DIY vs. Professional Floor Installation
Mar 20, 2023
Renovating any part of your home can help to increase your own enjoyment of living there as well as boost your home’s value should you decide to sell. A floor replacement is a relatively inexpensive remodel that can make a major impact and has a high return on your investment. But should you have your floor professionally installed or should you do it yourself? We’ll help you understand some of the benefits and drawbacks of both.
DIY Floor Installation
We all want to let our style and creativity shine through our homes, and what better way to do so than installing your own flooring exactly the way you like it? If you find yourself to be handy and good at learning new hands-on projects, it’s possible you may not need to hire a professional to do it for you. However, sometimes floor installation can be a long process. A professional can streamline the process and get the dirty work done for you.
Pros of DIY Floor Installation
Low Cost
Installing flooring yourself can be a frugal way to do a home renovation. Without having to pay outside contractors, you can save that money for your other financial goals. How much flooring installation costs depends on the contractor, the size of the room, and the material, but can range from $2 to $20 per square foot of space. If you do it yourself, you’ll only have to pay for the materials.
Control the Schedule
No need to wait for the contractors to tell you when they are available to install the flooring, if you do it yourself you could get started whenever fits your schedule best, at a pace that fits your ideal timeline.
Add a Personal Touch
DIY floor installation means you can tap into your creative side and add a personal touch. Pick the style you want, and develop the flooring with your own unique intentions.
Cons of DIY Floor Installation
Easy to Make a Mistake
Self-installation may mean that mistakes are more likely to happen in the process. If you have never installed flooring on your own before, there will be an inevitable learning curve before you get it right.
Big Time Committment
Installing flooring yourself can be time-consuming. Depending on how much flooring space you need to cover, it could take weeks or months of your time. Two professionals working together could possibly install up to 1,000 square feet of flooring a day, but that doesn’t include removing the old floor and prepping the floor for the new materials. That time does vary depending on the flooring materials involved and how difficult it is to remove the old floor. A homeowner DIYing their floor installation would likely take longer because of a lack of experience and not necessarily having enough time around work and family commitments to complete the job all at once.
Cost of Tools You Don’t Already Own
If you find yourself to be handy, some tools for floor installation may already be available to you. If you don’t already have them, however, this will be an added expense. What flooring tools you need will depend on the flooring material, but can include the following:
Purchasing any tools and materials that you don’t already own is an added expense that may not be worth it if you’re not going to use them often.
Professional Floor Installation
Let’s face it, sometimes we can be too busy with our own work and commitments to make time for a big home project. Hiring a professional to install your floors for you will be more costly than doing it yourself, however, it will give you more time to focus on the other people or projects in your life. Not only will it save you time, but the quality could be higher. Professionals are less likely to make a large mistake on a contracting project they’ve done before.
Pros of Professional Floor Installation
Promised Results
Hiring a company to install your floor for you means having a business be accountable to provide excellent results.
Convenience
Professionals are convenient. You won’t have to conduct flooring research or have to figure out which tools to buy. Someone else will do it all for you.
Speed and Efficiency
Professional installation will likely be faster than a DIY project since they have already done it before and have a roadmap for how to get there. Experienced professionals can work better and faster than an amateur and won’t have other commitments that could interrupt the job once it’s been scheduled.
Cons of Professional Floor Installation
Can Be Expensive
Sometimes, contractors can have expensive rates that may be out of reach. Paying for the labor and equipment may be out of reach for some. While hiring a professional to can cost up to and average of $1000 per room, that cost may end up being worth it. An amateur could make a mistake that a professional would need to fix, adding to the total costs in the long run.
Scheduling Dependent on Contractor Availability
Contractors are consistently booked and busy, and depending on when you call them they may not be able to adhere to your individual timeline.
More Interuptions from Workers in Your Home
Floor installation can be disruptive in your home. Hiring contractors means strangers will be walking in and out of your house during the full duration of the project.
How to Decide Whether DIY or Professional Floor Installation is Right for You
Deciding whether to hire a professional for a floor installation project or to do it yourself can be a tough decision. Before embarking on such a big project, it’s important to ask yourself what type of flooring you want to use, how complicated you foresee the project being, what size your flooring is, and if and what tools you already have available.
Evaluate Your Time and DIY Abilities
You’ll also need to evaluate your own schedule. Ask yourself if you have enough time to commit to installing the flooring on your own terms. If you don’t have the time, hiring somebody else to do it will ensure your flooring project is completed within a reasonable time frame. While Flooring HQ doesn’t offer installation services, we can refer you to people who do.