Just trying to get a ballpark estimate for this area on how much it would cost to replace all the flooring in my 1300sqft home with a basic kind of hardwood? It's a single story home on a concrete slab. I could be convinvced to go with those purgo clip-together tiles, or actual hardwood.



Google is of no help, and all the contractors want to make appointments etc...

Just...roughly, how much?

with materials low end 6 bucks a sq ft high end 10 bucks + . Do yourself a favor if you have a ounce of handyman in ya and do it yourself. Buy a floor nailer from harbor frieght for 180 and a cheap compressor.

Your cost for materials will range between $5 - $15/sq. ft.

Installation of that flooring is usually between $2 - $8 / sq ft depending on how much finishing will need to be done.

My suggestion is to NOT go with cheap materials. If you plan on living in this home for a long time you will be happy that you put in nice hardwoods. If you plan on selling your home in the near future, you will get back every penny when you go to sell your home. It might be the difference between whether you sell your home quickly or it sits on the market for months.

If you don't have $10,000 lying around to do the whole home, consider doing just the common areas -- particularly high traffic areas. Having a mix of hardwood floor and carpets can be good.

Its a good idea to actually schedule some appointments with contractors to see what options they have available. Sometimes you can get a deal on materials or on a large or small job. Definitely have someone come out to your home to tell you what your options are, particularly if you are installing over a concrete slab because you will need some sort of underflooring.

Not sure about the cost and not an expert, but I have done this a few times. If you are going to be putting any kind of tounge-in-groove snap together wood product over a concrete slab, you might need a special underlayment and a vapor barrier. Especially if there is any chance that the concrete gets moist from condesation,humidity, or any sort of seepage. You would probably never notice this, nor would it likely be an issue with carpeting, or maybe other flooring such as tile or vinyl. But a wood product will be effected much differently by trapped moisture between the slab and the flooring without special underlayment. I have seen the stuff buckle and start warping enmasse when it's done incorrectly expecially below grade,on grade could still be chancy too. The McLean Treasure Trove thrift store moved and remodeled a few years ago, and some mook put down snap together flooring over the concrete slap in their basement, within a few weeks the stuff was warping and pulling up all over the place.

There are a number of dimpled plastic underlayment products which need to be installed over the concrete. It offers a nice padding feel, with the underlayment raising the level of the flooring 3/4" to 1" in height. It traps any moisture and lets it evaporate in due course by holding it in the dimples and letting it escape at the edges under the shoe and baseboard. The underlayment is covered with a vapor barrier sheeting which is taped over it... then the flooring like pergo or any floating wood product is then put together on top of it. Such products are not cheap,and raise the price. You can order them through Home Depot or Lowes, don't think they carry them on hand. Anyone with average carpentry or building skills can do such a job.

I would be wary of laying any wood flooring directly over a slab even with a wood subfloor and/or simple vapor barrier on top unless you know for sure you slab does not get moist in certain places,or under certain conditions,because that moisture needs an escape route,and it will eventually show itself in the flooring

We used k and k flooring recommended by someone here. They were good and their prices were fair.

If you plan on installing yourself, look for deals on lumber liquidators . Com

Got my 10 X 12 floor installed for $150 by a couple of non-english speaking guys I met at Home Depot when buying my laminate.

They layed a subfloor and a vapor barrier. Only took them 5 hours. Overall, a great job and saved my back and my weekend.

I am a young female and I installed wood floors. Easy!!

I am a professional flooring installer. There are quite a few different costs that are associated in installing a new hardwood floor in a (not new) home.

If your home doesn't have an existing floor, then the average install numbers hold true in St. Louis, Missouri at around $2 - $3 for Nail Down Hardwood/Engineered.

Lets look at the job from start to finish.

Make sure to get a moisture test, try and understand the reason behind this. You must allow your wood floor to acclimate to your home, and the moisture levels should be within the tolerances allowed. If you nail all your wood down while its freezing in your house, then you allow your home to remain open, during 100 degree days with 100% humidty like it gets here, you will have issues. Let your wood sit in your home, at your normal temps, for a couple days. A week if you can.

If you have tear up. This is where the cost can vary greatly. If your home is on wood, you can look in the hear/ac register on the floor and check what all is installed on top of your sub floor.

Here is a general list I use for take up:

Carpet $.20 / sq ft

Vinyl $1.00 / sq ft (If you have more than one layer, usually you can take all up at once, cut with hand saw into smaller easier to pry up pieces. Set your saw to not cut through your subfloor. Buy the 4ft pry bar for $20 at the box stores)

Nail Down HardWood $1.50-$2.50 / sq ft. (The thinner the boards, the more expensive. i.e. 5 inch 3/4 is easier to rip up than 2" 1/4 (3/4 inch wood). More boards = more nails )

Laminate $1.00 / sq ft. This is the easiest take up. You will have to have a place to dump it, but if you have old laminate, you should really consider taking it up yourself. Its simple

Ceramic $2-$4 / sq ft
Nobody wants to tear out old ceramic. If the underlayment is screwed down and glued, well it can get expensive, dusty, and down right dangerous. Wear safety googles.

BUT WAIT!! There is more!

If there is a toilet, that can cost up to $100 to be pulled up, and reinstalled correctly.

There is the issues with the baseboards. Usually this is pulled and rehung for free. Its a great opportunity to have it replaced, it gets banged up pretty bad if the last time it was hung, it was hung up with a million nails. The key is to use a utility knife and cut the top of the base, cutting the calk/base from the paint, so when you pull the base, it doesn't rip the paint up the wall. If your floor was taller before, you will have an issue with your base matching the old paint line. You can buy taller base, or paint!!

I use this calculator to plug in all the values of the take up and installation costs, it gives me a rough estimate. This is android only, I haven't found one I like for apple sorry!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dma.flooringcalculator

For installation charges i use this a guide: (All amounts are Per Square Foot)

NailDown Hardwood $2-$3 (depending on width of board)
Carpet $.50 (pattern matches/berbers extra $.25-$1.00 Depending)
Laminate $2 (Cheaper for larger open areas)
Vinyl $1

I hope the info helps!!

D

more than carpet but do it if you plan to stay a while