Flooring Store Serving Buncombe County, NC

Buncombe County is not a one-style market. Drive five minutes, and the houses change. Craftsman bungalows in Montford, mid-century split-levels in Oakley, 1990s builders in Fletcher, mountain cabins above Swannanoa, and brand-new construction in Biltmore Lake. County flooring has to handle all of it, and a store that only knows one era or one style cannot pull that off.

Leicester Flooring has been the Buncombe flooring choice for local homeowners since 1971. We have walked through a lot of these houses, and we know what floors tend to fail in each one. That history is the reason our lifetime installation warranty holds up. We install it right the first time because we have seen every version of the subfloor, the moisture problem, and the seasonal shift that shows up in Western North Carolina homes.

Buncombe County Flooring by Neighborhood

Here is the short version of where our work tends to cluster in Buncombe and what each area typically asks of its floors.

Asheville City Core

Downtown Asheville, Montford, Kenilworth, and the Historic Grove Park area contain a lot of early-1900s homes on original subfloors. Many of these homes still have their original hardwood under carpet or vinyl. Restoration is usually the better call than replacement because the wood quality is better than anything you can buy new. Refinishing rather than tearing out is the most common Buncombe flooring service we run in this part of town.

West Asheville

West Asheville bungalows from the 1920s and 1930s are some of our favorite projects. They have the original Craftsman footprint, narrow-strip oak or pine floors, and they respond beautifully to refinishing. When the original floor is past saving, engineered hardwood over a properly prepped subfloor holds up well in West Asheville’s older home stock.

East and North Asheville

Kenilworth, Oakley, Haw Creek, and Beaverdam mix mid-century homes with newer builds. Flooring replacement in these neighborhoods typically beats restoration because of the newer home stock. Luxury vinyl plank is popular in basements and rec rooms. Engineered hardwood is our most recommended main-floor option.

South Buncombe: Arden, Fletcher, Biltmore Park

South Buncombe is newer construction, mostly built in the last 30 years. These homes typically have modern subfloors in good shape, which means installation goes faster and product choice is wider. Carpet in bedrooms, tile in wet rooms, and hardwood or LVP in main living areas is the usual layout.

North and West Buncombe: Weaverville, Leicester, Candler

The rural edges of Buncombe include Weaverville, the Leicester community, and Candler. Homes here run the spectrum from old farmhouses to modern subdivisions. Our Asheville flooring store covers all of these areas with no travel fee. Jobs in these outlying communities get the same install team as jobs in the city core.

Product Selection for Buncombe Flooring Projects

We carry American-made products across every major flooring category, and the product selection at our Asheville showroom is the deepest in Western North Carolina. Here is what we stock and recommend most often.

Hardwood

Solid and engineered hardwood from Somerset, Mullican, Mannington, and Hearthwood. Engineered is the more forgiving pick for Buncombe County homes with crawl spaces or finished basements. Our hardwood flooring category has the full catalog in stock and on display.

Luxury Vinyl Plank

LVP from Shaw, COREtec, and Mannington. Waterproof construction, realistic wood-look visuals, and pricing that fits most remodel budgets. We stock planks in multiple widths and shades so you can match an existing adjacent floor or start fresh.

Tile

Porcelain and ceramic from Emser and other American distributors. Porcelain is our top pick for bathrooms, kitchens, mudrooms, and anywhere moisture lives. Our tile flooring selection covers wood-look planks, large-format squares, and traditional subway patterns.

Carpet

Residential carpet from Shaw, Anderson Tuftex, and Mohawk. Nylon and polyester options across plush, berber, and pattern styles. Bedrooms, home offices, and family rooms are where most Buncombe County carpet goes, and we stock options at every price point.

Laminate

Laminate from Pergo and Shaw for homeowners who want wood-look flooring at a friendlier price point. Modern laminate is far more water-resistant than the 1990s version and holds up well in lower-traffic Buncombe County rooms.

Unique County Flooring Challenges and How We Handle Them

Buncombe County has a few flooring realities that generic installers miss. A local store plans around them.

Crawl Space Moisture

Most Buncombe homes sit on crawl spaces rather than slabs. That means humidity from the ground below can migrate up into the subfloor and, eventually, into the finished floor. Our measure team always checks subfloor moisture before we schedule a hardwood or laminate install. If readings come back high, we recommend a vapor barrier and sometimes a crawl encapsulation referral before install day.

Old Subfloors in Historic Homes

A 100-year-old home in Montford or Kenilworth may have an original plank subfloor that was never meant to support modern flooring products. We inspect before we quote, and we build subfloor prep into the estimate when needed. That prevents squeaks, bounce, and product failure after installation.

Mountain Elevation Swings

Buncombe covers a wide elevation range, from 2,100 feet in downtown to over 3,000 feet in outlying areas. That matters for hardwood because wood responds to humidity changes, and humidity shifts with elevation. We acclimate wood longer for higher-elevation jobs, not less.

Pets and Family Traffic

A lot of Buncombe County homes have dogs, kids, or both. We steer high-traffic households toward waterproof LVP or porcelain tile in main living areas and save hardwood or carpet for bedrooms. Our vinyl flooring options are popular with growing families because they handle scratches and accidents without showing wear.

Seasonal Humidity Swings

Buncombe County summers hit 85 degrees with sticky humidity, and winters drop into the teens with very dry air. That range of conditions stresses the flooring every year. We build seasonal realities into our product recommendations. Engineered hardwood handles the humidity swing better than solid. Laminate with a proper underlayment tolerates the range, too. Solid hardwood works, but only with correct acclimation and climate control inside the home.

