Hard flooring can be perfect for your home or residential building. For starters, it’s durable and easy to maintain. Additionally, it offers a simplistic design that can fit into any decor. However, despite these obvious advantages, for most people, the answer to whether or not to get hardwood flooring in Toronto is dependent on the cost of hardwood flooring.
Most people have no idea how much a simple home renovation job costs. As a result, agreeing to the price of hardwood flooring can seem like a complicated process. Not to worry, though, here we will help you break down the cost of hardwood flooring. Alongside that, we’ll detail all the other expenses involved.
We’ll begin with all you should know when it comes to hardwood flooring installation. From the cost of labour to the raw materials involved, we’ll make sure that you have all the information. That way, you can easily make a cost estimate for hardwood flooring in 2020.
Installing Hardwood Flooring: The Cost of Underlay
Before installing new flooring, there is a high probability that you will need to remove the already existing one. This is true whether the floor is standard hardwood or laminate. Since this is the case, the hardwood flooring expenses you’ll have to pay will start from here.
Expect to pay about $1.35 per square footage for a professional floor removal job. However, if there is a reason to replace existing subflooring, prices can rise as high as $2.20 per square foot.
After the floor removal, floor underlay comes into the play. This flimsy (thin) material acts as a middle ground between subflooring and the actual hardwood flooring. Depending on the product’s quality, the pricing model for underlay in Toronto ranges from $0.30 to as high as $4.
Related article: How Much Does Hardwood Flooring Refinishing Cost in 2020?
Do You Truly Need Underlay?
If you are wondering whether you need underlay for hardwood floor removal, the answer is that you usually would need it. Ordinarily, if you already have some sort of plywood subfloor, you’re good to go.
The plywood “middleman” between the subfloor and your hardwood offers a level of moisture resistance for your wood, which, in itself, is a means of protection. Alongside that, plywood is relatively smooth and won’t cause you a significant amount of trouble during your hardwood installation.
However, if you don’t already have a plywood subfloor, we can confidently say that you’re most likely going to need one. That’s because it offers several benefits.
Benefits of Underlay
When you pay the cost of underlay during hardwood installation, it comes with many advantages. Some of these advantages include:
Vapour Barrier
This is arguably the most important reason people decide to use underlay before installing their hardwood. It offers a significant amount of protection to your hardwood from moisture and vapour.
If water gets to your hardwood from beneath, you’re likely to have to deal with avoidable repair costs. After bearing the cost to install hardwood floors, this is certainly one you don’t want to take on.
Subfloor Evenness
In 2020, hardwood flooring and installation costs can be a bit of a bother, depending on how much knowledge you previously had on the topic. But, this problem will seem minute when you’ve gone through the entire stress of beating the cost of hardwood flooring, only to find out that the floor looks crooked and uneven.
Apart from the fact that it’s not particularly visually appealing, it’s not quite safe either. Among other things, it can be a major trip hazard. This is definitely something you’d want to avoid if you have a fragile senior citizen or an infant who’s only just started walking in the house.
With underlay, you don’t have to worry about this particular problem. If your underlay is thick enough, you can simply use it to make up for your hardwood flooring’s unevenness.
Noise Control
Considering that they’re, quite literally, made out of hardwood, hardwood floors aren’t exactly known for their quietness. Unless you’re a family with a tradition of wearing foam-padded footwear, you’re most likely going to have to deal with noise on your hardwood flooring.
From the creaks to the constant thumps of kids running around, the sources of noise are endless. It can quickly escalate when you add the sound of the TV and music player to it. All this can be a tad difficult to deal with.
However, if you do have an underlay that can absorb sound, you’d have much less noise to worry about. It’ll act as your noise control mechanism so that you can take a peaceful afternoon nap without having to listen to the kids prancing around.
Comfort
Wood is hard and can easily get cold during those harsh Canadian winters. You’ll notice this, even more, when you’re making a casual trip across the part of your room that’s not covered by rugs during winter. However, if you use underlayment, you won’t have to worry about it at all.
