Intake Forms for Flooring Companies: Subfloor Prep, Material Selection, and Room Measurement

By Daniel Akselrod · July 2026

Flooring is one of those trades where the visible product — the beautiful hardwood or tile you see when you walk into a room — is entirely dependent on what is happening underneath it that nobody sees. A $15-per-square-foot engineered hardwood installed over a subfloor with 12% moisture content is going to cup, buckle, and fail within eighteen months. The floor did not fail. The preparation failed. And the preparation failed because nobody asked the right questions before the material was ordered.

Most flooring companies collect room dimensions, a material preference, and a budget range. That gets a rough estimate generated. It does not get the job scoped correctly. A flooring installation intake form that captures subfloor condition, moisture data, layout preferences, transition details, and logistics saves the installer from showing up to a job that needs three days of subfloor prep before a single board can be laid.

Floor type selection: matching the product to the space

Clients often arrive with a material in mind based on what they saw at a showroom or on social media. The intake is where you determine whether that material is appropriate for their space:

• Solid hardwood — oak, maple, walnut, hickory, ash. Beautiful and long-lasting, but sensitive to moisture and not recommended for basements, bathrooms, or below-grade installations. Requires nail-down or glue-down installation over a wood subfloor. Cannot go over concrete. If the client wants hardwood in a basement, your intake should flag the conversation about engineered alternatives before anyone measures the room.
• Engineered hardwood — a real wood veneer over a plywood or HDF core. More dimensionally stable than solid hardwood, suitable for below-grade and concrete subfloors, and compatible with radiant heat in many cases. The veneer thickness (typically 2mm to 6mm) determines how many times the floor can be refinished. Thicker veneer costs more but extends the floor’s useful life.
• Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) and luxury vinyl tile (LVT) — the fastest-growing category in residential flooring. Waterproof, durable, and available in realistic wood and stone visuals. LVP is a floating floor in most installations — it clicks together and is not attached to the subfloor. This makes it forgiving of minor subfloor imperfections but intolerant of significant height variations. Your intake should note whether the client is aware of the floating installation method and its implications for feel underfoot.
• Ceramic and porcelain tile — the standard for bathrooms, kitchens, entryways, and high-moisture areas. Tile requires a flat, rigid subfloor (cement board, uncoupling membrane, or a concrete slab with no significant cracks). Your intake should capture whether the existing subfloor can accept tile or whether backer board installation is needed.
• Carpet — still common in bedrooms, basements, and family rooms. Carpet installation is faster than hard surface but requires pad selection (thickness and density) and seam planning for rooms wider than the carpet roll (typically 12 feet). Your intake should note room dimensions in relation to standard roll widths to identify where seams will fall.
• Epoxy and polished concrete — primarily for garages, basements, and commercial spaces. Epoxy requires a clean, profiled concrete surface. If the existing concrete has sealers, paint, or coatings, they must be removed before epoxy application. Your intake should ask about the current concrete surface condition and any prior coatings.

Subfloor condition and moisture testing

The subfloor is the foundation of every flooring installation. A material selection that ignores subfloor condition is a warranty claim waiting to happen:

• Subfloor type — plywood, OSB (oriented strand board), concrete slab, or existing flooring (going over it vs. removing it). Each subfloor type has different preparation requirements and compatible installation methods. Solid hardwood can be nailed to plywood but not to concrete. Tile needs cement board over wood subfloors. LVP can go over almost anything if it is flat enough.
• Subfloor levelness — most hard-surface flooring requires the subfloor to be flat within 3/16 inch over a 10-foot span. A subfloor that dips, humps, or has high spots will telegraph through the finished floor. Leveling compound (self-leveling underlayment) adds cost and time. Your intake should ask whether the client is aware of any unevenness, squeaks, or soft spots in the existing floor.
• Moisture content — this is the single most important data point for hardwood and engineered flooring. Wood subfloors should be at 6 to 9 percent moisture content. Concrete slabs should test below 3 pounds per 1,000 square feet on a calcium chloride test or below 75% relative humidity on an in-situ probe test. If the client has a history of water in the basement, condensation on slab floors, or high indoor humidity, your intake should flag moisture as a concern requiring on-site testing before material is ordered.
• Existing floor removal — what is currently on the floor? Carpet over pad over plywood is straightforward removal. Multiple layers of vinyl over old adhesive over concrete is a much more labor-intensive demolition. Ceramic tile over cement board requires breaking out both layers. Capture what is currently down and whether the client expects removal as part of the scope.

