Hardwood floors are pleasing to the eye, durable, easy to clean and maintain, and will actually boost the value of your home.
Several key factors need to be considered when figuring out the overall price tag in answering the question of how much do hardwood floors cost.
The principal considerations are the costs of materials and the cost of labor. Some of these considerations include:
Type of Hardwood
There are many different kinds of hardwood floors and each type comes with its own price tag. Prices vary greatly depending on the size and thickness of hardwood planks and the quality of the wood.
Prices also depend on whether the hardwood is solid or veneer. Some common types of hardwood floors include pine, walnut, oscuro, oak, ash, fir, lauzon, teak, acacia, preverco, Brazilian cherry, and Australian cypress.
Labor Costs
In determining the cost of installing hardwood floors, you have to factor in the costs of labor.
A tentative estimate for a professional contractor in estimating hourly costs is about 4 to 5 hours per 100 square feet for each person on the construction team. This may differ depending on materials, type of patterns on floor, and other construction factors.
Further, the cost of labor may include preparation required before installing the hardwood planks, sanding, staining and decorating, and finishing.
Floor Size
Obviously, the more floor space you have the more you will have to pay for hardwood installation. However, smaller rooms will be more expensive to install hardwood flooring per square foot compared to larger rooms.
Additionally, some very small rooms such as powder rooms or bathrooms may require specialist equipment and this will cost you more.
Floor Plan
Apart from the size of your floor space, the way your floor looks will also be considered when com putting the cost of installing a hardwood floor.
For instance, are there many stairs in the area required for installation? Is the floor even or has a gradient? Flat floors are cheaper to install while sloped floors will cost more to install.
Weather/Climate
The vagaries of weather will influence how much the contractor will charge you to install a hardwood floor.
In particular, areas with high humidity will attract higher hardwood installation charges. This is because high humidity affects the drying time for staining and finishing of wood.
Furniture and Fixtures
Another important factor likely to influence the cost of installing a hardwood floor is whether the rooms already have furnishings and fixtures that may need to be moved around during the installation period.
Contractors will generally charge more if they have to move furniture to one corner as they install the floor in the rest of the room then move back the furniture when they have to install that corner.
Cleanup
Installing a hardwood floor can get very messy. You will have sawdust all over the place, assorted types of paints, stains, and glues will also have spilled here and there.
Some professional contractors will have an extra service to clean up the mess after the installation and this will cost you more. However, most will just pack up and leave you with the job of hiring a cleanup firm or do it yourself.
Waste
Once the job is done, there will be a lot of waste material lying around. There will be wooden pieces that had to be trimmed to fit into corners and small spaces.
There will also be sanding, staining, and carpeting material. Generally, it is advisable to add 15% to your initial estimates to account for waste when projecting costs of installing hardwood floors.
Total Costs
Typically, the wood for flooring will cost between $5 and $15 per square foot for basic laying. Intricate designs may cost more. On top of the cost of materials you will have to add the hourly labor costs.
Your location will also matter since large affluent metropolitan cities have contractors charging much higher than other areas.
Prepare yourself for a minimum of $10 per square foot and up to $80 for a highly professional job.
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