Eau Claire, WI · Trusted Home Improvement Since 1993
Flooring installation in Eau Claire, WI from a general contractor who sets the subfloor, not just the finish floor. Hardwood, laminate, LVP, and tile. 33 years local. Call (715) 894-1120.
BBB Accredited · Licensed & Insured · Free Estimates
Or call directly: (715) 894-1120
Midwest Home Improvements
Midwest Home Improvements handles flooring installation in Eau Claire, WI, and the part that decides whether your new floor lasts isn't the plank you pick, it's what's underneath it. Because we're a general contractor first, the crew laying your hardwood, laminate, LVP, or tile is the same crew that can level a sagging joist bay, correct a bad subfloor, and handle the moisture problems that come with Wisconsin basements and slabs instead of leaving all of that for 'someone else.' Owner Stephen Bonander has run the company in the Chippewa Valley since 1993, licensed, insured, and BBB-accredited.
Most flooring-only installers price the job from the finish surface down and stop at the subfloor. That's where the callbacks come from. A floor that looks perfect on install day telegraphs every high spot, soft joist, and damp slab within a season or two, and by then the finish floor is already down on top of the problem. We scope flooring the other direction: subfloor and moisture first, finish material second. Contact Midwest Home Improvements and we'll walk the room before anyone talks about color.
Free, no-pressure estimates — talk to a real person today.
Flooring installation in Eau Claire, WI sounds like a finish job, and the finish is the easy part. The floor lives or dies on what's under it. In this housing stock we run into two problems constantly. The first is moisture. A lot of flooring goes down over basements and over slab in this area, and a slab that reads dry to the hand can still push enough vapor through to cup hardwood or lift laminate seams. We test and seal before anything goes down, not after. The second is a subfloor that isn't flat or isn't solid. Older homes near Randall Park and the Third Ward are often pre-1940, and decades of settling leave joist bays that sag and plank subfloors that squeak and dish. The 1960s and 70s ranches out toward Altoona and the Town of Washington have their own pattern of soft spots and out-of-level spans. A finish floor laid over any of that fails the same way every time.
Because we're a general contractor, fixing those things is in-house, not a reason to walk off the job. We level the span, sister or replace a bad joist, re-secure or replace the subfloor, and lay a proper vapor barrier before the finish material shows up. That's the difference between a floor that's flat in year one and a floor that's still flat in year ten. If your flooring is part of a larger complete home remodel, it gets sequenced into the job so the subfloor work and the finish floor are owned by one contractor. Want it handled start to finish? Call (715) 894-1120.
LVP and vinyl plank flooring installation is the most-requested floor we put down right now, and for good reason in this climate. Luxury vinyl plank and tile (LVP and LVT) are waterproof, they handle the humidity swings a Wisconsin basement throws at them, and they take the freeze-thaw temperature movement in a four-season house better than most materials. For a basement rec room, a mudroom that catches snowmelt, or a kitchen, it's usually the right call.
But waterproof plank is not foolproof, and this is where the subfloor-first approach matters most.
"Waterproof flooring doesn't fix a wet slab. The plank survives the moisture, but the moisture still has to go somewhere, and trapped under the floor it finds the subfloor and the walls instead."
LVP floats or glues over a substrate that has to be flat within tolerance, or the locking seams work loose and the planks click underfoot. On a slab, we address vapor first. On a wood subfloor, we flatten it first. Then the plank goes down. Thinking about LVP for a basement or a high-traffic main floor? Get a free quote and we'll tell you honestly whether it's the right floor for that room.
Hardwood floor installation is the finish that homeowners in older Eau Claire homes most want to protect or restore, and solid hardwood is also the floor least forgiving of a bad foundation underneath. Real wood moves with humidity. It swells in a damp Wisconsin summer and shrinks in the dry heat of a long winter, which is why acclimation and expansion gaps are not optional details, they're the whole job. We bring the material into the space to acclimate before install, set the correct expansion gap at every wall and transition, and lay the boards to the subfloor only after the subfloor is flat and dry.
