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The Miami Floors

Q&A · Materials, process & schedule

Miami-Dade · Broward · Schluter Certified

Answers,
in plain spec.

The questions homeowners ask us most often — about Laminam vs. Neolith, Schluter waterproofing, dry-joint tolerances, lead times, and the warranty. Specifics, not marketing.

01 / 05

Materials & products

06 Qs

  • What's the difference between Laminam, Neolith, and Dekton?

    All three are large-format sintered slabs. Italian Laminam and Spanish Neolith are full-body porcelain; Cosentino Dekton is a hybrid sintered surface. Laminam pushes the format farthest at 1620 × 3240 mm in 3, 5, 12, and 20 mm thicknesses. Neolith maxes at 1600 × 3200 mm. Dekton typically runs 1440 × 3200 mm. We carry all three and pick by the project — Laminam Calacatta for monolithic floors and showers, Neolith Iconic for warm grain and exterior cladding, Dekton when a homeowner has already specified it.

  • Can you really set a 1620 × 3240 mm slab inside a Miami home?

    Yes — that's our specialty. We move the slab on a frame-and-suction rig, score it on a wet rail, and set it with two- or three-component bond systems on a leveled substrate. Brickell high-rise jobs require service-elevator clearance and a building-engineering letter; we coordinate both before delivery. Most homes accept the format without disassembling doorways.

  • What thickness do you specify, and why?

    Floors run 12 mm or 20 mm depending on substrate and traffic — 12 mm bonded over a leveled mud bed reads visually monolithic and ages well, while 20 mm goes outside or over questionable substrates. Walls and shower surrounds use 5 to 6 mm to reduce dead-load and wall depth. Veneer over existing tile, drywall, or cabinet faces uses 3 mm bonded with a Sika or LATICRETE primer-and-mortar build.

  • Does large-format porcelain work on shower walls and curbless drains?

    Yes, and the curbless detail is where the system shows its quality. We waterproof to Schluter Kerdi-Board or DITRA-HEAT specs, set a linear drain on a calibrated quarter-inch fall, and bond the slab in one piece across the floor and up the wall when room geometry allows. The 1.5 mm dry joint at the wall–floor cove is the only joint a finger can find.

  • Do you do exterior porcelain veneer, cladding, and pool decks?

    Yes. Pool decks, façade elements, and outdoor kitchen counters use 20 mm porcelain in Neolith or Laminam exterior systems with Sika anchors and Schluter DITRA-DRAIN underlayment. We pull the permit and provide a wind-load and bond-pull test to the engineer of record where required.

  • Can large-format porcelain replace marble for a bath countertop or shower?

    For most clients, yes — and it solves the staining and etching that marble has in coastal humidity. Laminam Calacatta and Neolith Estatuario read like book-matched marble at full slab. The trade-off: porcelain doesn't accept on-site polishing the way marble does, so chips are patched, not buffed. We size mockups against a marble sample so you see the difference in person before the slab is ordered.

02 / 05

Process & installation

05 Qs

  • What waterproofing system do you use in showers and wet areas?

    Schluter — primarily Kerdi-Board for walls and DITRA-HEAT for floors, with Schluter Kerdi-Drain linear drains. We are Schluter Certified, which means the pre-formed pan, the joint banding, the curb wraps, and the corners come from one continuous system. Every shower we set passes a 24-hour flood test before tile.

  • What is a 1.5 mm dry joint and why does it matter?

    It's the minimum mechanical joint between two large-format porcelain slabs — narrow enough that the eye reads the surface as continuous stone, wide enough to absorb thermal movement without telegraphing. Achieving it consistently across a 60-foot run requires a leveled substrate within an eighth of an inch over 10 feet and a bond layer measured by combed coverage, not by feel.

  • Does my subfloor need prep work, and what does that look like?

