There’s a best time of year to buy about everything.
Usually, this is when the new models come up. Whenever I’m flexible on a purchase, I try to look up the best time to buy. You really see a big difference in the deals, and in some cases, the ability to negotiate.
Flooring isn’t any different. Whether you’re buying hardwood, laminate, or tile, there’s a best time to buy flooring to get a good deal. In fact, it’s usually right around the New Year.
The difference in flooring is it’s not because new models are coming out, and stores want to get rid of new product. It’s because demand is lower. And that’s the key:
Shop when other people aren’t shopping, and you’re more likely to get a better deal.
Hint: You will get best installation price during off-season, which is typically from October through March. However, since flooring is not as seasonal as other home improvement trades, even during spring/summer you will usually get decent price on installation.
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How I choose the best time to buy flooring?
The other difference with flooring is it’s not all about the price. Like I said, I’m all about getting a great deal, but there are 3 things to consider:
- best floor deals/lowest prices (related: how to negotiate flooring)
- how when you buy affects the installation
- your families health (more on this below)
I’ll go more into these below, but basically when you choose to install your floor, can make a difference in both of these. It’s something to consider outside of price.
Now that we know how to decide the best time to buy your new hardwood, laminate, or tile, let’s break it down:
Recommended reading: Check out all flooring options here.
When is the best time to buy flooring?
Back to our economics lesson, you get the best deal on flooring when other people aren’t buying.
Flooring stores are more willing to give you a good deal when they’re desperate for a sale, and plus, negotiating a better price is less annoying when they don’t have a line of customers waiting behind you.
I’ve found these times (in order) to be the best for getting a good price on flooring:
- Dead of winter (Late December and January):Most people are too busy this time of year to mess with flooring. There’s also the fact that flooring stores are starting to ramp up for the new remodel season starting in the Spring/Summer and want to clear out old flooring for the new. This combo makes an excellent time to find the best prices on flooring.
- Mid to late May:This one is a wildcard. But when I talked about new product coming in, it’s often around this time. This means you might find great clearance sales on last-ditchattempt to get out the “old” flooring. Also, people are busy this time of year with graduation and the Memorial Day holiday coming up.
There are also a few timesyou should avoid. Early fallis the worst in most states. It’s usually a time when things are winding down for the summer, people moved into new homes, and kids are going back to school, so there’s free time. I’d try to avoid August 1st to November 1st.
Best time for installation and health
Is it weird to combine these two?
It felt weird writing it, but it makes sense: both installation and your health depend on the weather. The critical part is that you can open your doors and windows.
For installation, tile is more versatile, but hardwood and laminate usually need to be “acclimated” to your environment. In other words, you need to set the planks out for a couple of days because they can slightly change shape due to the weather.
It’s critical you let this happen before the floors are installed, or it will cause the installation to buckle. So back to the weather, this is easiest to do in 50 to 75-degree weather when you don’t need the air conditioning. In most areas, the fall is a great time for this, but if you live in Miami, January will probably do.
Captain’s warning! The important part of acclimating the flooring is the humidity. Air conditioning and heating and can take the humidity out of the air. You can get around this by running humidifiers this time of year, but for the next point I’m going to discuss, I believe it’s best to get humidity the natural way.
So what about health?
Health matters for a similar reason. You need to be able to open your doors and windows. All types of flooring (and any home remodel or furniture) do what’s called off-gassing. This means they emit chemicals into the air that can be harmful to your health. The flooring industry is working on making safer products, but I’d avoid being in your house as much as you can the first 72 hours. And during that time, it’s best if you can let fresh air in.
Captain’s parting words!
If I give you just a small piece of advice from this article: try to avoid the fall, and pick a 65-degree day to install your new floor.
Good deals can be had at any time:
Make sure to check out our free, unbiased buying guides to make sure you don’t rely on the salesman to do what’s best for your home. Our hardwood guide and laminate guide are some of our most popular, but you’ll find the other in the navigation.
Any other questions on when to buy your floor? Let me know in the comments below.
Hello there! I am needing new flooring and am completely overwhelmed. There’s carpet in the livingroom and down the hallway, kitchen and dining room are builders linoleum. They are 23 years old so you can imagine how bad they are.I will be doing this myself as I can’t afford to have someone install it. I have gone into places and asked questions but leave twice as overwhelmed as when I got there. I have a dog so I know her nails can be key to what I get. Could you please help with what I need? The more I read and the more I talk to people the more confused I get because everyone is saying something different. I would very much appreciate any further guidance you have.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for the great info.
