The short answer
A new hardwood floor has two main costs, the wood and the labor to install it, and they are roughly equal for mid-priced flooring. Three choices move the total most: the species and grade of the wood, whether the boards arrive prefinished or are sanded and finished in the house, and what has to happen to the floor underneath first. If you already have hardwood, even under carpet, refinishing costs less than half as much as replacing it.
Published 2026 figures for installed hardwood run from $6 to $25 per square foot, with most homeowners paying $10 to $16. The low end is thin engineered flooring floated over a ready subfloor. The high end is wide-plank walnut laid in a pattern. The calculator above prices each choice separately.
How the calculator works
For a new floor:
- Flooring. The area is increased by the waste allowance and multiplied by the price per square foot of the wood.
- Labor. The area is multiplied by the installation rate, a layout factor (straight 1.0, diagonal 1.15, herringbone or chevron 1.5), and the local cost level (0.9, 1.0, or 1.2).
- Finishing. Unfinished boards add sanding, stain, and three coats of finish per square foot.
- Preparation and extras. Removal of old flooring, subfloor repair, baseboards, and stair treads are added when selected.
For refinishing, the area is multiplied by the sand-and-refinish rate, with board repairs and stair treads as options. The formula for a new floor is: total = (area × (1 + waste) × wood price) + (area × labor rate × layout factor × local factor) + finishing + preparation + stairs.
Cost assumptions
Per square foot unless noted, national baseline. These are planning ranges compiled from published 2026 flooring cost guides and retailer price lists, not quotes.
| Flooring material | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid domestic hardwood (oak, maple, hickory) | $4.00 | $6.50 | $10.00 |
| Engineered hardwood | $3.50 | $6.00 | $10.00 |
| Premium or exotic (walnut, wide plank, Brazilian cherry) | $8.00 | $12.00 | $18.00 |
| Work | Unit | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installation labor, straight layout | Per sq ft | $3.00 | $5.00 | $8.00 |
| Sanding and finishing new boards on site | Per sq ft | $2.50 | $4.00 | $6.00 |
| Sand and refinish an existing floor | Per sq ft | $3.00 | $5.00 | $8.00 |
| Board repairs during refinishing | Per sq ft | $0.50 | $1.00 | $2.00 |
| Remove carpet or vinyl | Per sq ft | $0.50 | $1.00 | $1.50 |
| Remove hardwood or laminate | Per sq ft | $1.50 | $2.25 | $3.00 |
| Remove tile | Per sq ft | $2.00 | $3.50 | $5.00 |
| Subfloor repair and leveling | Per sq ft | $1.00 | $2.00 | $4.00 |
| New baseboards or shoe molding | Per sq ft of floor | $0.60 | $1.00 | $1.60 |
| New hardwood stair tread, installed | Each | $75 | $125 | $200 |
Eleven projects, priced
National baseline, straight layout, 8% waste, prefinished boards, no removal, unless noted.
| Project | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 sq ft, solid domestic hardwood | $3,700 | $6,000 | $9,400 |
| 500 sq ft, engineered hardwood | $3,400 | $5,700 | $9,400 |
| 500 sq ft, premium or exotic | $5,800 | $9,000 | $13,700 |
| 500 sq ft, solid, finished on site | $4,900 | $8,000 | $12,400 |
| 500 sq ft, solid, carpet removed, new baseboards | $4,200 | $7,000 | $11,000 |
| 500 sq ft, solid, herringbone, 15% waste | $4,600 | $7,500 | $11,800 |
| 1,000 sq ft, solid domestic hardwood | $7,300 | $12,000 | $18,800 |
| 1,000 sq ft, engineered, carpet removed, 13 stair treads | $8,300 | $14,100 | $22,900 |
| Refinish 500 sq ft | $1,500 | $2,500 | $4,000 |
| Refinish 1,000 sq ft | $3,000 | $5,000 | $8,000 |
| Refinish 1,000 sq ft with board repairs and 13 stair treads | $4,100 | $7,000 | $11,600 |
Solid or engineered?
| Solid hardwood | Engineered hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | One piece of wood, usually 3/4 inch thick | A real hardwood surface layer bonded to plywood or a similar core |
| Where it can go | On or above ground level, over a wood subfloor | Any level, including basements and over concrete slabs |
| Response to humidity | Expands and contracts noticeably; gaps in winter are normal | More stable, so wider planks are practical |
| Refinishing | Can be sanded several times over many decades | Depends on the wear layer: thick layers one to three times, thin layers not at all |
| Installation | Nailed or stapled down | Nailed, glued, or floated, depending on the product |
| Typical life | 50 to 100 years with refinishing | 20 to 40 years or more, depending on the wear layer |
Once installed, the two look the same, because the surface of both is real wood. If you are buying engineered flooring, the thickness of the wear layer is the specification that matters most. Ask for it in millimeters.