Underlayment acts as a cushion of sorts for your feet when you’re walking. What’s more, is that it prevents you from having to deal with the sharp weather changes that come with those uncanny harsh winter nights.
How Much Does Hardwood Flooring Cost in Toronto?
Typically, the cost of hardwood flooring is mainly dependent on your contractor. They’re the ones who will make a review of the materials you’ll require and give you the cost of hardwood flooring based on their estimate. Most contractors in Toronto price hardwood flooring at around $8 per square foot.
However, this number is more of an average than the defined standard of hardwood flooring costs in Toronto. Such factors, such as the quality and brand, may mean increased expenses to install hardwood flooring in your home.
Distressed, exotic and scraped hardwood variety may cost between $9-$15 per square footage. On the other hand, less expensive wood varieties may cost at least half of that. However, that’s not all you need to keep in mind if you want to buy hardwood floors.
Other factors impact how much you have to pay to get hardwood flooring installed. These factors include:
Complexity of installation
Depending on how easy it is to install hardwood flooring in your home, you may end up paying less for the project. The contractor mostly determines this pricing factor. Therefore, if you’re not comfortable with the price, you can search for more affordable pricing contractors.
Wood species
In this area, the chances are that the cost of hardwood flooring will go a little higher than usual. Here, the wood species refers to the exact type of wood that you intend to use for your wood flooring needs. In this regard, we have two main classifications. The first is domestic species, and the second is the exotic species.
For the former, the most popular variations include red oak, hickory, and white oak. These three specific types of wood are considered durable and affordable enough for the purpose they are meant to serve.
However, other domestic species like maple and walnut are a bit more on the expensive side. Additionally, you can purchase other such types of wood as cheery, ash, beech, birth at different costs. However, you should only have to pay between four to nine dollars per square foot for any domestic tree species.
On the other hand, the exotic alternatives are, as expected, a tad pricier than their domestic counterparts. These types of wood usually include virtually anything that you have to cross the border to acquire.
Despite the challenge involved in getting them, you still have several options when exotic species are involved. Specifically, Tigerwood and IPE come to mind when we think of this diversity in available options.
Alongside those two, a few others include Brazilian Cherry, Wenge, Santos Mahogany, Rosewood, and Teak. As implied earlier, it can be a bit of a challenge finding these species’ hard form. But, engineered boards are significantly easier to track and purchase. Regardless, if you’re looking to buy any type of exotic wood, you’ll be looking between $5-$15 per square foot.
Size of the space
As to how this will affect the cost of hardwood flooring in Toronto, this is a no-brainer. The more space you want to cover, the higher the amount you can expect to pay for hardwood flooring in Toronto.
This is because this factor directly impacts the amount of labour your installation will require. Alongside that, if you need to cover a bit more space than usual, you’ll need a bit more wood than usual.
Thickness of wood
Alongside the others mentioned here, another determinant of the cost of hardwood flooring in Toronto is the thickness of wood to be used. Now, it is entirely up to you to decide as your contractor or installation company will merely follow your instructions. But, you should know that the thicker your wood is, the longer it will last.
For example, a wood with a thickness of ¾” is sure to take a much longer time to wear out than a 3/8″ wood. Additionally, as a result of its thickness, when the former gets surface damage, it’s much easier to fill it out. On the other hand, the latter may need a complete replacement as the breakage can lead to the entire destruction of that part of the wood.
This factor also applies to engineered wood if you want to use it for your hardwood flooring. However, in this case, you’ll have to place more attention on the veneer than the complete thickness of the wood.
So, to sum up, picking a thicker piece of wood will cost you more money because you’ll be paying for durability and reduced repair costs. However, the exact prices depend on the company you’re hiring to get the job done for you.
Sourcing for wood
The cost of the hardwood material can take up the bulk of your expenses. Depending on whether the materials are sourced locally or internationally, hardwood pricing may go up. The best choice depends on your personal preferences.
