Location, location, location. Where you are is as important as what you want done. They also quote everything with the 5% waste added in. Your 900sf becomes 945sf in a hurry.

Vinyl is a bear to get to look 'nice'. Especially if it is thin and flexible. The TYPE of vinyl you have will also dictate cost. Thin and flexible = harder to install AND make the homeowner HAPPY! Yah. That's part of the equation. Happy = crew gets paid and no one complains.

So...let's look at your situation. The STAIRS are adding about $1500 to the job. Get rid of those bad boys and you are down into the 'normal range' of $3/sf for vinyl. Nope. Not kidding.

The floor leveling...what you believe to be 'a bit' is still going to cost $1/sf in labour + $0.50/sf in material. The 'quote' the entire thing for subfloor prep. Even if you only have 50sf that needs levelling, THEY quote $1.50 for the ENTIRE THING.

And the TYPE of subfloor you have (concrete = nasty = expensive; OSB = hideous = expensive; nice plywood = easy = cheap).

And patch material must be allowed to dry....and then it requires sanding to smooth it out. That means a 1 day job (with a crew of 4...one crew working upstairs and the second crew working downstairs) becomes multiple days. Each day they come back there is a 'snick' added on to the invisible 'travel costs'.

And that's without the stairs. As soon as you add on the stairs, you need glue. You need nosing. You need finishing nails...you need to maintain CODE....etc. That's why stairs are SOOOO expensive.

I don't even blink at $135/stair for labour. It doesn't even phase me. If you had more stairs and a landing I would have quoted $2500 for it. Stairs are DANGEROUS. Any time you MAKE a pro touch them, you are paying for their RISK (ie. insurance risk) to do so. Anything that is risky to a contractor (ie. you sue them for a bad install that caused you to slip and fall and to break your back) you PAY $$$$$ MONEY for them to take that risk.

Get rid of the stairs....let them go back to carpet, and you will see a dramatic reduction in your quote.

I start with a price per square foot, translate that to the number of hours it would take and determine whether it's high/fair/low and adjust accordingly. Since you have steps, the calculation has more than a simple square feet per hour dynamic.

Thanks SJ McCarthy,

yeah the stairs are quoted at between $890- 1100 depending on each quote.

as far at the vinyl I’m using Cali vinyl pro mute step

pretty solid stuff I installed in 3 bedrooms myself last summer and it was super easy to install. (its not cheap nor thin) But I’m not a profession I’m sure there’s better stuff out there but it’s really nice to work with and all the contractors that I’ve talked to like to work with it too. I used the product myself with my own research last year and want that to continue that throughout house and they all didn’t mind installing it because they think it’s a good product.

SJ so if I understand you right, because the stairs are part of the project, the whole job (labor per sq. Ft.) 893sq.ft Is affected at that inflated rate per hour typically on a quote? that don’t seem fare?

And Mr. Winzell it sounds like you Are saying the same things as SJ?

Just because I have stairs involved the whole job labor cost is inflated(jacked up) to a higher dollar amount per sq. Ft. and that’s for all the flooring labor to be charged At that rate Then?

if that’s the case and I’m understanding you guys correct ( apologies if I’m not following completely) I just can’t see why this would be.

Not trying to compare a chefs work to a flooring professional, but I am a head chef so I’m thinking of it like this:

It’s kind of like if a couple came to my restaurant and the husband orders the homemade ravioli stuffed with homemade ricotta cheese and herbs and topped with a homemade Bolognese sauce, while the wife orders a chicken Caesar salad. And I charge (both their dishes at $30 dollars Each) (( the rate/price of the pasta dish))

But that’s not the case, the chicken caesar is at $16 bucks. And for good reason It wouldn’t be fair to charge that price for that caesar salad because it didn’t take me but a fraction of the time to make that salad and with much less labor, while the materials to make Both dishes believe it or not can come very close In price for those materials. in comparison it’s kind of the same thing.

you can scale it Scale it to a bigger sq. Footage so to speak:

A party of 30 patrons sits down together (pre and someday post covid...obviously Lol) And -10 of them order the Ravioli and - 20 order the Chicken Caesar salad. Im not gonna charge the 20 salads the same as the pasta. relatively the same cost in materials but not near as much labor went in.

and there isn’t much labor at all in leveling the floors, all the contractors were surprised on how level the floor was most had old planks installed so it was already leveled. one bad area about 20 sq. Ft. or so On concrete, the rest is in good level and in good Plane As well!

thanks guys

*If this is way overpriced, How do I Negotiate?"

Wait until this pandemic led building remodling boom is over?

$5 psf, is a starting point. You then have to factor in subfloor surface prep, priming and underlayment, which will add to your cost. You may say a little of leveling but, the installer may see more is required.

I have ran into similar situations. Clients points out a few areas. When measured, it then turns out to be the entire floor in order to meet manufactures flatness guidelines.

Your mistake of looking at all square footage as equal. Stairs are by the tread (or a sq ft price x a factor) where as the main floor is by the square foot only. You cannot really square foot the entire install cost that way.

And you have subfloor work on concrete. This is your 'ravioli'. Plywood is the salad. Concrete is tough to level. It takes more work than plywood.

Whether you pay per sf or per hour, the 'billing' will work out to be $50/he per person.

That's their mark up. You have to pay your staff to keep them in your kitchen. The contractor has to pay humans to keep them coming back to work.

The negotiation point is....pay a lower price and see what happens. They know you will call them back when things go wrong. That's when they REALLY make good money!

Remember: a worker who abused his body like the building trades, will have a body that gives out at 50.

They have to make their money today because tomorrow is for the double knee replacement, the 3 back surgeries and 2 heart attacks....all without insurance.

Not to mention the respiratory issues from, silica, formaldehyde, and solvents.

Who would want a single square feet of finished flooring? You can't buy a single unit of installation. As a homeowner, you purchase the full job at whatever bottom line number is on the quote. Different contractors estimate costs differently, but from the contractor side, the numbers are their best guess. Cost per unit is a good way to get a starting number but the price gets raised for some factors and lowered for others.
You can't compare one contractor's quote for the stairs portion with another contractor's number for the stairs. Mr A might hate stairs and charge them at double the price of Mr Z's quote but charge less for the floor work. The amount that matters is the number on the final invoice... bid price plus whatever extras were added to the project. I like to suggest homeowners ask the contractor for a rough idea of the length of the project. You might find that the most expensive guy costs more because he plans on taking longer to do the job. The cheapest guy might be quick and not as careful with the details.

Your cooking example would be more accurate if you made going to the client's house part of the deal. If you have a client who wants you to make mac-n-cheese and hot dogs for 20 kids, you could send almost anyone to do the work. If you want gourmet meals for two adults PLUS the kids meals, you'll have to send a more qualified chef, and that mac-n-cheese will cost more.