How much does new flooring or hardwood refinishing cost in Pennsylvania?
Installed prices per square foot by material, refinishing prices, the extras that get added on, and how to read two flooring quotes side by side.
Flooring Contractors guides
25 guides for Pennsylvania homeowners. Every guide lists its sources.
Pennsylvania guides
How to choose a flooring contractor in Pennsylvania
The checks that matter for a flooring job: state registration, the trade credentials for wood, tile and carpet, older-home training, references and the written contract.
Questions to ask a flooring contractor before you hire
A checklist of questions for any flooring quote, grouped by the business, the floor underneath, the product, the schedule and the money, with why each one matters.
Signs your floors need refinishing, repair or replacement
What dull, gapped, cupped, rippled, hollow or water-stained floors are telling you, which changes are normal, and when to call a flooring contractor or someone else.
Can you install or refinish your own floors, or should you hire a pro?
The parts of a flooring job you can do yourself, the parts the safety agencies warn about, and what Pennsylvania's rules mean if you do the work on your own home.
How often should hardwood floors be refinished, and does the season matter?
Why there is no fixed interval for refinishing or replacing floors, the signs that set the timing instead, and how humidity and ventilation make some months easier.
What happens when new floors are installed or hardwood is refinished?
How a flooring job usually runs, what is different for wood, tile and carpet, how long you may be kept off the floor, and what to check before the last payment.
Do flooring contractors need a license in Pennsylvania?
Flooring is named in the state's home improvement law. Registration, required contract terms, the one-third deposit cap, permits and the lead and asbestos rules.
Flooring scams to avoid: big deposits, phantom materials and vanishing installers
How deposit-and-disappear schemes work in flooring, the warning signs regulators list, and what Pennsylvania law lets you demand when a job never starts.
Flooring installation and refinishing questions and answers for Pennsylvania homeowners
Quick answers to the questions homeowners ask most about new floors and hardwood refinishing, each from a government or trade source.
Does new laminate, vinyl or carpet affect indoor air? Formaldehyde, VOCs and labels
Where formaldehyde and other gases from new flooring come from, how cautious the EPA is about them, the labels worth looking for, and how to air out a room.
Floor finish fumes and stain rags: staying safe while hardwood is refinished
Why floor finishes and strippers call for ventilation and an empty house, how oily staining rags start fires, and what to ask a refinisher about both.
Flooring for a basement or concrete slab: moisture, cold floors and what to choose
Why moisture comes first below grade, how to test a slab, what the wood flooring trade says about solid and engineered wood, and how to deal with cold floors above.
Flooring warranties and store financing: what to read before you sign
The product and workmanship promises behind a new floor, the conditions that void them, and the difference between zero-interest and deferred-interest financing.
Floors after a flood or leak: what can be dried, what must go and when to replace
The first two days after water gets in, which floors can be saved by material, how to test before re-flooring, and the Attorney General's advice on post-flood contractors.
Old vinyl floor tiles and adhesive that may contain asbestos: what to do before new flooring
How to treat old resilient flooring that may contain asbestos when a new floor is planned: testing, covering it over, removal by accredited workers, and local rules.
Refinish or replace: what to do with worn or damaged hardwood floors
The four options for a tired wood floor, what each one fixes, what limits how often wood can be sanded, and what each costs by the published surveys.
Safer floors for older adults: rugs, stairs, transitions and slippery surfaces
How floors figure in falls among older adults, the home changes federal health agencies recommend, and the flooring details worth raising with an installer.
Sanding floors in an older house: lead dust and the EPA's renovation rule
Which flooring work disturbs paint in a pre-1978 home, who must be lead-safe certified, what the EPA does and does not say about floor finishes, and cleanup.
Why wood floors gap, cup or buckle, and what humidity has to do with it
The science of wood and humidity in plain terms, Penn State's Pennsylvania figures, the humidity range the wood flooring trade recommends, and which problems need help.
County guides
Flooring contractors in Bucks County, PA: slab houses, older tile and complaints
What the county's housing, its slab-built Levittown homes and its own consumer protection office mean for anyone replacing or refinishing floors in Bucks.
Flooring contractors in Chester County, PA: new homes, flood risk and contracts
Why new construction, the county's flood-zone guidance and its large homes shape a flooring project in Chester County, and where the state's rules apply.
Flooring contractors in Delaware County, PA: 1950s homes, lead dust and complaints
What the county's older housing and its lead data mean for refinishing or replacing floors in Delco, and where to take a complaint locally.
Flooring contractors in Montgomery County, PA: condos, lead help and contracts
What Montgomery County's mix of houses and multi-unit buildings, its lead hazard program and its rental homes mean for replacing or refinishing floors.
Flooring contractors in Philadelphia: old houses, city permits and lead rules
The city's permit exemption for floor coverings, its contractor licence and lookup, asbestos and lead rules in old houses, and where renters and seniors can turn.