Save Money on Wood Flooring

Flooring companies don’t want you to know this, but it is possible to save money on wood flooring–without taking any extreme measures, either.

Remnants, opened boxes, factory seconds, and so-called flawed materials can actually give you an amazingly good product. You stand a greater chance of being able to use these kinds of materials if the space you will be flooring is relatively small.

Keep Boxes of Wood Flooring Intact

After buying the flooring, keep the materials intact in boxes as much as possible. Suppliers will generally let you return unopened boxes for a full refund. Save materials from any partial boxes in a clean, dry place for any repairs you may need to do down the road.

Consider Cheaper Species of Wood

White oak, red oak, bamboo, beech, and pine tend to be less expensive than other species.

Install the Wood Flooring Yourself

For installing nail-down hardwood, pneumatic nailers and miter saws are available to rent at many home improvement stores and nearly all rental yards. Glue-down or floating engineered floor is even easier to install than nail-down hardwood.

Do Prep Work Yourself

Wood floor installation can involve quite a bit of prep work such as removing existing flooring (carpet, linoleum, vinyl–if needed), removing baseboards, and installing sub-floor. It is our opinion that no installer should charge a significant amount for these jobs. But if they do, you can do this yourself.

Don’t Remove Existing Flooring

You may have a good sub-floor and a good finish flooring on top of that. If the finish flooring is flat and stable (such as well-secured sheet vinyl), it may be possible to nail wood flooring on top of it. Confirm this with an installer. It may be necessary to peel back some of the existing flooring to see what is underneath.