Serving Penticton to Vernon

Professionally installed floors and tile, built to last.

Recent work

See the gallery

Herringbone hardwood installation by THW Floors — Hardwood installation using a herringbone pattern

Shower tile installation — Custom shower completed by THW floors

Hardwood wrapped stair well with wool carpet stairs — Hardwood and carpet installation by THW floors

Floor to ceiling stacked stone fireplace — Fireplace stone completed by THW floors

Bedroom carpet installation — Bedroom carpet

Book-matched marble-look slab wall with warm light glowing around its edges. — Slab feature wall

Walk-in shower in speckled terrazzo-look tile with a frameless glass door, rain head and hand shower. — Custom shower

Shower installation by THW Floors — Custom tile shower with a vibrant blue feature wall

Carpet installation by THW Floors — Carpet installation throughout a downstairs living room and rec room

Custom shower with heated floor installed by THW Floors

Flooring for every space — from tile and hardwood to vinyl, laminate, and carpet. Proudly serving the Okanagan.

Request a quote Call (250) 575-2215

Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

See what goes under the floor

What we install

Open a material to see how it goes down

Start a quote for tile
How tile goes down

A tile floor is built in layers: the subfloor, leveled where it needs it, then an uncoupling membrane that lets the subfloor and the tile move independently, so small shifts are less likely to crack tile or grout. Adding a heated floor brings a nice touch of warmth to a tiled floor.

Waterproofing and uncoupling membranes, done properly where they belong.
Four layers under a tile floor

Numbered in the order they go down

Adds the heating cable to the uncoupling membrane in the drawing.

Subfloor

The plywood or concrete the whole floor is built on. Tile needs a stiff, solid base, so loose or springy spots are dealt with before anything else goes down.

Drawing: plywood fastened down to the floor joists.

Leveling

Where the floor isn't flat, a pourable compound fills the dips and settles level on its own. The bigger the tile, the flatter the floor needs to be.

Self-leveling compound, poured and settling flat.

Uncoupling membrane

A thin plastic mat with a fabric back, bonded down, usually with thin-set mortar. Wood and concrete shift a little with the seasons; the mat lets them move without cracking the tile or grout above.

Heated floor (optional)

A heating cable is pressed in between the mat's studs, spaced as the system's maker specifies, and a floor sensor between two runs tells the thermostat how warm the floor is.

Heating cable pressed into the membrane, as thin-set goes on.

Tile

Set in thin-set mortar, a cement-based tile adhesive that fills the mat's dimples and locks on. Spacers keep the joints even, then the joints are grouted.

Floor tile going down over the heated membrane.

Showers Before tile goes up, a tiled shower gets a waterproofing membrane, and its floor is flood-tested: the drain is plugged and the base is filled with water to prove it holds.

Schematic, not to scale. The layers can vary by job. Photos are from different jobs.
Tile work
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Custom shower completed by THW floors
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Fireplace stone completed by THW floors
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Custom tile shower with a vibrant blue feature wall
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Start a quote for vinyl
How vinyl goes down

Vinyl goes down one of three ways: click-together planks that float over the floor, glue-down planks bonded to it, or sheet vinyl off a wide roll. Which one suits a floor depends on the product and the room.
Three ways vinyl goes down

Click-together planks Floating, no glue

The planks lock to each other, not to the floor. The finished floor floats as one piece, so it can move a little as the house warms and cools.

Close-up, cut away: the locking edge

01Angle the edge inThe new plank’s tongue goes into the groove of the last row at a low angle.

02Lower it to lockPressed down flat, the long edges snap together. The short ends angle in or press down to lock, depending on the product.

03Leave a gap at the wallsNothing fastens it down. A small gap all round, hidden by the baseboard, gives the floor room to move.

Glue-down planks Bonded to the floor

Every plank is set into a thin, even bed of adhesive, so nothing floats and the floor stays put, in homes and on busy commercial floors alike.

Close-up, cut away: plank and adhesive

01Spread the adhesiveA fine-notched trowel combs out even ridges of adhesive, one section at a time.

02Set each plank inPlanks are placed straight down into the adhesive, tight to their neighbours.

03Roll it flatA heavy floor roller, run both ways, beds every plank into full contact.

Sheet vinyl One piece off the roll

Sheet vinyl comes off a wide roll, so many rooms need one piece and no seams. Residential sheet goods come 12 feet wide and their seams are sealed; commercial sheet goods come 6 feet wide and their seams are heat-welded.

Close-up, cut away: a heat-welded seam on commercial sheet goods

01Roll it outThe sheet is unrolled and left flat to relax, then laid across the room in one piece.

02Trim and glue it downCut a little oversize and trimmed to fit along each wall. Then half the sheet at a time is folded back, adhesive is spread over the whole floor, and the sheet is laid into it and rolled so it bonds everywhere.

03Seal the seamTwo widths are cut together so they match. On 12-foot residential sheet goods the seam is sealed; on 6-foot commercial sheet goods it’s heat-welded: grooved, filled with a vinyl rod, trimmed flush.

Schematic, not to scale.
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Start a quote for laminate
How laminate goes down

Laminate is a floating floor: the planks click together over an underlayment instead of being fastened down, on a floor leveled flat first. Over concrete, a vapour barrier goes under it where the manufacturer calls for one, to keep moisture from coming up through the slab.
Subfloor

The floor that is already there: plywood over wood framing, or a concrete slab. It has to be solid, dry and clean before anything goes on it. Loose or squeaky spots are fastened down first.

