Flooring & Tile Installation
Hardwood-look, tile and stone floors installed flat, level and square.
How we approach flooring & tile
Most flooring complaints in the Greater New Orleans area have nothing to do with the material on top. They come from what was under it. A slab that dips a quarter inch across eight feet will telegraph through any tile, plank or laminate you set on it, and no amount of grout will hide the result. GMK Pro Service starts every flooring job in Kenner with the surface itself: we map the high and low spots, check moisture on slab-on-grade homes, and decide on paper whether the floor needs grinding, patching or a self-leveling pour before a single box is opened.
From there the layout gets planned instead of guessed. Where the first course lands decides whether you end up with a sliver cut at the most visible doorway or a balanced border on both walls. We dry-lay the critical rows, mark the control lines, and show you the layout before we start setting. Ten minutes of chalk lines has saved more floors than any premium adhesive.
We install ceramic and porcelain tile, natural stone, luxury vinyl plank and laminate, and we handle the transitions between them — the thresholds, reducers and schluter-style edge profiles that decide whether a floor looks finished or improvised. Kitchens that meet living rooms, bathrooms that meet hallways, and stair nosings all get a detail decided in advance rather than solved with caulk at the end.
Older homes in Harahan and Uptown New Orleans bring their own puzzle: plank subfloors that flex, joists at 24 inches on center, and rooms that are not square by any measurement. Those floors need an uncoupling membrane or an added layer of underlayment, not a thicker bed of mortar. Newer builds in Destrehan and Marrero are flatter but often move more in the first year, which changes where we place movement joints.
Every install ends the same way. Grout haze off, joints uniform, thresholds fastened, baseboards clean, and the room vacuumed before we hand it back. You get a straight answer on cure times, when furniture can come back and how to clean the floor without dulling it.
Six things that decide the result
Flatness measured, not eyeballed
We check the substrate against a straightedge and record where it fails, so leveling work is priced honestly instead of discovered mid-job.
Layout you approve first
Control lines and the first courses go down dry. You see where cuts will land before anything is permanently set.
Right setting material for the surface
Mortar, membrane or adhesive is chosen for the substrate and the tile size, not for whatever is on the truck.
Transitions detailed in advance
Doorways, height changes and stair edges get a specified profile, so the finish reads intentional at every boundary.
Movement joints where they belong
Perimeter gaps and field joints follow industry spacing so seasonal movement does not crack the field.
A clean handover
Haze removed, debris hauled, and clear guidance on cure time and daily cleaning before the crew leaves.
What is written into your quote
Assessment and prep
- Moisture reading on concrete slabs
- High and low spot mapping
- Grinding, patching or self-leveler as needed
- Old flooring and adhesive removal
Layout and setting
- Dry layout with control lines
- Notched trowel sizing for the tile format
- Back-buttering on large formats
- Uncoupling membrane where the substrate calls for it
Finishing details
- Grout color selection with samples
- Sanded or unsanded chosen by joint width
- Color-matched silicone at movement joints
- Thresholds, reducers and stair nosings
Close-out
- Grout haze and film removal
- Debris hauled off site
- Written cure and care instructions
- Walkthrough before final payment
From the first call to the walkthrough
Site visit
We measure, check the substrate and photograph problem areas so the estimate matches reality.
Written scope
You get a fixed scope: prep, materials, layout plan, timeline and what is excluded.
Prep day
Old flooring out, surface corrected, moisture verified and the room protected.
Installation
Setting, cutting and grouting in sequence, with the layout you already approved.
Walkthrough
We inspect together, clean up and hand over care instructions in writing.
Why a flooring install is worth hiring out
The cost of a flooring mistake is not the tile. It is the demolition of a floor you already paid to install. A field that was set on an unprepared slab will crack along the same low spot every year no matter how it is patched, and hollow-sounding tile from poor mortar coverage usually has to come out in full sheets rather than piece by piece.
Crews that install floors weekly also own the tools that decide quality: a wet saw with a good blade, a laser level, moisture meters, leveling clips and mixing equipment that keeps mortar consistent from the first bag to the last. Renting those for a weekend rarely closes the gap, because the skill is in reading the substrate, not in operating the saw.
Flooring & Tile work in the area
Flooring & Tile: the seven we hear most
Not always, but it has to be checked. Industry guidance allows about an eighth of an inch of deviation over ten feet for large-format tile, which is tighter than most slabs in this area measure. We put a straightedge on the floor during the estimate and tell you what it reads. If leveling is needed, it appears as a line item rather than a surprise.
Sometimes. If the existing field is well bonded, flat and does not create a height problem at doors and appliances, setting over it saves demolition. We sound the floor for hollow tiles first. If more than a small percentage is loose, tearing out is cheaper than fixing failures later.
Light foot traffic is usually fine after 24 hours, grout after 24 to 48, and heavy furniture or appliances after 72. Humidity slows curing, so we give you the actual window based on the products used on your job rather than a generic number.
Rectified tile can go as tight as a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch. Non-rectified tile needs a wider joint because the edges vary. Bigger tiles also need enough joint to absorb size variation. We recommend a width based on the actual tile you selected.
Yes for standard furniture and appliances that disconnect without a licensed trade. Gas lines, plumbing disconnects and built-in cabinetry are quoted separately or coordinated with your own plumber so nothing falls into a gap between trades.
If the tile is still produced we will source it and blend the repair into the field. Dye lots shift over time, so a perfect match is rarely possible on older installs. In that case we usually recommend replacing a full section that ends at a natural break, which reads better than a patch in the middle of a room.
Yes. We work nights and weekends when a store or office cannot close during business hours, and we sequence rooms so part of the space stays usable. Commercial jobs get a written phasing plan before we start.
Usually booked alongside this
Porcelain
Large-format porcelain set with lippage control and tight, even joints. See this serviceVinyl & Laminate
Luxury vinyl plank and laminate over a subfloor that has been made right. See this serviceResidential & Commercial
One crew for occupied homes and for spaces that have to open on schedule. See this serviceWhere we do this work
Flooring & Tile jobs run out of Kenner and across Metairie, Harahan, River Ridge, New Orleans, Elmwood, Westwego, Gretna, Marrero and Destrehan. See the full service area map.
- Kenner, LA
- Metairie, LA
- Harahan, LA
- River Ridge, LA
- New Orleans, LA
- Elmwood, LA
- Westwego, LA
- Gretna, LA
- Marrero, LA
- Destrehan, LA
Get a fixed price for your flooring & tile job
Free on-site visit. We read the slab, check flatness with a straightedge and hand you a written scope before anyone talks price.
Free estimates. No obligation.
