The Energy of Seattle Wood Flooring

The high voltage of the Seattle vibe is a perfect fit for wood flooring. A triple tall Americano and a copy of Fight Club just doesn't have the same feel on a carpet or a linoleum floor. It may not work for every room or area of your home, but many homes wouldn't be complete without any wood flooring to speak of. On the other hand, wood flooring is far from a no-brainer decision. You'll need some careful planning to create a beautiful, long-lasting floor.

Maintaining Hardwood Flooring in Seattle, WA
As your contractor will be able to advise you in detail, you will need to watch moisture levels in and around your home to protect your hardwood flooring. High moisture levels can increase the contraction and expansion levels of your hardwood flooring causing cupping and premature warping. Much of this hazard can be eliminated by spending a little extra on installation materials, such as a layer of plastic under the subflooring, particularly if it abuts a crawlspace. Installing a fan, dehumidifier, and generally increasing the ventilation in your home can also do wonders for prolonging the life of your hardwood flooring.

Cost of Seattle Wood Flooring
It's notoriously difficult to estimate or plan for the cost of a wood floor installation until you begin to solicit bids from contractors, but we can give you some basic guidelines, as well as solid advice for minimizing your project costs. The average cost of a Seattle wood flooring installation is about $5,000, although we've also had Seattle projects range as low as $900 or as high as $11,000. Around the country, we've had projects exceed the $20,000 mark.

Even if you knew the size of your flooring installation and the type of wood you want, it would be still impossible to say how much your project will cost without talking to contractors. Different companies have varying labor costs and connections to and expertise with various wood flooring manufacturers. Don't fall for the trap of assuming your local chain store is the best place to buy your flooring supplies. In fact, it almost never is.

This is what we've heard from Seattle homeowners who have recently taken on a wood flooring installation through ServiceMagic:

"There was a $2,000 difference between the high and low bid. My advice: Get several bids."

"Get your wood flooring through the contractor. We had a problem with the flooring that we bought from Lowe's. The contractor was able to get the same wood for a lower cost in one day."

Seattle Wooden Flooring
If there's no reasonable way to guard against moisture, or if you consistently tend to track in dirt and mud from the outside, you probably want to consider an alternative to solid hardwood. Plus, for some areas in your home, such as bathrooms and sub-grade living spaces, solid wood flooring is simply inadvisable. Engineered wooden flooring in Seattle is common, as layers of wood composite material will increase the ability of your floor to safely expand and contract with varying moisture and temperature levels. Laminate flooring is another great alternative and tends to be slightly less expensive than true wood flooring.