Services

Lockerd Contracting Services provides the following services :

* Tile and stone installation including floor tile, wall tile, custom shower pans, countertops and much more.

*Tile, grout, or stone cleaning, sealing, repair, and restoration.

*Exterior tile and stone including patiors, porches, exterior walls, columns, and many other applications.

*Hardwood flooring including all types of prefinished hardwood.  Solid and engineered hardwoods in gluedown, nailed, stapled, or floated installations as well as custom stair installations.

*Laminate flooring

*Vinyl plank flooring

*Repair or replacement of damaged hardwood and laminate flooring.

*All types of demolition, subfloor repair, concrete levelling, baseboard and trim work.

*Lockerd Contracting does not install carpet or sheet vinyl but can subcontract this work so that you have only one flooring contractor to deal with.

Following are descriptions and information about all of these services.  Please feel free to email us with any questions about the type of work we do.

Tile Installation Process – Showers
Cement Backer Board Showers
This is the installation method most commonly used in the tile industry and is great when it comes to keeping the cost down. In this process, cement board panels are attached to the studs as the tile substrate.  All of our Cement Backer Board showers are installed with a full waterproof membrane (either under or on top, depending on the installation), fastened with backerboard screws, as well as taped with alkali-resistant mesh tape on all seams. This installation meets industry standards.
Kerdi Showers (By Schluter Systems)
This is a step up from a CBU shower in that it is a surface waterproofing that virtually eliminates mold growth. A Kerdi shower will cost a bit more due to materials, but when done right, it cannot be beat from a mold retarding, full waterproofing standpoint. For a look at how the Kerdi shower works, visit www.schluter.com.
Mud Showers
Ahhh, the mud shower… This is the “Rolls Royce” of all tile shower installations. Here is a process where mortar and lath are used to “float” the shower walls. The benefit of this kind of installation takes many forms. First and foremost, the finished walls are perfectly plumb and planar. This is very important when dealing with walls that are seriously out of plumb or using very large format tiles. The second benefit is that the tile substrate is a single concrete monolith and will last a lifetime with very minimal (if any) maintenance. Once installed, it is the strongest and most durable shower construction method available. This is truly a lost art and is a bit more labor-intensive, but anyone in the tile industry will tell you that this type of installation cannot be beat. Period. Click here for more information.

Although these are only a few of the shower installation techniques we offer, I would encourage you to do a bit of your own research on each one to see what you think will work best for you!

Tile Installation Process – Flooring
Concrete Slabs
We incorporate proper preparation techniques on all floors and a concrete slab is no exception. Your slab will be scraped and cleaned to remove all foreign material and eliminate all “bond breakers”. We also offer levelling for concrete slabs by grinding down the high spots and filling in the low spots to eliminate uneven tiles or “lippage”. Tile can be thinset directly to a concrete slab but we do advise the installation of an anti-fracture membrane first.  This anti-fracture membrane will keep cracks in the concrete from transfering to the tile and causing  damage to the tile.
Wood Subfloor
First things first… We will determine the floor deflection rating (how much flex is in your floor) on your floor before we begin. There are different requirements for floor stiffness and subfloor thickness for ceramic tile than for stone tile. In fact, industry standard states that a stone floor must have twice the deflection rating (stiffness) than a ceramic/porcelain tile floor. We understand these requirements and will not install a floor in an area that is destined to fail. Once the subfloor is up to par, then we move on to preparing the floor for tile. The two systems we use most frequently are Backerboard and Schluter Ditra.
  • Backerboard- This is a system where cement board is fastened to the subfloor and tile is applied directly to the backerboard. This is always installed with thin-set underneath to fill all voids and provide a solid footprint. Seams are always taped with alkali-resistant mesh tape. This is a solid system that meets industry standards.
  • Schluter Ditra- This is an uncoupling membrane that “uncouples” the tile from the subfloor. This is the superior system, as it allows the tile to move independently from the wood subfloor. For a look at how Schluter Ditra works, take a look at www.schluter.com.

Although these are only a few of the floor techniques we offer, we would encourage you to do a bit of your own research to see what you think will work best for you.

Hardwood Flooring Installation

*On a concrete subfloor : Over concrete we reccomend an engineered hardwood installed as a floating floor.  If you don’t want this type of floor there are other options, but they run a much higher risk of developing problems due to moisture coming up from the concrete slab.  An engineered hardwood can be glued directly to the concrete.  A solid hardwood can be installed by laying two layers of plywood over the concrete and nailing the hardwood to it.

*On a wood subfloor : Over a wood subfloor we recommend a nail down installation for solid hardwood or a staple down installation for engineered hardwood.  In both installations a moisture barrier is stapled to the subfloor to prevent moisture transfer from the subfloor to the hardwood.

Laminate flooring installation

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