Leveling

Laminate needs a flat floor. Over a dip or a hump the planks flex, which strains the joints between them. Dips are filled with leveling compound and high spots are ground or sanded down.

3/16 in over 10 ft

The flatness most laminate makers ask for.

Underlayment

A thin foam or felt pad rolled out under the planks. It softens and quiets footsteps and evens out tiny bumps. Some planks come with a pad already attached, and then no second pad goes down.

On concrete, a plastic vapour barrier goes under the pad where the manufacturer calls for one, or comes built into it.

Laminate

The planks click together: each one is angled into the last, then pressed down until it locks. The floor floats, with no nails or glue, so a small gap is left at every wall for it to move with the seasons. Trim covers the gap.

Click joint

Gap under the trim

Schematic, not to scale.
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Start a quote for carpet
How carpet goes down

Most carpet in a home is stretched over a pad and hooked onto tack strip, a thin wood strip with angled pins around the edge of the room. It can also be glued straight to the floor, mostly in commercial spaces, or laid as carpet tiles that lift out one at a time.
Three ways carpet goes down
Carpet over pad
The usual way in a home. Tack strips go around the walls and a pad fills the floor inside them. The carpet is then stretched tight with a kicker or with a power stretcher, a long tool braced against the far wall, and hooked onto the strips.
At the wall. The pins hold the stretched carpet, and its edge tucks into the small gap beside the baseboard.
Subfloor
01Tack strip: Pins point to the wall
02Pad: Inside the strips
03Carpet: Stretched, hooked on
Schematic, not to scale.
Glue-down carpet
No pad and no strips. Adhesive is spread over the floor with a notched trowel, then the carpet is laid into it and rolled so it bonds everywhere. Firm and flat underfoot, which suits rolling chairs, ramps and concrete floors. It’s mostly used in commercial spaces, and sometimes in homes.
At the wall. The carpet is trimmed tight to the baseboard. Nothing to hook, nothing to stretch.
Subfloor
01Adhesive: Troweled onto the floor
02Carpet: Pressed in with a roller
Schematic, not to scale.
Carpet tiles
Squares of carpet with their own backing, laid tight edge to edge. Where the product calls for it, a tacky adhesive stops them sliding but lets them lift, so a stained or worn square can be swapped for a spare.
At the wall. The edge squares are cut to fit, and every square sits on its own.
Subfloor
01Adhesive: Holds, yet lets go
02Carpet tiles: Squares, laid tight
Schematic, not to scale.
Carpet work
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Bedroom carpet
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Carpet installation throughout a downstairs living room and rec room

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Start a quote for hardwood
How hardwood goes down

Solid hardwood is usually nailed down into a wood subfloor, with the fasteners hidden in the tongue of each board. Engineered hardwood is often nailed down too, with a glue assist on plywood, and is usually only fully glued down over concrete. Some engineered floors can also float, like laminate.
How the boards are held down

Schematic, not to scale. The drawing shows nail-down.

Nail-down

Hidden fasteners hold each board to the subfloor. Engineered boards often get a glue assist on plywood as well.

Goes over A wood subfloor, such as plywood. Not bare concrete.

Glue-down

A bed of adhesive holds every board to the floor. Full glue-down is usually used over concrete, where nails can’t grip.

Goes over Usually concrete.

Engineered hardwood can also float: the boards are joined to each other over an underlayment and not fastened to the floor.
Hardwood work
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Hardwood and carpet installation by THW floors
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Hardwood installation using a herringbone pattern
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The drawings are illustrations, not photographs of THW work.

How it works

Tell us about your project

Tell us which rooms, their approximate size, and what you’d like installed. It takes about two minutes, and you do not need to measure.
Start a quote
We take care of the details

We’ll reach out and arrange to measure your space and outline everything needed for the installation.
Review and schedule

Once you’re happy with the details, give us the go-ahead. We’ll arrange an installation date that works for you.

Why choose us

We have installed flooring and tile throughout the Okanagan since 2003.

Your flooring or ours

We install what you have chosen, or help you with the materials.
Professional, insured and WorkSafeBC covered

We prepare the space carefully and complete each installation to professional standards.
Residential & commercial

Homes and businesses from Penticton to Vernon.
Complimentary measure, no obligation

We come to measure, so you do not have to.

Your new project starts here

Share a few details about your space, and we’ll arrange a complimentary measure with no obligation.

Request a quote Call (250) 575-2215

Phone: Call (250) 575-2215
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Area: Penticton to Vernon
Quote: It takes about two minutes, and you do not need to measure.

Highway 97 and Okanagan Lake. Stylized, not to scale.

Professionally installed floors and tile, built to last.

Recent work

What we install

TileWall, floor and shower Floor and wall tile, heated floors, showers and backsplashes.

VinylPlank and rolled goods Luxury vinyl plank, SPC click, and commercial sheet vinyl with heat-welded seams for wet areas and safety floors.

LaminateClick planks, floating Floating laminate over the right underlay, cut tight to transitions and finished with matching trim.

CarpetBroadloom & carpet tiles Broadloom, carpet tile and stairs — including pie stairs — stretched properly so it stays flat.

HardwoodSolid & engineered Nail-down, glue-down and floating hardwood, with the subfloor prepared to tolerance first.

How it works

Tell us about your project

We take care of the details

Review and schedule

Why choose us

Your new project starts here