Species and hardness
Wood hardness is measured on the Janka scale, the force needed to press a steel ball halfway into a sample. Harder woods dent less under furniture, heels, and pets. Hardness is not the whole story, though: grain pattern and finish sheen do as much to hide everyday wear.
| Species | Janka hardness | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Black walnut | 1,010 | Rich dark color. Softer, so it shows dents; priced as a premium wood. |
| Red oak | 1,290 | The reference American floor. Strong grain hides wear and takes stain well. |
| White oak | 1,360 | Slightly harder and more water resistant than red oak. The current favorite for light and natural finishes. |
| Hard maple | 1,450 | Pale and fine-grained. Shows scratches more and can stain unevenly. |
| Hickory | 1,820 | The hardest common domestic species, with strong color variation between boards. |
Prefinished or finished on site?
Prefinished boards are sanded, stained, and coated at the factory with a finish that is cured under controlled conditions and is harder than anything applied in a house. Installation is faster, there are no fumes or dust, and the floor can be walked on the same day. The edges of each board are usually slightly beveled, which leaves a faint groove between boards.
Site-finished floors are laid as raw wood, sanded flat as a single surface, and then stained and finished in place. The result is completely smooth, the color can be matched to existing floors or mixed to order, and the finish seals the seams between boards. It costs about $4 more per square foot and puts the rooms out of use for several more days. Choose it when you are matching adjoining hardwood or want a custom color.
Refinish or replace?
If the house has solid hardwood, refinishing is almost always the better first option. Sanding removes scratches, stains, and worn finish, and the floor can take a new color. Look under a floor vent or at a doorway threshold to see how much wood remains above the tongue.
Refinishing works when:
- The wear is in the finish and the top surface: scratches, dullness, gray traffic paths, sun fading.
- A few boards are damaged and can be replaced and blended in.
- The floor has been hidden under carpet and has staple holes and tack-strip marks.
Replacement is the better choice when:
- Boards are cupped, buckled, or soft from water damage over a wide area.
- The floor has been sanded so many times that nail heads or tongues are showing.
- There is structural movement, widespread squeaking, or pest damage underneath.
- The floor is engineered wood with a thin wear layer.
If the finish is only dull, with no deep scratches or bare wood, a screen and recoat, which abrades the old finish lightly and adds a fresh coat, costs a fraction of a full refinish.
Moisture, acclimation, and the subfloor
Wood moves with humidity, and most hardwood floor failures are moisture problems. Flooring should sit in the house, with the heating or cooling running, until its moisture content is close to that of the subfloor. A careful installer measures both with a meter and records the readings. Over concrete, a moisture test of the slab comes first, and a vapor barrier or a moisture-rated adhesive is used. The subfloor has to be flat, dry, and firmly fastened; fixing squeaks and low spots before the floor goes down is far cheaper than afterward. Many flooring warranties require indoor humidity to be kept within a stated range, commonly somewhere around 35% to 55%.
How to compare flooring quotes
Get three written quotes and check that each one states:
- The species, grade, board width, and thickness, and for engineered wood the wear layer.
- The measured area and the waste allowance.
- The installation method, and the underlayment or adhesive.
- Removal and disposal of the old floor, and who moves furniture and appliances.
- Subfloor preparation, with a rate for repairs discovered once the old floor is up.
- Transitions to other floors, stair nosing, baseboards, shoe molding, and door trimming.
- For site finishing or refinishing: the stain, the finish type, the number of coats, and dust control.
- Moisture testing, the acclimation period, and the warranty on labor.
Divide each total by the area and compare it with the per-square-foot figure in the calculator. For vetting installers, see our guide to finding the right contractors.
Does hardwood pay for itself?
More reliably than most interior projects. The National Association of Realtors and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry estimated in their 2022 Remodeling Impact Report that refinishing hardwood floors recovered about 147% of its cost at resale, and installing new wood flooring about 118%. Those were the two highest figures among the interior projects in that report. Treat them as national estimates from a survey of agents, not a promise for a particular house. The renovation ROI calculator compares other projects, and our home improvements ROI guide explains how to read figures like these.
Keep the paperwork
Keep the invoice, the manufacturer, product name, species, color, and finish, the moisture readings if the installer recorded them, and the care instructions, since using the wrong cleaner can void a finish warranty. Save a few spare boards for repairs. New flooring is a capital improvement that adds to your home's basis; refinishing on its own is generally treated as maintenance. The capital gains on home sale calculator shows what documented improvements are worth when you sell.
What the estimate leaves out
The calculator does not price laminate, vinyl plank, bamboo, or cork, radiant heat under the floor, structural subfloor replacement, moisture mitigation systems for concrete, stair railings, risers, and balusters, custom borders and inlays, moving pianos or built-in furniture, or asbestos testing and abatement of old flooring and adhesives, which can be present in homes built before the 1980s.
Cost assumptions last reviewed November 2026. See our calculator methodology.