering, us included, about those papers.

Size matters, but the condition of your slab moves the price most, so I can't give you a fair number until I've seen and tested it. Old paint, sealer or glue that has to come off, cracks to repair, moisture in the concrete, the coating you pick and the finish all raise or lower it, and those same things decide how long your floor takes. Your estimate is written out with the prep, the product and the finish so you can see where the money goes.

Peeling usually comes from poor prep, most often a coating rolled over a slab that was never ground, still had old sealer or paint on it, or held more moisture than the product could handle. I spent years watching shop floors peel before I learned why, so we test the slab and grind it before anything goes down. If the test shows a problem, I'll tell you at the estimate rather than coat over it.