Flooring contractors in Bucks County, PA: slab houses, older tile and complaints
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Bucks County homeowners know before replacing a floor?
Three local facts matter. Most of the county's homes date from the postwar decades rather than before 1940; thousands of them in Lower Bucks sit on concrete slabs; and the county runs its own consumer protection office that will mediate a dispute with a contractor. The Census Bureau counts 257,260 housing units in Bucks, and 79.5 percent of them are single-family houses, detached or attached.
How old are Bucks County homes, and why does that matter for flooring?
Only 9.9 percent of Bucks housing was first built in 1939 or earlier, against 25.0 percent for Pennsylvania as a whole, and 5.7 percent has gone up since 2010. That leaves the great majority built in the decades between. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists vinyl floor tiles, the backing on vinyl sheet flooring, and adhesives among the places asbestos may be found. It gives no dates, so the age of a floor does not settle the question either way.
The EPA's advice is specific. You cannot tell by looking whether a tile contains asbestos unless it is labeled. Material in good condition that will not be disturbed is best left alone, and when asbestos flooring needs replacing, the EPA says to install new flooring over it if possible rather than sanding or leveling it. If a quote for a Bucks home built in those decades includes tearing out old resilient flooring, ask whether the tiles and adhesive have been tested by an accredited professional first.
Lead is the other age question. The federal government banned lead paint for homes in 1978, and the EPA requires anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in a home built before then to be lead-safe certified. The Census pages do not say how many Bucks homes pre-date 1978, but every Levittown house does. On a flooring job that can mean painted trim or baseboards taken off and put back.
What changes on a concrete slab?
Moisture and the choice of floor. Between 1952 and 1958 slightly more than 17,300 houses, in six models, were built in Levittown, which spans Bristol, Falls and Middletown Townships and Tullytown Borough. The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia says these standardized houses stood on concrete slabs.
For a slab house, two pieces of guidance are worth knowing:
- Test the slab before new flooring goes down. After any water problem, the EPA says to be sure the foundation is dry before replacing flooring, and describes a test: tape the edges of a sheet of clear plastic to the slab, wait about 16 hours, and if moisture shows on the plastic the slab is still too wet.
- Ask what the wood product is rated for. The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), the hardwood trade body, says solid wood can be used in any room on or above ground and that engineered wood, which moves less, is ideal for basements. Whether a given product suits a slab is a question for the product's own installation instructions, so ask the contractor to show them.
Does house size affect the price in Bucks County?
It is likely to, since flooring is priced by the square foot. Bucks homes are large by the state's standards: the Census Bureau puts the median at 6.7 rooms, against 6.0 for Pennsylvania, and the median value of an owner-occupied home at $445,700. No published cost survey gives a Bucks County figure; the national ranges, and how a quote is built, are in the cost guide.
Who can you turn to in Bucks County if a flooring job goes wrong?
The county itself. Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures says it mediates consumer complaints against businesses whether they are based in the county or not, and refers cases to enforcement agencies where a crime may be involved. The problems it lists include incomplete or unsatisfactory home repairs and false statements that work is needed. Its complaint form can be filed online, or downloaded and mailed or emailed.
That local route matters in a county where 77.8 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, the highest share of the five counties around Philadelphia, so most households hire and pay flooring contractors themselves. Before you sign, check the business on the Attorney General's contractor search, which can be filtered to Bucks County; registration rules, the deposit limit and your right to cancel are explained in what Pennsylvania requires of flooring contractors. Businesses that serve the county are listed on the Bucks County flooring contractors page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Levittowns (Pennsylvania and New Jersey), Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
- Flood Cleanup to Protect Indoor Air and Your Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Learn About Asbestos, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Types of Wood Floors, National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA)
- Consumer Protection/ Weights & Measures, Bucks County
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General