    Almost always. We cure-test the slab moisture, grind any high spots, fill low spots with self-leveling underlayment such as LATICRETE NXT, and lay an uncoupling membrane. On wood-frame second floors we add a sound-isolation layer. The substrate work is half the visible quality of the finished floor — it's where rushed installations fail.

  • Do you handle plumbing, electrical, demo, and finish carpentry?

    We handle the in-scope demo, substrate, waterproofing, slab installation, grout, and trim ourselves with our own crew. Plumbing rough-in and electrical for heated floors or niche lighting are run by two licensed trades we've worked with for 10+ years; you contract them through us, not separately, and Ivan walks the rough-in before slab arrives.

  • How long does a typical bath remodel take, start to finish?

    A primary bath runs 4 to 6 weeks on site after permitting, depending on slab availability and any structural alterations. A guest bath runs 2 to 3 weeks. The schedule is fixed up front and we keep a single-page weekly report. The two variables we can't fully control: HOA approval timelines in mid-rise condos, and slab lead time when a calacatta vein has to ship from Modena.

03 / 05

Service area & scheduling

03 Qs

  • Where do you work in South Florida?

    Miami-Dade and Broward. The bulk of our portfolio is in Brickell, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, and Pinecrest. We accept projects in Aventura, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour, Coconut Grove, and Fort Lauderdale when scope and schedule line up. We don't sub the work out — if we accept the job, our crew does it.

  • What's your current lead time?

    We hold three active project slots at a time. New homeowner projects typically start 6 to 10 weeks from contract. Designer-led projects with set construction calendars get sequenced into the gap — call us when the architect issues drawings, not when the contractor needs to break ground.

  • Do you do site visits on Saturdays?

    Yes. Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. is our working window. Most homeowner walk-throughs happen Saturday morning on-site.

04 / 05

Pricing & estimates

03 Qs

  • How do you price a project?

    Fixed price, by scope. The estimate ties to a finished slab schedule — which slab, which thickness, which finish, which dimensions — plus substrate scope and waterproofing scope. No time-and-materials, no per-hour billing, no allowances for uncovered conditions once we've inspected the substrate. The price doesn't change unless you change the scope.

  • Is the estimate fixed, or does it shift during the job?

    Fixed. Change orders are signed and priced in writing before work proceeds. If we discover a structural issue — a rotted joist, failed waterproofing under existing tile — we stop, document, and price the remediation as a clear add. We'll show you the photo evidence before you authorize.

  • Do you charge for an in-home consultation?

    No. Free in-home consultation across Miami-Dade and Broward, including a same-visit verbal range. The written fixed estimate follows within 5 business days after we measure and pull substrate cores where needed.

05 / 05

Credentials, warranty & care

03 Qs

  • License, insurance, and BuildZoom — can you verify?

    Florida Certified Building Contractor, verifiable via myfloridalicense.com. General liability and workers compensation on file, certificate emailed on request. BuildZoom score: 100. Google: 4.9 stars across 85+ reviews. Twenty years on the same trade name — The Miami Floors LLC, founded 2005.

  • What's the warranty?

    We back the labor for 5 years against installation defects: cracks at joints, hollow-set tile, waterproofing failure. Schluter waterproofing carries Schluter's lifetime system warranty on top of ours when their certified installer scope is followed end-to-end. Material warranties pass through from Laminam, Neolith, and Dekton — we coordinate the claim if it ever happens.

  • How do I clean a large-format porcelain floor day-to-day?

    Vacuum or microfiber dust-mop, then damp-mop with a neutral pH cleaner — Cortag PortoBello or any unscented stone soap diluted to the bottle's spec. No vinegar, no bleach, no ammonia, no oil-based cleaners. We hand you a one-page care card on closeout.

Still have questions

3 active project slots — Mon–Sat · 8a–6p

If we didn't cover it,
ask us directly.

A 20-minute call with Ivan or a same-week site visit is usually the fastest path to a fixed estimate. No pressure, no subs.