Cutting down all of the old growth timber has made it to where there are far less large trees. This means less hardwood over all. This has resulted in major increases in prices for all hardwood products. The cost of hardwood flooring has increased drastically since the year 2000.
Prices for hardwood floors have increased anywhere from 15 to 70 percent. The increased lumber costs are due to species scarcity, fuel inflation and a lack of truck delivery. But even if you're not getting all-natural hardwood floors, you may still see a price increase.
A new analysis from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) states that rising softwood lumber prices have increased more than 250 percent since April 2020, causing the average price of a new single-family home to increase by nearly $36,000.
Installing hardwood flooring averages between $6 and $12 per square foot. On average, wood flooring costs between $3 and $7 per square foot for materials and $3 to $5 per square foot for labor. An estimate for installation of 1000 square feet of hardwood flooring runs between $6,000 and $12,000.
Demand spurred by pandemic leads to shortages, delays. More than a year after the coronavirus oubreak in the U.S., the hardwood flooring industry is continuing to face supply shortages—and experts say the delays many wood floor pros are experiencing could continue through at least the rest of the year.
The inventory is low, the demand is at an all-time high and so are the prices. Many are surprised to learn that the availability of white oak is not the issue— as many as 5.2 billion white oak trees cover 235,000 square miles in the United States.
Both hardwood types are affordable, but red oak tends to be less expensive than white oak. Prices, however, do fluctuate, and red oak might become more expensive than white oak depending on lumber availability. Prices vary, and brands, retailers, wood grade, and even plank dimensions can influence pricing.
Typical costs: Installing a standard solid-strip hardwood floor averages about $8 a square foot for materials, insulation and site finishing, and up to $12 a square foot for wide pine planks, or $1,150-$1,750 for a 12x12-foot room.
For an example, let's go with traditional but high-quality hardwood—let's say $10 per square foot. At that price, installing hardwood floors in a 2,000 square-foot-house costs a pretty penny of $20,000.
Lumber will be strong through 2021 and this drop in lumber prices is great news for homebuilders and real estate developers alike if they choose to take advantage of their low rates now.
The increased prices and supply shortage slowed down construction. Then, in summer 2021, prices fell back to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Now, lumber prices, like most commodities, are rising again.
A dip for lumber might sound triumphant to weary homebuilders. The price of lumber dropped to $829 per thousand board feet on Tuesday, the lowest mark for the commodity in 2022, Insider reported. Rising mortgage rates and growing inflation were cited as causes for the slip, along with a decline in home renovations.
Expect to pay between $4,500 and $30,000 for 1,500 square feet of solid wood flooring. The species of wood you choose for your home can be a big determinant of the installation costs.
It costs an average of $2,400 to $4,000 to buy and install 200 square feet of hardwood floor, according to a Fixr.com national survey. That's a wide range of $12 to $20 a square foot.
Replace a Carpet with Hardwood Flooring
Labor rates total $4.25 to $9.25 per square foot to remove the old carpet and replace it with hardwood flooring. Adding on to your cost to install hardwood flooring is another $3 to $14 per square foot for the wood too.
Installing hardwood flooring averages between $6 and $12 per square foot. Wood flooring costs $3 and $7 per square foot for materials and about $3 to $5 per square foot in labor to install.
The one area where vinyl floors outshine hardwood floors in terms of durability is moisture resistance. Vinyl floors are virtually impervious to moisture damage, whereas hardwood floors will have to be completely replaced if they sustain major water damage.
Typically, installation of hardwood floor takes anywhere from 1 to 3 days. The average job size ranges from 1000 to 5000 square feet. A two-person team of installers is typically able to complete 750 to 1000 square feet of flooring each day.
Telling white oak and red oak apart: Check the endgrain
If you look at the endgrain and see that the pores are open and uncovered, it's red oak. The pores in white oak are filled with tyloses, which are outgrowths of the tree's xylem vessels. The pores of red oak lack this outgrowth, which makes them appear to be open.
Grades are based on the amount of usable clear material in a board. The highest grade boards are FAS and Select, followed by #1 Common and #2 Common.
Maple is among the harder wood species, with a 1450 rating on the Janka wood hardness chart. As one of the densest wood species, Maple is ideal for high-traffic areas. Oak is slightly less hard – White Oak has a 1360 rating and Red Oak a 1290 rating.
Solid hardwood flooring: Solid wood floors are made up of solid, wide planks of hardwood that are fitted together using the tongue and groove method. This hardwood is the longest-lasting kind of wood flooring but is also the most expensive.