I am preparing to purchase 450 square feet of high quality engineered maple flooring. I got a good price at as local store (Pino Carpet & Tile) however I am a bit suspicious of the extras they require as part of installation. $2.50 per square feet for general installation, $1.00 per square foot for glue $2.00 per square foot for waterproofing and then .70 cents per square foot for something called flashing (?) Is there a way I can tell whether these charges are legit ? Or just padding ? By the time the quote was complete the installation costs were up to $6.50 per square foot above and beyond the price of the wood. If anyone out there knows, please educate me. thank you.

Installation is about par for a sell it all but really know nothing about it store. It is low for gluedown, to expect a craftsman to be subcontracted out of that price.
Glue is dead on what I charge for it
Why do you need a moisture blocker? Is this a solid wood, your trying to glue to concrete?
Flashing maybe what they are calling floor prep. If so, how do they know it needs floor prep and at that rate should cover it? I charge time and materials for this service, because you may or may not need it. I could make $350 in 15 minutes or it may take a day and a half or longer to get it perfect and right. Who wins and who loses there. Someones going to cut corners, or someone is going to feel ripped off.


In a way they are all legit charges, but maybe not. It all depends...

Thank you for the clarification. I'm a pretty trusting person and do not doubt that many legitimate steps (and fees) go along with a quality installation...and lets face it...it's not too bright to spend thousands of dollars for materials and then skimp on a good install job. It just reminds me of buying a car, after sitting down to seriously close the deal, all of these other charges crop up. Probably some are necessary and some are not. Perhaps I will buy the wood and have a private craftsman install it.

That's how I get all my work. I refuse to work for those guys. Too much mis and lost communication with all the middlemen, involved when dealing with a store, that sells installed flooring only. The labor is subcontracted out anyway. You'll be hard pressed to find a flooring retailer with actual employees as installers, these days. They can't exploit an employee. They call them subcontractors so they can. Talk about cutting corners!!

don't retailers have a generic way of etimating the installation that covers the sub-contractors cost as well as their own?

what i mean is, in the example above, they have established that it takes "x" amount of glue per square foot, and "x" amount of sealer, etc etc by suare footage when the product is bought. it doesn't necessarily mean that the sub-contractor is going to use "x" amount of glue or sealer as estimated...correct? or, in case there is an unforseen issue during the installation, it's already covered.

however, having a contractor come to the house, they can visual see exactly what's going on and can make a more accurate estimation of the cost of installing the floor.....correct?