While installing hardwood floors looks as easy as putting together a jigsaw puzzle, it's best to hire someone with the specialized tools and knowledge to make this project fit together seamlessly.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 2 Hours
Here's How:
- Installers are often small, one- or two-person outfits, and can be hard to find. Look for them in the ad section of your local paper's Home section. Ask neighbors for leads. Stores that sell flooring materials often have a list of independent installers.
- Get three estimates. It's easy. If you're only hiring installers, the estimate rarely takes up more than twenty minutes of your life because you're only discussing labor, not materials.
- The estimator will measure your floors with a rolling "wheel-type" measure and a long tape measure and will come up with a square-foot measurement. Don't be alarmed if their figure is greater than yours. They will add at least ten-percent overage to account for waste associated with cutting the wood. You will get a square-foot price from the estimator. This price will likely not be very negotiable.
- But you can get good value from your installer by negotiating any or all of the following things:
- Will they shift furniture?
- Will they seal off other rooms with plastic? (Even if they do, insist that they cut the wood outside.)
- Will they cut under existing baseboards, in order to fit the hardwood underneath?
- Will they provide quarter-round to cover gaps between hardwood and baseboards?
What You Need:
- 25 foot or greater tape measure
- Calculator
