Planning a flooring installation comes down to three numbers: square footage plus 10 percent for waste, the installed price per square foot for your material, and the prep work your subfloor needs. Most homeowners pay $3 to $22 per square foot installed, and a typical room takes one to five days.
| Flooring type | Installed cost per square foot | Typical time for a 300 square foot room |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet with pad | $3 to $8 | Half a day to 1 day |
| Laminate | $4 to $9 | 1 day |
| Luxury vinyl plank | $4 to $11 | 1 day |
| Engineered hardwood | $7 to $15 | 1 to 2 days |
| Ceramic or porcelain tile | $8 to $20 | 2 to 4 days |
| Solid hardwood, site finished | $10 to $22 | 3 to 5 days |
What are the steps to plan a flooring installation?
- Measure every room. Multiply length by width for each space, add closets, and include any hallway the new floor will run through.
- Add waste. Order about 10 percent extra for straight plank or tile layouts and 15 to 20 percent for herringbone or diagonal patterns.
- Pick the material for the room. Kitchens, baths and laundry rooms need water resistance; bedrooms can take carpet or wood.
- Check the subfloor. Look for soft spots, squeaks, high or low areas and moisture before you set the budget.
- Budget the extras. Old floor removal, baseboards, transitions and furniture moving often add 20 to 40 percent to the material and labor price.
- Schedule around acclimation. Wood and some laminate need 48 to 72 hours inside the home before install, so plan delivery early.
How much does flooring installation cost for a whole room?
Price per square foot only tells part of the story. Here is what common room sizes typically run with luxury vinyl plank and with porcelain tile, before removal and extras. Smaller rooms often cost more per square foot because installers carry a minimum charge, commonly $300 to $600 per visit.
| Space | Size | Luxury vinyl plank | Porcelain tile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small bathroom | 40 to 60 square feet | $400 to $800 | $800 to $1,600 |
| Bedroom | 150 to 200 square feet | $700 to $2,200 | $1,400 to $4,000 |
| Kitchen | 200 to 300 square feet | $900 to $3,300 | $1,800 to $6,000 |
| Open living and dining area | 400 to 600 square feet | $1,800 to $6,600 | $3,500 to $12,000 |
| Whole 1,500 square foot home | 1,500 square feet | $6,000 to $16,500 | $12,000 to $30,000 |
If you are choosing between wood species, our guide to the best wood for hardwood flooring explains how oak, hickory and maple change both price and durability.
What extra costs should be in a flooring quote?
Most budget surprises come from line items that were never written down. A complete quote spells out each of these so the final bill looks like the first number you saw.
| Extra | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Remove and haul away carpet | $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot |
| Remove tile or glued down flooring | $2 to $5 per square foot |
| Self leveling compound | $1 to $3 per square foot |
| Plywood subfloor repair | $300 to $1,000 per area |
| Underlayment or moisture barrier | $0.30 to $1 per square foot |
| New baseboards or quarter round | $2 to $6 per linear foot |
| Transition strips at doorways | $25 to $75 each |
| Moving furniture and appliances | $100 to $400 per job |
Why does the subfloor matter so much?
Click lock vinyl and laminate need a floor that is flat within about 3/16 inch over 10 feet. Tile needs a stiff floor that does not flex, or grout cracks within a year. On concrete slabs, common in Texas and Florida homes, installers test moisture and often add a vapor barrier. On raised homes and pier and beam houses, they check joists for sag first.
How long does a flooring installation take?
Floating floors such as vinyl plank and laminate go in fastest because there is no glue or mortar to cure. Tile takes longer because thinset has to set before grouting, and grout should cure about 72 hours before heavy use. Site finished hardwood is the slowest because each coat of finish needs drying time and the home often smells for a few days. Plan furniture to go back no sooner than 24 hours after a floating floor and 48 to 72 hours after tile or finished wood.
- Clear rooms of small items, décor and anything stored on the floor the day before.
- Plan where pets and kids will be, since doors stay open and saws run.
- Expect doors to need trimming when the new floor is thicker than the old one.
- Book a cleaning after the install; our post construction cleaning cost guide shows what that runs.
What should you confirm before installation day?
A short checklist the week before saves most of the headaches that slow a flooring job down. Walk through each item and get the answers in writing so everyone shows up with the same plan.
- Material on site. Confirm the delivery date, the number of boxes and that every box shows the same lot number.
- Layout direction. Planks usually run parallel to the longest wall or toward the main light source. Decide this before the first row goes down.
- Appliances. Ask who disconnects and reconnects the refrigerator water line, dishwasher and washer, and whether that costs extra.
- Toilets and vanities. In bathrooms, tile or vinyl looks best when the toilet is pulled and reset on a new wax ring.
- Trim plan. Decide whether existing baseboards stay, get removed and reinstalled, or get replaced and painted.
- Disposal. Confirm that old flooring, packaging and scraps leave with the crew instead of in your trash cans.
How can you keep a flooring project on budget?
Start by getting the full scope in writing: rooms, square footage, material, removal, prep and trim. Ask how the price changes if the subfloor needs repair once the old floor is up, since that is the most common change. Order all material from the same production lot so color stays consistent, and keep one unopened box for future repairs.
Doing several rooms at once usually lowers the price per square foot because setup, travel and minimum charges are spread out. Many owners in fast growing areas are doing exactly this; our piece on why Dallas homeowners are remodeling instead of moving shows how flooring fits into a bigger update.
See your upfront price and book your flooring installation on House Fly through our flooring service. You book at the price you see, House Fly handles the rest, and payment is held until the job is done.
Frequently asked questions
How much extra flooring should I order?
Order about 10 percent more than your measured square footage for straight plank or tile layouts. Rooms with many corners, closets or angled walls may need 12 to 15 percent. Herringbone, chevron and diagonal patterns need 15 to 20 percent. Keep one unopened box after the job for future repairs.
Does flooring installation price include removing the old floor?
Often it does not. Removal is usually a separate line, typically $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot for carpet and $2 to $5 per square foot for tile or glued down flooring, plus disposal. Ask for removal, haul away and any subfloor repair to be written into the quote before work starts.
Can new flooring go over the old floor?
Sometimes. Floating vinyl plank and laminate can go over flat, solidly attached vinyl or tile, which saves removal costs. They should not go over carpet or over floors with soft spots. Adding height can affect doors, appliances and transitions, so measure clearances before deciding to skip removal.
Can I stay home during a flooring installation?
Usually yes for vinyl, laminate and carpet, as long as you can avoid the rooms being worked on. Tile means a few days without that room while thinset and grout cure. Site finished hardwood can produce strong fumes during finishing, so many families plan to stay elsewhere for one or two nights.
