How to Compare Two Flooring Quotes
What a trustworthy bid looks like, the questions that expose a vague one, and the same 2026 price ranges we quote from — all in one PDF.
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What Flooring Costs in Cumming & Forsyth County (2026)
Last updated: July 9, 2026
Hardwood refinishing runs $3.95–$6.00 per square foot here (the type of flooring and the scale of sanding needed set the exact number), LVP installs at $4.00–$5.50, and a typical 12-step staircase lands between $1,800 and $3,600. This guide walks through every number we publish — and what moves each one — so you can build a budget before anyone sets foot in your house.
How much does new flooring cost in Cumming, GA?
Plan around these 2026 ranges for Cumming and Forsyth County: hardwood sanding and refinishing at $3.95–$6.00 per square foot, luxury vinyl plank installed at $4.00–$5.50 per square foot, and stair work at $150–$300 per step — which puts a typical 12-step staircase between $1,800 and $3,600. Getting the old floor out and the subfloor ready adds $0.40–$0.50 per square foot for carpet removal, plus $2–$3 per square foot for leveling where a floor needs it. Room-scale projects step up from there: most kitchen remodels in this county land between $18,000 and $45,000, and bathrooms between $12,000 and $35,000. Hardwood installation is the one job we price only in person, because species, subfloor, and layout swing it too far for a single honest number. Every figure on this page is the same range our estimators quote from.
Every price we publish, on one table
Plenty of flooring companies around Forsyth County make you book an appointment before they will say a single number out loud. We work the other way around: the ranges below are published, they are what our estimators carry into your home, and if a comparable written quote comes in under ours, we beat it by 5 percent.
| Project | 2026 range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwood sanding & refinishing | $3.95–$6.00 / sq ft | Board condition, sanding passes, stain vs clear, furniture and prep |
| Luxury vinyl plank, installed | $4.00–$5.50 / sq ft | Plank grade and wear layer, subfloor prep, room layout |
| Stairs | $150–$300 / step | Tread material, landings, railings — typical 12-step staircase ≈ $1,800–$3,600 |
| Carpet removal | $0.40–$0.50 / sq ft | Room count, tack strips, haul-away access |
| Subfloor leveling | $2–$3 / sq ft | Charged only where the floor needs it, as its own line |
| Kitchen remodel | $18,000–$45,000 | Scope, cabinet and counter choices, layout changes |
| Bathroom remodel | $12,000–$35,000 | Tile scope, waterproofing, fixtures, room size |
| Hardwood installation | Quoted in person | Species, plank width, solid vs engineered, subfloor — see the drivers below |
Two of these lines deserve more than a table row. Refinishing has enough moving parts that it gets a page of its own — the hardwood refinishing cost guide breaks the $3.95–$6.00 range apart factor by factor. And hardwood installation appears without a dollar figure on purpose, which the next sections explain.
Hardwood sanding & refinishing: $3.95–$6.00 per square foot
If a Cumming home already has solid hardwood under the wear and the scratches — and a surprising number of the 80s and 90s ranches and split-levels near the square do — refinishing is usually the best flooring money you can spend. The range covers sanding the boards back to bare wood, the finish system, and the labor to do both properly. Floors move toward the low end when the boards are sound, the rooms are open, and you keep a clear finish; they move toward the high end when deep scratches or pet stains demand extra sanding passes, when you change the stain color, or when a lot of furniture has to come out and go back.
We sand with dustless equipment that captures debris at the machine, test stain samples on your actual boards before sanding day, and use water-based finishes you can walk on the same evening. The full breakdown — including when refinishing stops making sense — lives in the refinishing cost guide and on the sanding & refinishing service page.
LVP: $4.00–$5.50 per square foot installed
Luxury vinyl plank is the workhorse floor for basements, laundry rooms, and households where two kids and a dog set the maintenance schedule. In Cumming it installs for $4.00–$5.50 per square foot, and the spread inside that range mostly comes down to the plank itself — wear layer thickness matters more than the photo on the box — plus how much subfloor prep the room needs before the first plank clicks in.
The honest caveat: LVP is not automatically the budget option. Once tear-out and leveling join the math, an LVP install can cost as much as refinishing the hardwood you already own. Because we install both, the estimate conversation is about which rooms in your house call for which floor — waterproof planks where water wins, wood where it counts for resale. Details and product guidance are on the LVP & LVT service page.
Why hardwood installation has no published per-square-foot price
A single number wide enough to cover every hardwood install in Forsyth County would be too wide to help you budget, so we quote installation only after seeing the house. What we can publish is exactly what moves the estimate, so you know what the measuring visit is looking for:
| Cost driver | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Species and plank width | Wide-plank white oak and character-grade hickory sit in a different material bracket than standard red oak strip. |
| Solid vs engineered | Much of the newer construction south of downtown sits on slabs, where engineered boards or a glue-down approach change both material and labor. |
| Subfloor condition and moisture | A good installer checks slab and subfloor moisture before committing wood to it; leveling, where needed, is priced at $2–$3 per square foot as its own line. |
| What comes out first | Carpet removal runs $0.40–$0.50 per square foot; tile and glued-down floors take more labor to remove. |
| Layout and transitions | Angled rooms, borders, flush-mount vents, and matching into existing hardwood all add cutting time. |
| Stairs on the same job | Steps are priced separately at $150–$300 each, so a staircase changes the project total more than its square footage suggests. |
The estimate that comes out of that visit is itemized line by line — species, tear-out, prep, labor — so you can see which of these drivers is doing what to your number. Start at the hardwood installation page or call and we will measure for free.
