Ottawa Flooring Company OC Flooring Guides Homeowners Through Flooring Replacement After Water and Basement Damage
As thousands of basements remain gutted weeks after a record storm, our team has been doing triage work to help Ottawa residents recover.
OTTAWA, Ontario — Since the storm that flooded this city on July 1, our phones at OC Flooring have not stopped ringing. The record-breaking 118 millimetres of rain that Mayor Mark Sutcliffe called “one of the worst flooding events in 25 years,” left more than 4,500 basements flooded, and thousands of homeowners looking for answers.
We’ve heard from residents across the city discovering warped hardwood, delaminating vinyl and basement carpet soaked through with floodwater, all asking some version of the same question: what do we do now?
“Homeowners are often overwhelmed,” says our owner, Sylvain Brazeau. “They’re dealing with their insurer, a deadline, and a decision about materials all at once.”
The trouble is that flooring damage isn’t always obvious. With carpet, a subtle musty smell or a soggy underpad often indicates the need for replacement. The same goes for laminate with swelling seams, sponginess, or delamination, as well hardwood that was submerged for longer than a day or two, since it’s often warped beyond repair.
Once a floor is a confirmed loss, our job, Sylvain says, “is to make the next part simple: assess the space, recommend flooring that stands up to moisture, and install it properly.” That often means steering homeowners toward water-resistant vinyl or tile in place of what was there before. If the contract is for a restoration company or builder, we do our very best to work within their restoration deadlines.
The goal, as Sylvain puts it, is making sure “they don’t face the same problem again,” which is why our advice for avoiding a repeat starts before the next storm: test your sump pump regularly (ideally with a battery backup since outages often accompany flooding); clear window wells so they drain properly; grade soil away from your foundation; and watch Environment Canada’s weather alerts during storm season.
We recognize that at OC Flooring we are only one part of recovery for Ottawa households, but since it’s the one way we can best support our community, it’s a responsibility we take seriously.
Our showrooms, at 1449 Youville Drive in Orléans and 600 Eagleson Road in Kanata, are open for free in-home consultations for homeowners weighing flooring replacement after water damage.
Reach us at (613) 837-9373 or ocflooring.com.
About OC Flooring
OC Flooring began in 1987 when Raymond Brazeau founded Orleans Carpet, relying on his expertise as a hands-on flooring installer; and expanded with Eagleson Flooring in 2000. The two stores came together under the new brand in 2024, now being led by the second generation, Sylvain Brazeau. Carrying forward that same personal approach to sales and service, OC Flooring supplies and installs hardwood, tile, laminate, luxury vinyl, carpet, area rugs, and specialty flooring from two showrooms, in Orleans and Kanata, serving Ottawa and the surrounding region. More information is available at ocflooring.com.
