Find the floor you love? Does the price per square foot fit your budget? Great! Then it happens… The final quote is higher than expected.
Unfortunately, it’s more common than you think. Flooring projects have costs that go beyond the material itself and many homeowners only find out about them after committing to a product.
At Tide & Timber, we walk you through every line item during your consultation to avoid catching you off-guard. Let’s talk about these extra costs and why they exist.
The Material Price is Just the Starting Point
The price per-square-foot on the flooring product covers the material and nothing more. Every step it takes to get material off the showroom floor and onto your subfloor properly and professionally to give you a result that holds up is separate. Let’s get into what that includes:
Subfloor Preparation
Because you can’t see your subfloor, it’s easy to forget about. In reality, the subfloor is the foundation of everything. If it’s uneven, damaged or structurally compromised, even the best flooring product in the world won’t perform. You’ll hear, feel and eventually see it.
In coastal North Carolina, subfloor issues are more common than they are in drier climates. Humidity, moisture intrusion and wear that comes with older homes along the coast all make an impact. We assess every subfloor before flooring installation and if it needs leveling, patching or repair, that work must be done before the first plank goes down.
The price depends on the condition of your subfloor and square footage involved. It’s not a number we can provide without us seeing the space so a consultation is essential.
Removal of Existing Flooring
If your home already has flooring, it needs to come out before new flooring goes down. Removal can be a labor-intensive process. It’s especially true when it comes to glue-down products, older tile or flooring installed over concrete compared to straightforward pull-up.
Removal is part of the installation process. We factor it into your project quote and adjust it depending on what’s coming out, how it was installed and conditions it’s in. If there’s adhesive residue that has to be addressed before your new floor goes down, that’s part of the picture as well.
Underlayment
Underlayment is the thin layer between your subfloor and your new flooring. It has multiple jobs including: moisture protection, sound dampening, thermal insulation and providing a stable surface for floating floor systems.
Some flooring products have pre-attached underlayment, this simplifies the process. Others require separate installation. The type needed depends on the product and what’s underneath. For example, concrete subfloors in coastal homes benefit from a vapor barrier underlayment that might not be necessary in drier climates.
While not an expensive line item, it is one that’s easy to miss if you’re only looking at the cost of materials.
Transitions and Trim
Every doorway, threshold and place where one flooring meets another or where flooring meets another surface are called transitions. They need trim pieces to finish the edge cleanly and protect it from wear.
The most common pieces include:
- T-Moldings: where two floors of the same height meet in a doorway
- Reducers: where flooring meets a lower surface like tile or a raised threshold
- End Caps: where flooring terminates at a sliding door, fireplace or step
- Stair Nosing: the finished edge piece where flooring meets a staircase
- Quarter Round or Shoe Molding: the small trim piece that runs along the base of walls where flooring meets baseboard
If you have an open floor plan or a home with a lot of doorways or transitions, these pieces add up. They give a flooring project a finished, professional result, but are easy to underestimate when you solely focus on square footage.
Stairs
Stairs aren’t priced the same way per-square-foot. Each step needs precise cuts, specialized installation techniques and stair nosing pieces need to be fitted and finished individually. The labor involved is much more per square foot than standard installation.
Does your project require a staircase or partial one? Get that included in your quote conversation. Homeowners often underestimate the cost.
Furniture Moving
Flooring has to go under furniture so it has to be out of the room before installation day. Some contractors include furniture moving in their base price, but others don’t. It’s worth clarifying.
For large, heavy pieces such as sectionals, pianos, built-in storage, logistics are a bit more complicated. We tell you what we handle and what you need to arrange separately so there are no assumptions on either side come installation day.
Material Overage
Professional installers order more material than the measured square footage requires. The 10 percent overage is for cuts, waste, pattern matching on certain products and protecting against damage during installation. In rooms with unusual angles or layouts, there may be a higher overage percentage.
Beyond being padding, it’s good practice. There’s nothing worse than running short mid-install and waiting on a re-order. Having extra material provides peace of mind. Any reputable installer includes this in your quote. We recommend keeping the leftover pieces for future repairs.
Glue, Fasteners and Installation
Glue-down flooring including LVP, sheet vinyl and certain types of hardwood floor needs adhesive that’s priced and applied by the square foot. Nail-down hardwood installations need fasteners. While these aren’t large costs on their own, they do belong in the quote.
In some cases, contractors absorb these into their labor rate and others line-item them. Simply ask about it so you know what you’re looking at.
Delivery
Flooring isn’t light. A project that covers several hundred square feet can often involve multiple pallets of material. Depending on the supplier and the scope of the project, delivery fees may or may not be included in the material price. Clarify whether or not delivery is included early to prevent confusion.
What Does This Mean for Your Budget?
Set a realistic flooring budget. In the planning phase, you need to account for factors beyond the material price. Depending on the product, condition of your subfloor and demands of your space, total installation cost will generally run higher than the per-square-foot material price alone.
It’s not something that should discourage you. Instead, take it as a reason to get a real quote. A A quote that covers everything will give you a number you can plan around and a project that goes how it should.
What Should You Expect When You Work with Tide & Timber?
Our process begins with a consultation. The Tide & Timber team will get to know your space by visiting your home so we can account for every element of the project. Our turnkey installation process covers removal of existing flooring, subfloor prep, installation, transitions and trim.
Ready to get going or still in the planning stage? We are here for you in Jacksonville, Wilmington, Hampstead and throughout coastal North Carolina. Contact us today to schedule a consultation!
