Thursday, March 19, 2009

Hardwood Floor Installation Cost Consideration

Are you willing to pay the price of beautifying your home? Any form of home improvement would entail costs. Deciding to install hardwood floors in your home is no different. The hardwood floor installation cost that you will incur will be worth every penny when you finally get to enjoy the elegance and style your new hardwood flooring can give any room in your home. Investing in hardwood flooring is also a good way to increase the value of your home as this kind of flooring is known to be really durable and versatile. Solid hardwood flooring can withstand everyday activities and could last years and years without needing to be replaced. This type of flooring can also be refinished to match any redecorating projects you might want to undertake in the future.

Before starting on your hardwood floor installation project, it would be wise to get a hardwood floor installation cost estimate. You want to be prepared for the amount of money you will need to complete the project. Once you start your project, you cannot simply stop because you are lacking in funds – unless you are willing to live without a finished floor. Do your research well and consider everything that could contribute to your hardwood floor installation cost. The cost of materials alone is not the only thing that you should look at. There are other additional costs that could significantly increase the amount of money you need to set aside to cover your hardwood floor installation cost.

In as far as materials are concerned, you would need to have the dimensions of the room or rooms where you want your hardwood flooring to be installed. Without this information, it would be hard for you or your contractor to get a hardwood floor installation cost estimate. This would information will determine how much hardwood floor boards you would need. You will also have to compute for the prep work that needs to be done before you install your hardwood floor boards. The prep work could include clearing your existing flooring, installing the subfloor and underlayer, and treating the subfloor and underlayer for pest and moisture protection. Determine the kind of finishing and moldings you would require and get the additional costing as well.

The type of hardwood floor installation would also impact the cost of your hardwood floor installation. There are several types of hardwood floor installation depending on the type of hardwood flooring material that you would like to use. These are the nail down method, the glue down method, and the floating method. All these types of hardwood floor installation would have their own costings as each one of these methods requires varying materials and equipment. The floating method is the easiest and the least cost and labor intensive. It is, however, the nail down method that is more popularly used for solid hardwood floor installations. The glue down method is often used for engineered hardwood flooring and is the most labor and cost intensive of the three methods.

Perhaps the biggest impact to your hardwood floor installation cost would be labor costs. You could do away with this cost if you are doing the hardwood floor installation yourself. Some amount of competence, precision, and patience, however, is required of anyone who chooses to do the project himself as it takes a lot of work, time, and effort to complete the project. Professional contractors can be hired to do the job for a price. Around $10,000 would be the hardwood floor installation cost for about 1,000 square feet of space. Additional charges would apply to prep work and finishing work. Labor costs would be significantly reduced if you choose to split the work between you and the contractor. You can do the materials sourcing while your contractor can take care of the actual installation.

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