In a lot of pre-1940 homes near downtown, there's original hardwood worth keeping under a layer of old carpet or laminate. Part of our job is telling you when that's true, because refinishing what's there can beat tearing it out. When the old floor is too far gone, solid or engineered hardwood goes down over a corrected subfloor. Either way, you get a straight answer before the demo starts.
Laminate and tile flooring installation cover the two ends of the budget, and both punish a skipped subfloor step in their own way. Laminate is an affordable, durable floating floor that looks great over a flat substrate and shows every dip and ridge when the substrate isn't flat. Like LVP, it needs the right underlayment and a proper expansion gap around the perimeter, or the seams peak and the planks separate.
Tile is the least forgiving floor there is, and it's where the general-contractor approach pays off most.
Tile over a bouncy floor is a repair waiting to happen, and most flooring-only crews will set it anyway and call the cracked grout 'normal.' We fix the floor first. Planning a tile bathroom or a laminate main floor? Call (715) 894-1120 and we'll scope the subfloor before we quote the tile.
Luxury vinyl plank and tile, the floor we install most. Waterproof, forgiving of basement humidity, and able to handle the temperature swings of a four-season house. Right for basements, mudrooms, kitchens, and busy main floors.
Solid and engineered hardwood, installed with proper acclimation and expansion gaps so the floor moves with the seasons instead of buckling or gapping. We'll also tell you when the original hardwood under your carpet is worth saving.
Floating laminate over the right underlayment and a correct perimeter gap. An affordable, durable finish that looks sharp over a flat subfloor and telegraphs every dip when the subfloor is ignored.
Tile over a rigid, deflection-free subfloor, with the waterproofing done right underneath. We stiffen questionable spans before setting tile so the grout doesn't crack in year one.
Subfloor leveling, joist repair, and squeak correction. Because we're a general contractor, a sagging bay or soft subfloor gets fixed in-house before the finish floor goes down, not flagged for another trade.
Moisture testing and vapor barriers for basements and slabs. We test before we lay and seal where it's needed, because a dry-looking slab in this area can still push enough vapor to ruin a new floor.
Honest advice and a clear estimate — no pressure, no obligation.
Here's the part most flooring crews won't put in writing. New flooring isn't always the right call, and we'd rather say so up front than take the job and watch it fail. Don't lay a floating LVP or laminate floor over a slab you haven't tested for moisture, because waterproof plank survives the water but the trapped vapor still finds your subfloor and your baseboards. Don't put solid hardwood in a below-grade basement, where the humidity swings are too much for real wood to handle. Engineered or LVP is the smarter floor down there. And if you've got one squeaky board or a single cracked tile, that's a repair, maybe a handyman visit, not a full tear-out. We're the right call when the floor is big enough, old enough, or problem enough that the subfloor underneath actually needs attention. Not sure which bucket you're in? Call (715) 894-1120 and we'll give you an honest answer, even if the answer is that you don't need a new floor yet.
Reviews
We've been serving this region since 1993, from Eau Claire to Chippewa Falls and the smaller towns around them. Flooring is often the floor you walk on every day, so the subfloor under it has to be right.
We had a full main floor remodel done, kitchen, living room, new flooring throughout. The timeline was exactly what they told us it would be. No surprises, no excuses. The work looks great two years later.
Stephen and his crew were thorough from day one. They caught a framing issue behind one of our walls that would have caused serious problems down the road. Glad we went with someone who actually knows what they're doing.
I've hired a lot of contractors over the years. Midwest Home Improvements is the company I actually call back. Honest pricing, quality work, and they clean up after themselves.
Good to Know
Hardwood, laminate, LVP, LVT, or tile, we'll walk the room, check the subfloor and the slab, and give you an honest estimate before anyone talks about color. One crew owns the floor from the joists up. Call (715) 894-1120 or reach out through the contact form and we'll set up a time to see your space.
Request a free estimate
Tell us about your project — we'll be in touch within one business day.
Good to Know
