by Green Building Supply's
Joel Hirshberg
©2022

Here are some key questions you need to ask yourself BEFORE you even think of shopping for a floor. Answering these will help determine appropriate choices. This is a formidable task, we admit, but if you want to do it right, green and within budget, there’s no alternative.

The subfloor is the surface that you will be installing your new floor over. It’s usually either made of concrete or plywood, or in some cases wooden planks. It may be covered by vinyl, tile or solid wood. In most older homes subfloors are rarely level. If not level, how much work needs to be done? Nail down and glue down floors require almost perfect subfloors, while floating floors require less perfection.

Flooring manufacturers may give you a choice for how to apply their flooring depending upon your subfloor. Once you remove your existing floor and get down to the subfloor you’ll find concrete, plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) or solid wood slats. If concrete, you can glue or float the floor over the top. (NOTE: this may not apply if the subfloor is lightweight concrete, sometimes referred to as gypcrete).

If it’s a wood subfloor, you can glue, nail or float your floor over it. In some cases, you may not wish to remove your existing floor because it’s too difficult or expensive. In these cases you may wish to float a floor right over the old floor.

If water is seeping in through cracks in your walls or floors you may need to excavate outside your home, divert the downspouts away from the home and/or apply a sealer to the wall or floor. Damp basements are typical in many parts of the US. Most manufacturers’ warranties prohibit solid wood floors below grade, while certain floating floors are sometimes acceptable. Moisture barriers are almost always required over concrete, usually in the form of 6 mm polyethylene plastic. Specialty sealers are also available but most require professional installation.

If you have radiant heat, you’ll need a special type of floating floor and underlayment. While there are some situations where you can use a solid wood floor, it usually requires a greater effort and expense. Always ask if the floor is warranted for radiant heat and make sure it says so in the warranty. Most are not, and those that are warranted may only allow hydronic heat tubes and not electric heat coils.

Kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and rec rooms may require different types of flooring, especially if you have young children or large dogs. Harder floors generally last longer.

URINE: If your pet has problems controlling urine, consider a ceramic tile floor or linoleum sheet product. Most wood, bamboo, cork or carpet do not do well when exposed to acidic pet urine.

If you wish to tackle the installation yourself, do you have the skills and tools, and are you willing to learn? If not, do you have the money to hire it out? Sanding and coating is about $3/SF, nailing down a pre-finished floor is about $2.50-$2.75/SF, installing a floating floor is about $1.75/SF. (Your city may be different; also floor prep and moving furniture can add to this cost). You can save big by doing it yourself, but how important is a perfect job that is warranted by a professional? Everything has a learning curve, so be prepared to spend some time to get educated.

Along with the cost of the flooring and delivery, does your budget include the cost of installation, floor prep, tools, sealers and a 5-10% contingency for waste plus an extra box for repairs in the future?

Below are the incidental real costs most people can miss; these estimates can vary widely based upon the quantity of flooring, but they must be considered:

• taking product off the truck and bringing into your home or office ($50-$200)
• heat or AC when no one is yet living in the home during storage, acclimation and/or installation ($100-$200)
• subfloor leveling, either sanding or patching ($200-$500++)
• subfloor clean-up ($30-$50)
• sealing concrete subfloors/walls ($250-$400)
• removing baseboards and/or existing flooring ($100-$400++)
• removing furniture ($$)
• costs for loading and taking old flooring to the dump ($150-$250++)
• damages to other parts of the home during installation ($$)
• clean-up of adhesives, sawdust, plastic coverings, etc. ($50-$75)
• floor protection after installation of flooring; we recommend 1/8” Luan sheets in high traffic areas and not construction paper; this is a must ($200-$300++)
• floor-protectors for your furniture, beds, etc. ($$)

Make sure you allow time for transportation of goods, acclimation (none to 2 weeks, depending upon the product), subfloor preparation time, clean up and contractor schedules; then add 25% to the total. Like all other projects it usually takes longer than you anticipate. If you order the wrong product or quantity, this could also add another week to your job.

Do people in your home have chemical sensitivities or allergies? If so, be sure the products are urea formaldehyde free (or as close as possible) AND the person using the space has tested a sample beforehand.