Stairs: $150–$300 per step
Stairs are the most visible flooring in the house and the least forgiving to get wrong. In the Cumming area, converting carpeted steps to hardwood runs $150–$300 per step installed, so a typical 12-step staircase lands between $1,800 and $3,600. Tread material, landings, and railing or baluster work move a staircase within that range.
The per-step price also buys the part most homeowners never hear about until it is too late: a written plan for the nosing and bullnose — what gets trimmed, what gets capped, and what the finished edge will look like — before any saw comes out. If you are weighing carpet against wood on your steps, our post on stair flooring for Cumming homes walks through the options.
The lines that surprise people: removal and leveling
Most mid-project price jumps trace back to two items that never appeared on the original bid. The first is getting the old floor out: carpet removal runs $0.40–$0.50 per square foot, including tack strips and haul-away. The second is what the tear-out reveals — subfloor leveling costs $2–$3 per square foot where a floor genuinely needs it, and no honest company can know how much that is until the old floor is up or the crawlspace has been looked at.
Our approach is to inspect first and put both items on the estimate as their own lines, priced before work starts. If the tear-out uncovers something anyway, the change lands on one line you have already seen — not on a renegotiated total.
Kitchen and bathroom remodels: $18,000–$45,000 and $12,000–$35,000
When the flooring project grows into the room around it, budgets shift from square feet to scope. In Forsyth County, most kitchen remodels land between $18,000 and $45,000, and most bathrooms between $12,000 and $35,000. The low ends cover refreshed surfaces in the existing layout; the high ends cover layout changes, custom cabinetry, and tile work that climbs walls as well as floors.
Our angle is flooring-led: the floor and the room around it on one contract, one crew, and one written schedule, so the tile setter, the cabinet install, and the flooring never argue about sequence. Scope details are on the kitchen remodeling page and the bathroom remodeling page.
How to check any flooring quote — including ours
A fair bid is not the lowest one; it is the one you can actually read. Whatever company you are considering, look for four things before you sign:
- Itemized lines. Tear-out, leveling, materials, and labor each priced separately, so a change touches one line instead of the whole total.
- Named crew. Ask who physically does the work. Our installs are done by our own crews — the people who measure are the people who show up.
- A written schedule. Day counts on paper, keyed to your move-in or listing date, not a verbal “about a week.”
- A number you can test. Check any bid against the ranges on this page. If a comparable written quote comes in under ours, we beat it by 5 percent — and if theirs is genuinely a good deal, we will tell you to take it.
Price a specific project
Hardwood Installation
Species, plank width, and slab questions answered — then a measured, itemized number for your house.
Hardwood installation →Sanding & Refinishing
Dustless sanding, stain samples on your boards, and finishes you can walk on the same evening.
Sanding & refinishing →Luxury Vinyl Plank & Tile
Waterproof floors for basements, baths, and busy households — with straight talk about wear layers.
LVP & LVT →Kitchen Remodeling
The kitchen and the floor under it, coordinated on one contract and one written schedule.
Kitchen remodeling →Bathroom Remodeling
Tile, waterproofing, and fixtures handled alongside the flooring, by the same accountable crew.
Bathroom remodeling →Refinishing Cost, In Depth
What pushes a floor toward $3.95 or $6.00, the real timeline, and when replacement wins instead.
Refinishing cost guide →Cost questions we hear every week
How much should I budget for new floors in a Cumming home?
It depends on the material. Luxury vinyl plank installs at $4.00–$5.50 per square foot, refinishing existing hardwood runs $3.95–$6.00 per square foot, and stair work is $150–$300 per step. Add $0.40–$0.50 per square foot to remove old carpet and $2–$3 per square foot for subfloor leveling where it is needed. Hardwood installation is quoted in person, because species, subfloor, and layout move it too much for one published number.
Why do flooring estimates vary so much between companies?
Usually because they include different things. One bid may fold tear-out, leveling, and transitions into a single number while another leaves them out and adds them mid-job. We itemize every line — tear-out, prep, materials, labor — so you can compare our estimate against any other on equal footing, and if a comparable written quote comes in lower, we beat it by 5 percent.
Does new flooring pricing include removing the old floor?
Not always, and it is worth asking before you sign anything. In our estimates, carpet removal is its own line at $0.40–$0.50 per square foot, and subfloor leveling at $2–$3 per square foot appears only where the floor actually needs it. If a bid never mentions tear-out or prep, ask where those costs will show up later.
Is it cheaper to refinish hardwood or install new LVP?
If you already have hardwood in refinishable condition, refinishing at $3.95–$6.00 per square foot usually costs about the same as or less than installing LVP at $4.00–$5.50 — and it keeps a floor that can be sanded again years from now. LVP earns its place in basements and wet areas where solid wood is a poor fit. We install both, so the recommendation follows the room, not the margin.
Put a real number on your project
The ranges on this page get you a budget; a measuring visit gets you a price. Call (770) 906-4732 or send the form, and we will measure, bring samples, and leave a written, itemized estimate — free, with no obligation.
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