Flooring Calculator will help you with estimating Labor & Material costs for Hardwood, Carpet, Laminate, Engineered, Linoleum / Vinyl and other types of flooring, based on square footage of each room, material quality, subfloor leveling, removal of old floors, installing trim/moldings, etc.
As a homeowner, you likely know the type of flooring that you want installed, and how much the materials cost per sq. ft. However, most homeowners struggle with finding how much it costs to install your flooring of choice.
How To Use Floor Calculator
To get an accurate price estimate for your flooring project:
1) enter dimensions of each room (in feet)
2) select the material you want installed
3) select if you need removal of old flooring
4) select if you need new trim / moldings installed
NOTE – flooring contractors typically remove and reinstall old moldings/trim as part of their overall installation price quote.
Once you made your selections, click “CALCULATE” button to get low-end, mid-range and high-end pricing in your area.
The estimated prices are based on survey of 100s of flooring contractors across all states and are adjusted for local cost of living (state-based adjustment).
These price estimates accurately resemble your local prices from independent installers (not big-box stores, which usually carry a huge markup).
Items that may drastically change total installation price
1) Cost of materials: If you estimated cost for basic white oak, but got a quote for Red Cherry hardwood flooring, it is almost guaranteed, that your actual quote will be much higher than the estimate produced by this calculator, due to at least $4-7/sq. ft. difference in cost of materials. Same applies in reverse.
2) Unforeseen repairs: If you quoted a simple install, but your floors are “all out of whack” and need substantial leveling, or you have rot damage that was only discovered AFTER old flooring was removed, you are likely to incur substantial “change order” or add-on to the contractor’s initial quote.
It is very important for both you and your contractor, to spell out any additional items / charges that may and do come up during floor installation process. Ask your contractor about these items, and have them put it in writing.
3) Cut-up layout OR non-standard installation: If you want your floors installed diagonally, or mix different materials in different rooms, or if you have odd-shaped spaces, with a lot of transitions – this will inevitably result in extra labor charges from the contractor, as these are very time consuming items.
Typical Flooring Installation Prices
Average cost is somewhat hard to give, but we will try anyway. Just know, that due to many factors, your actual cost may be lower or higher. All prices below include labor and materials, removal and reinstallation of trim, and basic underlayment.
Hardwood Flooring Prices:
Prices include basic underlayment and factory-coated hardwood planks in 3.5″ width and 5/8″ to 3/4″ thickness.
Basic white oak costs $6.20 – $10.00 per sq. ft.
More expensive Cherry / Maple / Hickory / Birch will cost $7.90 – $13.50 per sq. ft.
Bamboo floors will cost $4.90 -$9.30 per sq. ft., depending on color & thickness.
Laminate Flooring Prices:
Honestly – I don’t recommend laminate flooring, as it is very suseptible to water / moisture absorption and buckling.
It’s not that cheap that it just makes sense, as a basic hardwood is not much more expensive. As an alternative, you can go with Luxury Vinyl flooring and quality underlayment for the same cost, and never have water damage issues!
Basic 8mm laminate will cost $4.05 – $6.50 per sq. ft.
Mid-grade 10mm laminate will cost $5.10 – $7.20 per sq. ft.
Premium laminate (if that is even a thing) will cost $6.50 – $8.90 per sq. ft. At this price level – just go with Hardwood!
Engineered Flooring Prices:
Engineered flooring is basically a 3/8″ to 1/2″ high grade plywood (base layer), with 1/8″ hardwood veneer – a cheap(er) substitute for hardwood. In some cases the base layer and veneer are thinner. We don’t recommend going with anything that is thinner than 1/2″ total thickness. In fact, 5/8″ thickness is almost a must, and engineered floors are usually nailed down.
Typical thickness in US: 1/2″, 5/8″ and 3/4″
Veneer color and type usually does not make much difference. What does make a difference is thickness and planks width. We will use “standard” 4″ wide planks for average pricing:
1/2″ engineered floor will cost $5.45 – $8.20 per sq. ft.
5/8″ engineered floor will cost $6.75 – $9.30 per sq. ft.
3/4″ engineered floor will cost $7.10 – $10.50 per sq. ft.
Carpet Prices:
Your cost of carpet install usually consists of 2 items: Carpet itself and Padding.
While most padding products cost between $0.75 and $1.25, most difference will come from the cost of carpet. Also note that carpet install is almost always “free” and is built into the cost of carpet material.
One more important note: Carpet comes in 12′ wide rolls. If your rooms are 10″ wide, you will have 2 feet of waste – still your carpet contractor/supplier will charge for the waste. Also if you have room that is 15′ wide you will have 1) a seam, and 2) a lot more waste – especially if your carpet has a pattern that must be matched along the seam.
It is best to buy ALL of your carpet at the same time, and from the same roll, to not have color discrepancy.
For the purpose of average costs, we use normal $1/sq. ft. padding.
Basic carpet will cost $2.25 – $3.50 per sq. ft.
Mid-grade carpet will cost $3.50 – $7.00 per sq. ft.
Premium carpet will cost $7.00 – $12+ per sq. ft., and may include wool and other premium materials.
