Is it cost effective to do flooring yourself?

Question

For a newbie, doing ceramic/porcelain tile oneself could take a very long time I assume, with the inevitable measurement mistakes, do-overs, etc.

How much money do you save by doing tile (or flooring in general) by yourself? Is the frustration and delays worth the savings over having a pro do it?

Tim B · Answer

This thread illustrates the difference between investors and rehabors - Investors buy houses and write checks to contractors - people who rehab may do much of the work themselves.  It all depends on how you want to spend you time.  Difficult to say wether it is cost effective or not.

Some things should probably never be done, unless you do it every day - such as refinishing hardwood floor.  Without daily use of a sander you will never develope the skills necessary to do good job.

If you want to flip 30 houses a years it will never be cost effective to any work yourself. Your time is best spent looking for deals.   If want to flip several houses a year, and enjoy doing tile work, then it may be cost effective to do it yourself.

Michael P. · Answer

Tile is the one thing I really don't have much experience in.

IMO pay someone.  These guys are super fast and good.  They know how to make the correct measurements and starting point on the floors.

There are other things you can tackle on a rehab to save money.  This is one thing that you probably save money by hiring someone else to do it.

What would take me a week takes them a day to set and a day to grout.  Well worth it.

Jason Fant · Answer

Let your contractor do it. If you don't do it every day, it will take you forever to do it. Never forget that time is money.

Jon Holdman · Answer

Last job I paid to have most of the tile done. I paid $3.50 a foot, and that included ripping out the old stuff, installing backer board, installing the tile, grouting and sealing. You might be able to get it cheaper than that.  For me, this chopped a bunch of late nights out of the schedule and probably saved me two weeks.  So, that's two more weeks rent, about $600, in exchange for $1400 in cash out the door.  Net $800 cost to avoid a BUNCH of work.

On the other hand, when it was time to do the backsplashes I did them myself.  That's only an afternoon's works, and trying to get the tile guy there are the right time would have been a pain.

I did also get a nice hammer-head sized dent in the tub.  Would not have been too big a deal if they had fessed up when it happened.  But it was covered up with debris and I didn't discover it until they had been paid.  Grrr.

Account Closed · Answer

Saving on flooring in general: the vinyl guys here charge like they think they are heart surgeons.  I don't like doing sheet vinyl unless the room is dead square, so I don't install vinyl flooring very often.

That foam backed vinyl flooring that you tape down has worked well for me, and that's a do-it-yourself.

Allure (floating vinyl planks) is easy to install, but I don't know what a professonal flooring guy would charge, so I don't know how much savings there is for DIY

Pre-finished wood floor is quite easy to install. The (quality) nail gun is spendy, as is the quality chop saw with extra fine tooth blade. So, pay vs do-it-yourself depends on how much you will use the gun.

Unfinished hardwood is probably best left to the professionals unless you are seriously handy with tools.

Just to see if we could, we did a pine plank floor starting with raw boards. Routered, sanded, made all the matching trim. No stain, just varathan finish. The job was fun, and the floor is unique and looks fabulous. You'd have to enjoy woodworking. Cost to hire that done would have been prohibitive.

Account Closed · Answer

I have trouble drawing a straight line and since straight lines are important in tile, I hire it out.

I'll do small areas. I like to have a small tile area just inside the entry doors. That way, wet muddy feet enter onto tile and not onto carpet. It helps to prolong the life of the carpet. I doubt that I could even get a tile guy to step out of his truck for 12 squares of tile.

I've done a wall behind a woodstove. That wasn't too bad. But I also tiled an entire oversize shower, walls and base. in that 1 inch hex tile. Next time, I'll pay someone to do it.

Another place that is too small to hire done, is behind the stove. Tenants splatter grease all over, and if you have tile behind the stove, it just wipes right off and you don't have to scrub and repaint.

Kristian Peter · Answer

With the lack of work for contractors, it's not cost effective to do anything yourself...

Do yourself a favor - pick out a good contractor or handyman and use them as much as possible.  Pay them just for labor - $15 to $20 per hour.

Go to Home Depot with a scanner, and scan the items that you will use in all of the homes that you buy - then go to the contractor desk at Home Depot, and negotiate the pricing for those items, and setup an account with them.  They will provide you with items at about 50% of retail.

There you go - cheap labor, and cheap materials...  Why do it yourself?

KP

Dean Herbertz · Answer

Here are 2 rules I use.
1, asses your own skill level
2, put a value on your time

I am an experienced tradesman in most areas of construction, however the more I rehab the less I want to do on my own. My time is better spent managing the project.

As far as contractors some can cost you a fortune, get referrals from people you know personally. I rarely pay on any hourly rate, generally it is piece work and I make them stick to that price on what has been specified in our agreement.

If you are a beginner with a limited budget taking on as much as you can of the non-skilled tasks can put money in your pocket. Common sense, good judgement!!

Kendra T. · Answer

It's cost effective to do anything yourself...as long as you know what you are doing.

Brian Levredge · Answer

If you do hire a pro, always keep this saying in mind:  "The sweet smell of the low bid is soon replaced by the bitter taste of poor quality."    Cheaper isn't necessarily better.

Is it cost effective to do flooring yourself?

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