For example, wood that comes from outside Canada’s borders, whether exotic or domestic, will require a certain amount of money for shipping and preservation, among other things. This is something that your contractor will calculate as part of your expenses.
As long as you work with a professional hardwood installation company, you will enjoy sustainable, durable, high-quality materials. On average, for a space measuring about 1,200 square feet, you may pay between $4,500 and $7,200 for the hardwood material.
Cost of labour
Another factor that determines the cost of installing hardwood flooring in Toronto is labour. Typically, you will have to cover the labour pricing for all of the hard work that goes into installing hardwood flooring before, during, and after. However, paying for expert labour is well worth it. In Toronto, contractors will handle virtually everything you need to get done.
One thing that constitutes the cost of hardwood flooring is the effort required to remove the old flooring. In fact, this is such a significant amount of work that it can be categorized separately on its own. As such, you may have to pay a bit more to get this done if you need to take out your current flooring.
Another component is the work to be done on the floor after removing the old one. For example, if the floor you have before installation is in bad shape, your contractor may have to ensure that the surface is sanded. Alongside that, they’ll also need to adjust the floor to ensure that it is perfectly even and isn’t going to become a trip hazard. Finally, they’ll clean up properly for obvious reasons.
For a 1,200-square foot home, the price of labour can run between $600 – $800. However, depending on the quality of labour and the amount of work to be put in, this pricing may change.
Related article: When is the Best Time to Buy Hardwood Flooring in Canada?
How to Cut Costs in Hardwood Flooring
Evidently, hardwood flooring can be a tad tasking on your finances. While the prices aren’t exorbitantly high, they’re still significant enough to leave an impact. As such, you need to consider the best way for you to save money where you can.
We’ll advise that you should pick two or more of everything and compare prices vis a vis the quality provided. That is, take two or more brands, types of wood, alongside every other factor involved and compare them to each other without neglecting the quality.
In your comparison, decide which one will give you the best services at the most reasonable costs. When that’s done, you should have a clear idea of how you can save money in your hardwood flooring project.
Other Types of Flooring: Pricing and Factors to Know
As you very well know, hardwood flooring is not the only option for residential and commercial buildings.
While the costs do vary, there are still a few other excellent flooring options that you can explore:
Laminate
This flooring option offers durability, affordability and stylishness as it has a relatively wide array of patterns that will look great in your home. Additionally, if installed by professional installers, laminate flooring will not gouge out, scratch or have dents.
This is due to the number of layered materials fused via a lamination process. Compared to the cost of hardwood flooring, laminate pricing is more affordable — only about $2-$4 per square footage of material.
Vinyl
This is a budget-friendly option that we encourage most homeowners to explore in place of hardwood flooring. Additionally, it’s completely waterproof and can be designed to look like wood.
But, beyond that, one of the most interesting things about this flooring type is that it is incredibly durable. As such, you can use it for high-traffic areas in your home without worrying about having to repair it ever so often. For vinyl flooring installation, square footage costs about $4 of material.
Tile
Perfect for bathrooms, laundry rooms, entryways and kitchens, porcelain or ceramic tiles offer immense aesthetic values. However, it can be costly.
Natural stone marble tiles can cost up to $15 for every square foot installed. However, human-made versions are far less expensive.
Summing Up the Cost of Hardwood Flooring in Toronto
In conclusion, depending on the size and design of hardwood flooring you want, your hardwood flooring installation costs may go as high as $5,000. However, if done properly with all factors properly considered before installation, the results are well worth it.
Homeowners will be able to enjoy the durability, fine design and functionality that comes with hardwood flooring. If you are worried about pricing, LV Flooring offers the best pricing models for hardwood flooring in Toronto.
Also, we have a variety of designs and looks that you can choose from. Look through our online store for hardwood floors or call (416) 665-5645 to get started! You’re definitely going to find something for your home.
Related article: Essential Factors to Remember When Buying Hardwood Floors
