We are excited to announce that we have relocated to a new address, 1140-21331 Gordon Way, Richmond, BC V6W 1J9, Canada.

Our previous location unfortunately suffered damage from a fire, but we have now reopened and are ready to welcome you at our new place.

Please feel free to give us a call at (604) 278-6256. We can't wait to see you!

Flooring Budgets in Greater Vancouver for 2021

Floors are not a cheap investment and should always be chosen with care and diligence.

Having an idea or style you desire is fantastic, but does it fall into your budget? Here at Island Carpet and Flooring, we always try and make it as easy as possible.

We take pride in the fact that the vast majority of our products are of a quality level that will perform to the needs of your home or business. We do have entry level products, if these are what you need, and we will educate you with the proper expectations to have with them.

In general terms, a preliminary budget can be set by looking at an all in price. Be wary of what can appear as a low cost unit price ( square foot or sq yard price ) Make sure you know the costs for all of the remaining part of the job. It is better to over budget than to be hit with unexpected costs, that can be inflated to make up for low initial product cost.

In the case for carpet, you may need carpet, under pad, installation, removal and disposal of existing carpet, stair labour, furniture moving, squeeky sub floor repair, delivery of product, base boards, and transitions. While you may not need all of these, the most common are product and labour with rip out and disposal.

I am always as up front as possible about the budget price. For most low to mid range carpets an installed price with 8lb high density pad and rip out should run your budget about $4.50 to $6.00 per square foot. Mid to high range, often sits between $6.00 to $9.00 and selective high end can run as high as you like it, often $9.00 to $15.00 or more. These numbers are great to use to get a good idea of where to set your budget. Remember to use approx. 10% extra for waste. Come in and ask us to point you to whichever products fit into your budget range.

Hardwood flooring budgets are a little tougher, there are so many quality levels on the market. In our opinion, this is not a product choice to skimp on. If the price looks too good to be true, then as the old saying goes....'it probably is'. Most hardwood looks good in the first few years of life. It's true character and quality will emerge, usually after the labour warranties have expired. With that said, our quality levels start in the mid range for hard wood products.Â

An all in price should include the hard wood, labour, existing carpet and pad removal, baseboards, transitions, furniture moving and delivery. The only thing missing, is a cost for leveling. This can only be properly done after removal of your existing flooring. In our case, we charge a price per bag of leveling compound used. Our price includes the labour to apply it. We won't know how many bags to use until we are on site and doing the work. The price per bag is priced differently, depending on how many we need to use, it gets cheaper for many bags. Usually this can budgeted between $0.50 to $3.50 per square foot depending on severity. If it is more than that, it is usually easy to tell before hand, as your substrate is very uneven and you may wish to consider a different type of flooring.

Using this information, we normally tell people that costs WITHOUT leveling usually range between $11.50 to $14.00 per square foot installed. High range will usually be between $14.00 to $20.00 per square foot installed. Remember, this includes base board, transitions, removal, furniture moving. Leveling, if required, is extra.

Floating vinyl plank and laminates, are very similar to hard wood, in that the installation is almost the same. All the same processes are followed except for using adhesive, as these are floating floors. A good budget for these will run you $6.00 to $8.00 per square foot installed, for mid to high end range. We don't offer budget types of these floors as we don't have confidence in them. Always buy a good level of these products and you won't be disappointed. Cheap does not mean good!

Hopefully this helps with your preliminary pricing, we look forward to you visiting us for a proper education in flooring!