General Hardwood Floor Prices

Prices Vary Everywhere

Shopping around for hardwood floors can become a maze of product information and pricing. What many find hard to believe is the listed price is never right. Why?

But It's Listed at $ 3.89 Per Square Foot? So Why Does It Cost $ 10.00?

Many stores do not list prices because of claims they change too often. True or false, it doesn't matter. Below is a summary of what you may run into for a 1,000 square foot installation for prefinished hardwood flooring. Following that is a breakdown of using a full service dealer opposed to doing a lot of the legwork on Hardwood flooring prices your own.

The Accessories. Nailed Or Stapled Floors

That $ 3.89 price sold by the square foot only represents the actual hardwood flooring material. It will not reflect other prices because it will depend on how the floor is installed. For instance, if you have a wood subfloor, installation is generally done by fastening with special hardwood floor nailers or staplers provided by the installer.

Essentially there are no extras needed for the actual installation of the wood itself, except for the nails/staples and common underlayment. These items are inexpensive and usually calculated into the installer labor cost, as most installers supply them. If one is looking for cost, one box (7,720 count) of standard 2" staples for a 3/4" hardwood floor runs in the $ 50.00 range. Standard asphalt felt paper, often recommended by manufacturers, runs about 4 cents per square foot.

Floating Floors

Now the costs begin to rise. If the $ 3.89 product is being sold and installed as a floating floor, it requires an underlayment. Underlayments are necessary to provide a cushioned effect and will offset very minor irregularities in the subfloor. Considering there are many forms available, prices can vary from as low as 25 cents per square foot up to $ 1.50. Rarely are they broken down into separate amounts when a bid is written up. Let's assume the high side. Now our $ 3.89 price is $ 5.39.

Floors Glued Direct To Concrete

Depending on what type of hardwood flooring adhesive is used or where it is purchased, costs can range from approximately 35 cents per square foot to $ 1.00 and higher for a recommended type. Let's take that $ 3.89 and add one dollar. Our price is now $ 4.89, but installers are likely to charge more labor because glued installations generally involve more time and some prefer not to handle them. Essentially, some will attempt to price themselves out of the job.

Trim Moldings

Nearly all hardwood floor installations will need some type of trim moldings. Whether or not it's needed to trim off the baseboard or creating an unobstructed transition to ceramic tile, extra costs are involved. Let's say you prefer quarter round that matches the floor being considered. These little buggers can add up the dollar cost of the job quickly. One prefinished stick measuring 78 inches may cost as much as $ 5.00 per lineal foot from a local retailer. Let's also assume you need 350 lineal feet. Add $ 1.75 to that quoted price. Add in four or five other trim moldings or $ 200.00, our material cost is $ 1.95 per square foot on top of the original $ 3.89.

The Big Expense. Labor

Labor for installation can vary significantly. For more information and general guesstimates see our link below. Let's look at some examples below of prices we've discussed.

Find Hardwood Installers Near You

High Side. Full Service Dealer

Installation Type	Listed Price	Material Costs	Labor	Moldings	Labor	Actual Price

Staple or Nailed	$ 3.89	None	$ 3.00	$ 1.95	0.44	$ 9.28
Floating	$ 3.89	$ 1.50	$ 2.75	$ 1.95	0.44	$ 10.53
Glued Direct	$ 3.89	$ 1.00	$ 3.25	$ 1.95	0.44	$ 10.53

Low Side. You Handle The Leg Work

Installation Type	Listed Price	Material Costs	Labor	Moldings	Labor	Actual Price

Staple or Nailed	$ 3.89	$ 0.09¹	$ 3.00	$ 0.80	0.44	$ 8.22
Floating	$ 3.89	$ 0.25	$ 2.75	$ 0.80	0.44	$ 8.13
Glued Direct	$ 3.89	$ 0.25	$ 3.25	$ 0.80	0.44	$ 8.63

Our low side example represents the customer buying all materials online or cash and carry from a local dealer. Taxes not included for the latter. We've chosen basic underlayment and minimum adhesive requirements. In addition, we've replaced the expensive matching quarter round with basic pine, calculated at 60 cents per lineal foot. This is easily obtainable at nearly all home improvement stores.

Labor shown to the right of the moldings cost represents trim installation at $ 1.25 per lineal foot. However, more costs may be incurred should you need the cost of a painter to do the touch up of nail holes, or final painting should you desire the color to match the baseboard. Caulking may also be needed.

Prices shown above do not include other extras. There may be carpet removal and floor preparation to get the subfloor flat to within acceptable working tolerances. Installers also charge for moving furniture. All told, a guesstimate on this could add another $ 1.00 per square foot and more. It will depend on the amount of furniture, weight, value, and floor preparation involved.

¹ Although installers provide these materials we're assuming you are handling everything. Don't expect a discount of 9 cents from the labor cost.

NOTE: Not included in the glue direct section are concrete sealers designed for hardwood floor applications that can add to both material and labor cost or in the range of $ 1.00 to $ 2.50 to the square foot number.

• Best Cheap Hardwood Floor
• General Labor Costs
• Concrete Sealers
• Adhesives
• Underlayment
• Asphalt Felt Paper
• Hardwood Moldings - Profiles