I am in the beginning phases of having some work done on my home. The major project is the removal of two walls and the install of a two headers. One being a 20 ft span that is load bearing for the second story. The quote for that is in line for what I would think that effort would cost.

With the wall removal it forces our hand to fix the flooring in those areas. So we decided to venture down the path of installing wood-look tile through-out the entire bottom floor minus the master bedroom.

Total flooring being re-done is 950 sq ft roughly.

200 ft is carpet

400 ft is poorly laid bamboo wood

Remaining 350 ft is tile.

I was given an estimate of $11,800 for the removal and the install of flooring for that space.

I believe that is incredibly high but have never had anything done to my home. I live in the metro-plex.

So what says Texags?? Am I getting took for a ride for floor install?

Note: This does not include the actual material cost for the tile flooring. That is a $4,000 allowance not in the 11.8 bid. The 11.8 bid does include paint and new baseboards to be installed

I'd seek a second bid, especially if that doesnt include the cost of materials.

That is only a little high...



like approaching double what it should be

$1,500 for demo and haul off
$3,000 to buy tile
$4,000 to lay tile ( should even be able to get a good tile man for $3.50 / ft )
$1,000 trim, transitions, contingencies

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$9,500 TOTAL

My two cents:

Most of the removal should be fairly cheap, outside of the tile. Carpet can easily be removed yourself, if you want to save money there. The bamboo, depending on the install, it might be a tad involved. The big kicker is removing the tile. But even then, I've had guys quote something in the neighborhood of $3-$4 /sqft for removal. Removing tile can be a major pain and a major mess if not done right. Labor to install the tile, probably in the same neighborhood.

That sounds really high to me. Did they give you a breakdown of the cost for each? I would ask for one.

$16.6/sf seems really high,...

I asked for a detailed break-out and its not the best. He still left the two projects lumped into one.

Cost Direct to Flooring

• Labor for flooring: $7,700
• Flooring Supplies: $1,200 (I.E: Leveling agents and grinding pads) He says they will have to grind the adhesive off the floor from where the wood floors were.

Cost that hit both Projects

• Overhead/Project Management: $3,000
• Profit: $2,700
• Debris/Disposal: $450
• Paint/Supplies: $630
• Paint Labor: $2,300
• Carpentry/Structural/Finish: $5,700

The cost that could hit both projects aren't broken out the best so I don't know how to view the break-out.

TexDill15 said:

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I asked for a detailed break-out and its not the best. He still left the two projects lumped into one.

Cost Direct to Flooring

• Labor for flooring: $7,700
• Flooring Supplies: $1,200 (I.E: Leveling agents and grinding pads) He says they will have to grind the adhesive off the floor from where the wood floors were.

Cost that hit both Projects

• Overhead/Project Management: $3,000
• Profit: $2,700
• Debris/Disposal: $450
• Paint/Supplies: $630
• Paint Labor: $2,300
• Carpentry/Structural/Finish: $5,700

The cost that could hit both projects aren't broken out the best so I don't know how to view the break-out.

---

Smoke and mirrors

Way high. Unless there a tremendous amount of floor prep.

That's ridiculously high. Here's what I pay in Houston:

$1.00/sq. foot to remove existing floor (including tile, old thinset, laminate, glue, etc.)
$2.00/sq. foot for tile installation (labor only, I buy the tile and other materials myself)

All in, maybe somewhere between $8-10 per square foot if you go with higher end tile. Demo the carpet and bamboo yourself. No way was I ripping out old tile or parque when the guy does it for $1/sq. ft.

yeah, without material that should be around $5k for someone reputable. Maybe 6k but i wouldn't go higher than that

How old is your house? When I did my remodel, I had a similar situation with only marginal more sf. I did the demo work myself and spent about $1/sf on materials and tools to do the work. Granted, my house was built in '65, and all told, I ran into 7 different layers of flooring throughout the space. It took me almost two weeks just working nights and weekends. In the end, I discovered I still needed to spend about $2.50/sf to grind/level the floors (all self-performed).

I bought a 9/16" engineered wood floor and all the glue for about $4.25/sf then paid to have it installed. I ended up paying just under $11/sf, and that was doing all the hard work myself.

Aggiemike96 said:

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That's ridiculously high. Here's what I pay in Houston:

$1.00/sq. foot to remove existing floor (including tile, old thinset, laminate, glue, etc.)
$2.00/sq. foot for tile installation (labor only, I buy the tile and other materials myself)

All in, maybe somewhere between $8-10 per square foot if you go with higher end tile. Demo the carpet and bamboo yourself. No way was I ripping out old tile or parque when the guy does it for $1/sq. ft.

