Flooring in New Madrid, MO
Sikeston Carpet & Flooring installs and services floors throughout New Madrid, on the bend of the Mississippi, at the centre of the seismic zone that carries its name.
Floors built for New Madrid homes.
New Madrid gave its name to the seismic zone that runs under all of southeast Missouri. Between 1811 and 1812 the town sat at the centre of nearly two thousand earthquakes, some approaching magnitude eight, felt as far away as the East Coast. Around 2,800 people live here now, on the north side of the Kentucky Bend where the Mississippi doubles back on itself. It is a county seat with a long riverfront and housing that reflects a much older settlement than most Bootheel towns.
New Madrid is the county seat, with 2,787 residents at the 2020 census, sitting on an oxbow of the Mississippi about 42 miles from Cairo, Illinois. The 1811–12 sequence produced close to two thousand shocks, the largest around magnitude eight, and the zone is still active — a magnitude 4.0 was recorded here in February 2012.
It would be dishonest to tell you an earthquake dictates your flooring choice; it does not. What the geology actually means day to day is that the ground here is fine alluvial soil, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources notes that the sandy soils across this part of the state are unusually susceptible to liquefaction. Ground like that settles unevenly over decades, and in an older river town you feel it as a floor that is out of level long before you see a crack.
What we run into in New Madrid
So in New Madrid we spend longer with a level than we do in a newer town. A slab or a subfloor that has settled a quarter inch across a room will not stop a carpet, but it will show under a rigid click-lock plank as flex, hollow spots and eventually failed joints. Where we find it, we say so and price the levelling compound or the underlayment as its own line rather than burying it.
The older housing near the river also brings the usual river-town realities: crawlspaces that need to breathe, and rooms that have been re-floored more than once. We pull the old material and take it away rather than laying over it, because layering onto an unknown base is how the second floor fails faster than the first.
Know the area
- New Madrid Historical Museum
- Mississippi River observation deck
- Kentucky Bend
What we do in New Madrid, MO
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New MadridCarpet in New Madrid
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New MadridLuxury Vinyl Plank in New Madrid
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New MadridLaminate in New Madrid
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New MadridTile in New Madrid
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New MadridStairs & Trim in New Madrid
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New MadridFloor Removal & Demo in New Madrid
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New MadridCommercial Flooring in New Madrid
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Recent work near New Madrid
Flooring in New Madrid, questions
Does being in the New Madrid Seismic Zone change what flooring I should buy?
Not really — no floor is chosen for earthquake resistance, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. What matters practically is that the ground here is fine alluvial soil that settles unevenly over time, so we check how level your floor actually is before recommending a rigid plank.
My floors are noticeably out of level. What are my options?
Carpet and sheet goods are forgiving of it. Click-lock plank is not, and laying it over an uneven base leads to flexing joints. Usually the answer is a levelling compound or an underlayment in the worst areas, which we measure and quote as its own line so you can see what it costs.
Will you take the old flooring away?
Yes. Removal, tack strip, old adhesive and haul-away are part of what we do, and we would rather take a floor out than lay over it. Laying new material on top of an unknown base is the most common reason a floor fails early.
Other areas we serve
Ready to start your New Madrid project?
Free in-home estimate, clear pricing, and a crew that shows up when we say we will.