Flooring installation: how it is priced and how to plan it

Key points

• Square footage plus 5–10% extra for cuts and waste is the usual ordering rule; ask your installer for theirs.
• Removing old flooring and leveling the subfloor are often extra line items.
• Stairs, transitions and baseboards add labor.
• Moisture-prone rooms need water-resistant materials.

What affects the cost of new flooring

• Total square footage and the number of rooms.
• Material: luxury vinyl plank (LVP), laminate, engineered or solid hardwood, tile or carpet.
• Tear-out and disposal of the old floor.
• Subfloor repair or leveling.
• Stairs, thresholds, transitions and trim.
• Moving furniture and appliances.

How to plan it

• Measure each room's length and width and add them up.
• Decide which rooms must match and where transitions will go.
• Pick a material that suits the room: water resistance for kitchens and baths, comfort for bedrooms.
• Order samples and look at them in your own light.
• Plan where furniture goes during installation.

Questions to ask a contractor

• Can I see your license or registration, if my state requires one for this work, and a current certificate of insurance?
• Who pulls the permit, and is the permit fee included in the price?
• What exactly is included and excluded in this quote, line by line?
• What warranty do you give on labor, and whose warranty covers the materials?
• What is the payment schedule, and how much is due before work starts?
• Is removal of the old floor and subfloor prep included?
• How much extra material are you ordering, and who keeps the leftovers?

How Clear House helps with new flooring

Clear House is a planning app and marketplace. It does not do the work itself. You choose the project, answer a few short questions and add a photo if you have one. Clear House then shows a planning ballpark so you have a starting budget before anyone visits your home.

For this kind of project you can also preview some of your choices on a photo of your own home. Previews use preview credits and are illustrations, not a promise of the finished result.

When you are ready, Clear House checks whether a reviewed independent pro covers your ZIP code and this trade. If one does, you send your project to that one pro, who can review it and send a quote in the app. You are not obligated to accept a quote, and your request is not sent to a crowd of contractors. If no pro covers your area yet, you can join the waitlist and Clear House emails you when one is available.

Common questions

Sources

1. U.S. Federal Trade Commission — How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam — Advice on licenses, insurance, written estimates, contracts and down payments.

Related

• How to read and compare contractor quotes
• Kitchen remodeling: costs, scope and planning
• Flooring installation in Greenville, SC