If you have a house and would like to have a hardwood floor installed, it is important to put in place a number of things in order to achieve the best results. As such, the cost of this installation may vary according to the type of material you intend to use and who you intend to contract for the job. Rates for installing wooden floors differ depending on the state of the existing floor. Although it may not need a lot of preparation before having your hardwood floor installed, it is obvious that you will need a good amount of money to install a 1,600 sq. ft. floor.
Generally, there are two main types of hardwood that can be used and which are compatible with most concrete floors: snap together and glue down. If you have basic skills in the use of an electric saw, then these two types of hardwood are DIY friendly. In this case, if you feel you can save some money by doing it on your own, the most appropriate and easiest is the snap together type. What you may be required to do is to employ a moisture barrier over the concrete floor and embark on the task of laying the floor. The tongue and groove system will hold together the pieces of wood. In all this work, the only place you will be required to cut your wood will be at the sides of your room in order to allow the wood pieces to fit well in each row.
Snap together hardwood floor
The only difference between snap together and glue down hardwood is that the latter requires you to smear glue on the concrete while fixing the floor and that you will not be able to move the floor once it is fixed. Flooring systems differ with the kind of wood type used and this is what influences the cost. For glue down flooring, especially if you have a contractor supplying it, you should expect to part with between $8 and $12 per sq.ft. Thus, if you intend to install a 1,600 sq. ft. wooden floor that has numerous angles, then your installation costs may vary significantly.
glue together hardwood floor
The actual installation price for snap together wooden floors varies by $2 and $10, or in some cases this can be higher. If you are intending to contract someone for the job, there is a likelihood of spending $1 per sq. ft. more on installation.
According to statistics, installation costs of a hardwood floor range from $7.97 – $9.91/per sq.ft. This is the latest calculation done and it involves the cost of materials used, rates of labor productivity levels, and the national average wage per hour. To narrow down the installation costs of a hardwood floor, it is important to consider the following:
- Choose the suppliers for the project – Know where you can get labor and purchase your installation materials
- Be specific – Calculate the area required for the installation project
To ensure that you get accurate costs for hardwood floor installation it is vital that you get bids from a number of professionals, compare the costs of related projects, and be prepared to adjust your plans if the need arises. When calculating the amount of money your hardwood floor is likely to cost, it is necessary to consider the following:
- Cost of the material used
- Transport costs
- Labor cost
- Work site preparation cost
- The cost of protecting the existing structures, materials, components, and finishes
- Cleanup and debris removal costs
- Set up time of labor and mobilization as well as hourly charges on small hardwood installations
When determining the cost of installing a hardwood floor, some of the costs you may not be required to include in your estimates include:
- Organizational and contractor supervision fee: it is also advisable for you to increase your installation estimates by between 12.1% and 19.3% if you intend to leave the supervision job to a general contractor
- Materials and supplies sale tax: fee levied on permit or inspection which is mandatory if you have to build any kind of structure
The cost of installing a hardwood floor can be quite expensive – stretching to thousands of dollars. There is a wide range of materials used to create hardwood floors and this is vital, in the sense that it gives consumers a variety of choices. For a consumer to make any commitments with any given company, it is important that he or she carries out extensive research on the company they intend to transact business with.
There are different types of wood used to build these floors. However, it is important to note that the type of wood used on any given floor influences the cost of the installation process. The most commonly used wood types include pine, hickory, oak, maple, bamboo, American cherry, Australian cypress and the Brazilian cherry. Although bamboo a grass it can also be used to construct hardwood floors.
different types of wood used for hardwood floor
Also, when calculating the cost of installing a hardwood floor, it is necessary that you consider the cost of the power tools needed for the whole process to be completed. Some of these tools include:
- A carpenter’s level (to check for high and low levels)
- Floor sander (to smoothen the floor surface before applying any finish)
- Edge sander (used for sanding the perimeter of the room)
- Square buff sander (helps in sanding)
- Floor Nailer
Having assembled all the tools mentioned above you can therefore include their costs plus the additional costs that a company is likely to incur in peeling off the old floor or in shifting furniture. All these costs are surcharged on the consumer and therefore should be included in the entire hardwood floor installation costs. Including some custom borders and other designs can cost between $1 and $2 above the total installation cost. Installation of shoe moldings and staining, as well as the cost of installing of hardwood stairs, is included in the additional costs and these do increase the overall hardwood floor installation costs a great deal.