Room measurements and layout preferences

Dimensions tell you how much material to order. Layout tells you how it will look:

• Room-by-room measurements — length, width, and any irregular shapes (L-shaped rooms, closet alcoves, hallway extensions). Material is sold by the square foot, but waste factor varies by layout pattern: straight lay wastes 5 to 10 percent, diagonal wastes 10 to 15 percent, and herringbone can waste 15 to 20 percent. Your measurements plus the client’s layout preference determine the material order quantity.
• Layout pattern — standard staggered (the default for plank flooring), herringbone, chevron, diagonal, brick pattern (for tile), or basketweave. Herringbone and chevron require more cuts, more waste, and more labor than a straight stagger. They also require a centerline layout that affects where the pattern starts. If the client wants herringbone, your intake should note it because it changes the estimate significantly.
• Plank direction — for standard installations, planks typically run parallel to the longest wall or toward the main light source. But in hallways, planks should run lengthwise. In rooms that open to each other, directional continuity matters. Your intake should capture the floor plan well enough for your installer to plan the direction before arriving on site.

Transitions between rooms

Transitions are where flooring jobs get complicated and where client expectations often diverge from what is practical. As a home inspector would note, transitions also affect how the finished work is evaluated:

• Same material throughout — the cleanest look but requires continuous installation across doorways, which means careful planning for expansion gaps and no thresholds between rooms.
• Different materials in different rooms — hardwood in the living room meeting tile in the kitchen requires a transition strip. The type of transition (T-molding, reducer, threshold) depends on the height difference between the two floors. Your intake should map which materials go in which rooms so the transition plan can be developed before installation day.
• Height changes — when the new floor is thicker or thinner than adjacent flooring, the transition must accommodate the step. A 3/4-inch solid hardwood meeting a 1/4-inch LVP in the next room creates a 1/2-inch height difference that needs a reducer strip. Capture the existing floor heights in adjacent rooms that are not being replaced.

Radiant heat compatibility

Radiant floor heating is increasingly common, and not all flooring materials are compatible:

• Is radiant heat installed or planned? If the subfloor has hydronic tubing or electric mats, your material selection is constrained. Solid hardwood over radiant heat is generally not recommended — the heat differential causes excessive expansion and contraction. Engineered hardwood (with manufacturer approval), tile, and LVP are typically compatible.
• Maximum surface temperature — most flooring manufacturers specify a maximum floor surface temperature of 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for their warranty to apply. The radiant heat system must be controllable to stay within this range. Your intake should capture whether the system has a floor-temperature sensor or only a thermostat.

Furniture moving and acclimation logistics

These are the practical questions that affect scheduling and crew size:

• Furniture status — will the client move furniture before the crew arrives, or is furniture moving part of the scope? A living room full of heavy furniture adds an hour or more to the job and may require a larger crew. Some companies charge separately for furniture moving. Your intake should clarify expectations.
• Acclimation period — solid hardwood and engineered hardwood must acclimate in the installation environment for 3 to 7 days before installation. The material needs to reach equilibrium with the room’s temperature and humidity. This means the material is delivered almost a week before installation day, and the client needs to have space for it in the room where it will be installed. LVP and tile do not require acclimation. Your intake should inform the client about the acclimation requirement and confirm they can accommodate the material delivery timeline.
• Occupancy during installation — can the client stay in the home during installation, or do they need to vacate? Hardwood refinishing with oil-based polyurethane produces fumes that make the space uninhabitable for 24 to 48 hours. New installation of LVP or carpet has minimal fumes. Multi-room projects may require the client to live in one section of the house while the other is being done. Capture the client’s living situation so the installation can be phased appropriately.

Flooring intake is about matching a product to a substrate and a client’s lifestyle. When the form captures subfloor type, moisture conditions, material selection, layout pattern, transition requirements, and logistics, the estimate is accurate, the material order is correct, and the installation crew arrives to a job that has already been planned — not one they have to figure out while the client watches.