The floor is the single largest element in your home. With so many materials to choose from, you want to get it right. Too often our budget prevents us from getting the best, but there are always ways to keep down costs so that you can get the flooring that you want. Hardwood floors are by far the leading type of flooring, both in appearance and reputation. Here are ways to cut down the cost of hardwood flooring installation.
Hardwood floor installation
Calculate the cost of installing hardwood floors by adding the cost of materials with the cost of labor. Hardwood floors come in a wide range of prices, so before you even get to the cost of installation, take a look at the variety of wood species available in your price range. Cutting the cost of hardwood flooring installation begins with choosing the right species of wood. The next place you want to cut is labor costs.
Cutting the cost of labor
Installation is crucial, so you want to get the best hardwood flooring contractors to make sure that the installation is flawless. Poor installation can lead to problems down the road, which is not what you want when you are trying to keep down costs. However even if you get the best, there are ways to lower the labor costs involved with the installation.
Sanding and refinishing
The first obvious place to cut the installation cost is to not install new floors at all. If your home already has hardwood floors, consider having them refinished instead of replaced. Depending on the shape of your hardwood floors and the type of hardwood that is used, you may be able to restore your old hardwood floors to new by sanding and refinishing. Hardwood floors last a lifetime if properly cared for, but if the floors have been neglected, you may be able to breathe new life into them without the cost of installing a brand new floor.
Remove old floor
If you and your hardwood flooring contractor both deem the old floor too damaged for repair, there is one way to cut the cost of labor on the new floor installation – removing the old floor yourself. To cut installation costs, you need to take on some of the work yourself. If you are on a budget, remove the old floor yourself and save a bit of money.
Installing your own floors
Of course, you can take on the whole project yourself and greatly reduce the cost of installation. However, there are many traps that a layperson can fall into when taking on a hardwood flooring DIY installation. Proper installation – especially the preceding acclimation time – is crucial to the longevity of your hardwood floors. Any installation mistake can be more costly to repair or redo than the money you saved trying to DIY the installation. Unless you know what you’re doing, paying a professional to install your hardwood floors is going to pay off in the long run.
Talk to the experts at T&G Flooring about your hardwood flooring project.