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Same price I have been paying in Houston. OP prices are crazy.

Depending on your location the costs will go way up. Contractors know that certain neighborhoods have extra money and don't balk at the higher prices. Call a few people and get rough phone quotes. Tell them you are in Mesquite or Farmers Branch, etc. Then call back the next day and tell them you are in Flower Mound or Southlake and I bet the quote will be much different.

TexDill15 said:

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I am in the beginning phases of having some work done on my home. The major project is the removal of two walls and the install of a two headers. One being a 20 ft span that is load bearing for the second story. The quote for that is in line for what I would think that effort would cost.

With the wall removal it forces our hand to fix the flooring in those areas. So we decided to venture down the path of installing wood-look tile through-out the entire bottom floor minus the master bedroom.

Total flooring being re-done is 950 sq ft roughly.

200 ft is carpet

400 ft is poorly laid bamboo wood

Remaining 350 ft is tile.

I was given an estimate of $11,800 for the removal and the install of flooring for that space.

I believe that is incredibly high but have never had anything done to my home. I live in the metro-plex.

So what says Texags?? Am I getting took for a ride for floor install?

Note: This does not include the actual material cost for the tile flooring. That is a $4,000 allowance not in the 11.8 bid. The 11.8 bid does include paint and new baseboards to be installed

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11.8k is insane for a tear out and install.

Now I will say this, I've seen installing wood look tile as an upcharge over normal floor tile install. Normal tile has wide grout lines that take a lot slop. Wood look tile is almost always large tiles with rectified edges and the homeowner wants the tightest grout lines possible. Not saying you need to pay 11.8k, but I would expect a $1-1.50 square foot premium to install wood look tile over normal tile.

But if your dead set on spending 11.8k, go buy Shulter's uncoupling membrane called DITRA to put down under the tile. It ensures the floor won't cause tile cracks and you can install floor heating as well. Solves the big problem wood look tile has over wood- the underfoot temperature.

T&P to your bank account.

Could you install a good quality engineered wood floor instead of the wood-look tile? I would think that would lower your cost and probably be better for resale when you sell your home down the road. There are still many people who don't want tile in the majority if their home. Also, you need to call around and get more estimates. Your estimate seems high to me.

Thanks for all the input. I'll be seeking more estimates and probably chunking this one in the trash because we are so far apart on what reality is.

Epi and Juan are subconractors usually hired by contractors. Call Epi 979-436-6058 he is the english speaking son. You will save a ton.

Craziest flooring price I've ever seen. Wonder how this guy you got a bid a from is in business. Hard for me to fathom who would pay such a number

MS08 said:

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Craziest flooring price I've ever seen. Wonder how this guy you got a bid a from is in business. Hard for me to fathom who would pay such a number

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One of two things: (1) The contractor didn't really want the work, but would do it if the pay was astronomical. (2) The OP lives in a high-end neighborhood and contractors are used to charging and collecting such rates.

Where are you located?

I'm in Bedford. So within 15 minutes of Southlake.

Gotcha.. if you were in Austin I'd give you the name of the flooring company I use..

They charge $1 per sq foot for removing/haul off of laminate and I "think" carpet is cheaper... Tile it labor intensive to that is usually a lot more.

If this is your GC quoting this then remember he is building in his profit margin while farming out the work (you mention a 4k allowance which leads me to think this is what's happening). I'd get an estimate from a flooring company. If you have a drawing with measurements already you can swing by and get a rough estimate.

Good luck

Aggiemike96 said:

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That's ridiculously high. Here's what I pay in Houston:

$1.00/sq. foot to remove existing floor (including tile, old thinset, laminate, glue, etc.)
$2.00/sq. foot for tile installation (labor only, I buy the tile and other materials myself)

All in, maybe somewhere between $8-10 per square foot if you go with higher end tile. Demo the carpet and bamboo yourself. No way was I ripping out old tile or parque when the guy does it for $1/sq. ft.

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Did the $2.00 per sq foot they charged you just cover the tile install itself or did they also have to put down cement board and/or new subfloors? I'm looking to replace carpet in an old upstairs bathroom with tile but not sure how expensive the labor piece will get if they have to replace the subfloor and also install a base for the tile.

Can you please shoot me who you use in Houston for flooring work? Are they straight hourly day laborers you hire direct or is it an actual company who can provide a bid and invoice?