Glad it helped!
Thanks for writing this article. I’m in the process of remodeling and renovating my entire kitchen (cabinets, countertops, flooring) and been conducting as much research as I can to best “acclimate” myself to the world of flooring and everything surrounding it; especially since this is and will be a 100% DIY project too. Your article open my eyes to some essential information I had no idea about and made some “lightbulbs” go off regarding the time of the year to buy and some of the other information you discussed. This has assisted me to further research and prepare myself to make the best possible decision I can with the new flooring I’ll be buying within the next couple weeks for my kitchen.
Is there any way I could get a little more direction and information in reference to LVP Flooring and/or any other tips/advice surrounding this type of flooring, which brand to focus on (right now I’m deciding btw going with Karndean, Armstrong, or LifeProof LVP floors), or direction to a few other articles that would steer me in the right direction to be as prepared as I can prior to speaking to a salesman? Thanks for any/all help to my request, and thanks again for this article. EXTREMELY HELPFUL and INFORMATIVE!!!
Thanks! I have a guide on how to buy LVP flooring and also an article on luxury vinyl brands. Those should help!
That info could help me also…PLEASE…
THANK YOU!!!
The best time to install flooring is in 60-80° temperatures, but if you decide to purchase flooring from a direct wholesale flooring company like where I work, there are not certain times to get a good or better price. The reason I say this is because 1.) our regular customers, like installers, are for the most part an on-going steady business 2.) the manufacturers are introducing new products and dropping products every day and 3.) our sales reps are never desperate for a sale because they give the customer the best price possible they can within reason. I do think where you purchase your flooring has a lot to do with pricing. I’m not saying that as in-store wise but the closer you get to Dalton GA, the carpet capital, the cheaper it is and that is true even when you purchase it online and have it shipped to a local terminal near you. I’m not saying there isn’t a better time of year to purchase flooring in a retail environment, but as far a direct wholesale there is not a best time to buy flooring.
Thanks for the insight, Kendra!
This blog is definitely helpful and informative. Great blog by the way and thanks for sharing these!
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Appreciate the feedback!
I found your article to be extremely helpful.
Many thanks!
You’re welcome!
Great advice! This really helps me a lot! Thank you!!
Glad it helped!
Love the article… great information and to the point… I’m looking at the loose lay flooring are there any pros and or cons I should be considering?
Thanks! Loose lay is nice because it’s easier to DIY and fewer fumes from glues, and it’s also not likely to expand and contract if you pre-expose it before installation. Glue down flooring may make less noise underfoot and generally just be more stable and less likely to show seams with time.
Thinking of purchasing vinyl laminate flooring for our master bedroom and bath. Great prices at Costco or go with $1 plus per square foot at Home Depot?
Great article. I currently have an older laminate floor installed over a slab. I want to install newer laminate. What is the cost to remove the old flooring? Should the price include removing the baseboard and reinstalling after new floor is laid?
Check out my flooring cost calculator, and it will give you some ideas. Some installers will break down prices in detail (eg. removing old floor, disposing of floor, removing baseboards) and others will be more general (eg. installation fee). The price usually comes out the same, so I wouldn’t worry as much about the details of each part of installation/removal but the total cost.
I appreciate the detail in this article. Well written and to the point!
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Appreciate it!
Thanks for the advice. Who has the best price on ceramic tile now.
No problem! The best prices are highly area dependent. The big boxes are usually competitive, but local stores will sometimes have the edge, especially if you have a local store that specializes in tile.
Somebody told me that there are offers for free installation during certain times of the year. Do you know of these deals and when they are offered by chance? I live in Colorado
Depending on the company, some offer it all year. I don’t think there’s a specific time but would expect to see these in the higher demand times, just because it makes a good advertisement and companies like to advertise in peak demand times. With that in mind, usually “free installation” isn’t a great deal–the installer is getting paid so the cost is coming from somewhere. They’re either bumping the base price up or its a bait and switch where your installation ends up having “added fees” for things like ‘stairs’,
‘the room is bigger than the maximum’, ‘waste fees, trim fees’, etc.
I live in New England, so how do I buy flooring in the dead of winter and also install on a 65 degree day? That’s like asking for a miracle.
Miracles can happen 🙂 … maybe the May option would work better. Or if you’re an extreme bargain hunter, buy it in December and setup the install late spring
Work out the terms in winter and have it delivered in the spring.
Store it on the porch, garage, or spare room.
Read it again, it says easiest–dress warm. Leave the windows cracked and the heat on 65 for a few days.