Custom Installations has been installing hardwood floors across North Vancouver and the North Shore for over 20 years. We're a family-owned business based locally, and our installers are certified by the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) - the industry's leading certification body for hardwood flooring professionals.
We install solid hardwood, engineered hardwood, and luxury vinyl plank (LVP) in homes and condos throughout the area, and we handle refinishing as well - so if your floors need a second life down the road, you're calling the same team. Our work includes brands like Kentwood, Mohawk, and Timeless, and we use Bona finishing products for site-finished floors.
A floor is a long-term investment, and the material is only part of the equation. The prep work - subfloor levelling, moisture assessment, proper acclimation, underlay selection - is what determines whether a beautiful floor stays beautiful for years or starts to squeak, cup, and shift within a season. That's where the real skill is, and it's where we focus.
Solid Hardwood
Solid hardwood is milled from a single piece of wood and can be sanded and refinished multiple times over its lifetime - often 50 to 100 years with proper care. It's an excellent choice for above-grade living spaces on traditional wood subfloors where moisture levels are stable. In North Vancouver, where seasonal humidity swings are real, solid hardwood needs to be the right species and properly acclimated before installation. We'll confirm whether your space is a good candidate before recommending it.
Engineered Hardwood
Engineered hardwood is the most popular choice we install across North Vancouver, and for good reason. Its cross-ply construction makes it significantly more dimensionally stable than solid hardwood - it handles the humidity changes common in coastal BC without the cupping and gapping risk that can affect solid wood. It's an ideal choice for condos, main floors, and any space where moisture is a consideration. It can still be refinished once or twice depending on the wear layer, and it looks identical to solid hardwood once installed.
Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP)
Modern LVP has come a long way. It offers a convincing wood-look finish with excellent water resistance, making it a practical option for busy households, rental properties, kitchens, and any space where spills and heavy foot traffic are a daily reality. It's also often the best choice for installations over concrete or below-grade spaces where moisture control is a challenge. If you're after durability and low maintenance, it's worth a serious look.
Stairs & Transitions
Stairs, landings, and transitions between flooring types - tile to hardwood, carpet to hardwood, different levels - are where a lot of flooring installations fall apart visually. We plan these details at the quoting stage, not as an afterthought, so everything flows cleanly from room to room and floor to floor.
Most homeowners shopping for a new floor spend their time choosing the right product - the species, the stain, the finish. That part matters. But the quality of the installation is almost entirely determined by what happens before a single plank goes down.
A subfloor that's out of level by even a few millimetres causes hollow spots, movement, and noise. Skip the moisture check in a coastal climate like North Vancouver's and you risk cupping, buckling, and gapping as the seasons change. Rush the acclimation period - the time the flooring material needs to adjust to your home's temperature and humidity before installation - and you're building in problems from day one. Choose the wrong underlay for a condo with an IIC rating requirement and you're looking at a strata complaint.
These aren't rare edge cases. They're the most common reasons floors fail. We check subfloor flatness, assess moisture levels, and confirm the installation method and underlay before we start. It adds time at the front end and it's worth every minute of it.
Why Choose Us?
We install hardwood floors throughout the City and District of North Vancouver, including:
We also serve West Vancouver, Vancouver, and communities throughout the Lower Mainland. Not sure if we cover your area? Give us a call at 604-818-4053.
We are extremely happy with the work done by Custom Installations! They repaired the laminate flooring in our living room and installed new tiles in the entryway- we couldn’t be happier with the results. They were reliable, professional, and responded to all our inquiries promptly.
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Nail-down The traditional method for solid hardwood over wood subfloors - planks are secured directly to the subfloor with cleats or staples. Produces a firm, solid feel underfoot and is the preferred method for solid hardwood on above-grade installations. |
Glue-down Used for engineered hardwood and LVP installations over concrete subfloors. The flooring is adhered directly to the substrate, eliminating movement and reducing sound transmission - a good option for below-grade spaces and concrete slab condos. |
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Floating The planks click together and rest over an underlay without being fastened to the subfloor. Used for engineered hardwood and LVP. Quick to install, easy to repair or replace individual planks, and the standard approach for most condo installations where adhesive isn't permitted. |
Subfloor prep & levelling Sometimes the right first step is getting the subfloor flat before anything else happens. We assess and address high spots, low spots, and moisture issues before installation begins - because no installation method fixes a bad subfloor. |
Condo flooring installations in North Vancouver come with a specific set of considerations that don't apply to single-family homes, and getting them wrong creates real problems - with strata, with neighbours, and with the installation itself.
Most strata corporations in North Vancouver require a minimum IIC (Impact Isolation Class) rating for underlay - typically IIC 65 to IIC 72 - to reduce impact noise transmission to the unit below. The underlay you choose affects which flooring products are compatible, which installation method is feasible, and what the floor feels and sounds like underfoot. We'll confirm your building's requirements before we spec the job.
Beyond the technical side, condo installations require planning around elevator bookings, move-in and move-out windows, noise hour restrictions, and suite protection for common areas. We've done this enough times in North Vancouver buildings that it's just part of how we scope the project from the start - not a last-minute surprise.
What we handle for condo installations:
Hardwood floor installation costs vary based on the product, square footage, subfloor condition, and finishing details like stairs and transitions. As a rough guide, engineered hardwood installation typically ranges from $6 to $12 per square foot installed, while solid hardwood runs somewhat higher depending on species and method. LVP is generally at the lower end of the range. We provide detailed, itemized quotes after seeing the space - send photos to get started.
For most North Vancouver spaces, engineered hardwood is the more practical choice. The coastal climate brings real humidity variation across seasons, and engineered hardwood's cross-ply construction handles that movement without the cupping and gapping risk of solid wood. That said, solid hardwood is a great option in the right space and subfloor conditions - we'll give you an honest recommendation for your specific situation.
Yes, with the right product and approach. Most condos in North Vancouver require an IIC-rated underlay for sound transmission compliance. Engineered hardwood or LVP with a floating installation over an appropriate underlay is the standard approach. We confirm strata requirements before scoping the job so there are no surprises.
A typical single-level installation takes two to four days, including prep, installation, and finishing details. Site-finished floors (sanded and coated on-site) require additional time for coats to dry between applications. We'll give you a clear timeline at the quoting stage.
Yes - the installation area needs to be clear before we start. We can advise on how to stage furniture in other rooms or out of the space. If you need help arranging removal, let us know at the quoting stage and we can discuss options.
Yes, with the right product. Engineered hardwood is generally the better choice over radiant heat systems - its construction handles the temperature cycling better than solid hardwood. LVP is also compatible with most radiant systems. We'll confirm compatibility with your specific heating system before recommending a product.
We work with Kentwood, Mohawk, and Timeless hardwood flooring, and use Bona products for site-finished and refinished floors. If you have a specific product in mind, get in touch and we'll let you know if we can source it.
Whether you're replacing carpet, upgrading an existing floor, or starting from a bare subfloor - send us a few photos and tell us what you're working with. We'll get back to you with an honest assessment and a detailed quote.
Serving North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the Lower Mainland. NWFA-certified installers. 20+ years on the North Shore.