We talk through HVAC habits during the measure. Homes that run the heat hard in winter and the AC hard in summer stay more stable than homes that let interior conditions drift. That stability extends the life of the floor.

Buncombe County Carpet vs Hard Surface: What We See Most

Shopper preferences in Buncombe County have shifted over the last decade. Carpet used to dominate whole-home installations. Now, hard surface, mostly luxury vinyl plank and engineered hardwood, takes the lead in main living areas, with carpet reserved for bedrooms and stairs.

That shift tracks national trends, but Buncombe has its own twist. Mountain home owners still want the warmth of carpet in the parts of the house they live in most. Families with pets and kids still want the durability of a hard surface where traffic is heaviest. The right answer for your Buncombe home is usually a mix, and we plan layouts that make the transitions between materials look intentional rather than accidental.

For shoppers specifically looking at carpet, our carpet care and maintenance resources explain how to keep County carpet looking good for a decade or longer, especially in homes with pets and heavy foot traffic.

What the Buncombe County Flooring Process Looks Like

From first call to finished floor, here is how a typical project unfolds with our team.

1. Showroom visit or free in-home measure. Start by browsing at our Asheville location or booking a measure at your home. Both cost nothing and neither locks you into anything.
2. Product selection and quote. We walk through the full sample library, discuss your priorities, and build a written quote with no hidden installation fees.
3. Order and acclimation. Most orders arrive within 1 to 2 weeks. Hardwood and laminate acclimate on site for several days before installation.
4. Installation day. Our in-house crews handle the install, protecting adjacent surfaces, baseboards, and furniture. Most single rooms are installed in a day; whole-home jobs run 2 to 5 days.
5. Walk-through and warranty registration. We walk through the finished floor with you, explain care, and register your Buncombe flooring under our lifetime workmanship warranty.

How a Local Buncombe County Flooring Store Beats the Big Box

The big-box stores on Tunnel Road and Hendersonville Road sell flooring, but they do not install it themselves. They sub the work out to the lowest bidder, who is usually a different crew each time. That matters because flooring is a craft. A subfloor prep shortcut you cannot see shows up as a squeak or a gap two years later, and the warranty chain back to the store is complicated.

Our installation crews have worked with our family for years. They care about the job because their reputation is on it. Our non-commissioned sales team earns the same paycheck whether you buy the top-shelf hardwood or the entry-level LVP, which means the advice you get matches your project, not their bonus structure. That combination is what has kept us in business for 50-plus years in the County.

50 Years of Buncombe County Flooring Experience

J.B. and Alma Snelson opened the original Leicester Carpet store in 1971. Their son Brad took over at 21 and has run the company since. That is three generations of Buncombe County relationships, which is why a lot of our current customers are the kids and grandkids of our original 1970s clients.

This kind of continuity matters when you are spending thousands of dollars on a floor you want to last 20 years. The store that sold you the floor should still be here when you need the warranty. Leicester Flooring has been a Buncombe County flooring fixture since the Nixon administration, and we plan to still be here for the next generation. Read our customer reviews to see what long-term relationships with Buncombe neighbors look like.

Planning Your Visit to the Asheville Showroom

The Asheville showroom sits at 119 New Leicester Highway, right off Patton Avenue. Parking is free and plentiful, the entrance is ground-level accessible, and walk-ins are welcome six days a week. You do not need an appointment for a first visit. Appointments are available if you want a guaranteed one-on-one consultation with a specific team member.

Bring a few things with you to get the most out of the trip. A rough sketch of the room with measurements. A photo or two of the adjacent rooms. A paint chip or cabinet door if you are color-matching. A sense of your budget range, even if it is broad. All of that lets our team narrow the options faster and save you time.

First-time visitors usually spend 30 to 60 minutes looking at samples, asking questions, and borrowing a few pieces to take home. We lend physical samples so you can see them in your space under your light, which is the only way to know whether a color genuinely works. Plan on at least one sample-at-home cycle before you finalize the Buncombe County flooring choice for your home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What areas of Buncombe County do you serve?

We serve the entire county, including Asheville, West Asheville, Weaverville, Leicester, Candler, Arden, Fletcher, Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Biltmore Forest, Biltmore Lake, and every neighborhood between. There is no travel fee for any Buncombe County flooring measure or installation.

Can you work on historic Asheville homes?

Yes. Refinishing original hardwood in Montford, Kenilworth, and West Asheville bungalows is one of our specialties. We also handle subfloor repair, vapor barrier installation, and full replacements in historic Buncombe County flooring projects.

Do you offer financing for flooring?

Yes. We offer flexible financing for qualified county customers, including promotional 0% options on select purchases. Financing details are available on our website and at either showroom.

Is the free in-home measure really free?

Yes. No cost, no obligation. We send a measure specialist to your home, take precise room measurements, and provide a written estimate. Whether you buy from us or not, the Buncombe County measure itself never costs anything.

Which flooring holds up best for Buncombe County homes with pets?

Waterproof luxury vinyl plank and porcelain tile are the most pet-resistant options. Both handle accidents, claws, and daily traffic well. A carpet with stain-resistant nylon fiber is a good bedroom option for pet homes. We can walk through the full pet-friendly lineup at the showroom.

Summary

Buncombe County flooring from Leicester Flooring gives you 50-plus years of local experience, American-made product across every major category, and a lifetime workmanship warranty installed by crews who have been with our family for years. From Montford bungalows to Fletcher new-builds, we handle the full range of Buncombe homes. Visit the Asheville showroom, schedule a free measure, or call to get started.

Start Your Buncombe County Flooring Project

Visit our Asheville showroom, schedule a free in-home measure, book a showroom appointment, or contact us directly to talk through your project. Our team is ready to help at either location.