In Lynnwood, hardwood floor installation labor costs $3.25 per sq ft for engineered or solid prefinished flooring, $2.75 per sq ft for unfinished, and $125 per stair. Those are Wills Flooring's published 2026 rates with a 500 sq ft minimum. Material is the other half of the bill and is quoted separately once you pick a floor, so a typical 1,000 sq ft Lynnwood main floor runs $3,250 in labor plus the wood.
Most people who call our showroom on 196th St SW ask the same thing: "What does hardwood cost per square foot, all in?" The honest answer is that nobody can give you one number until you pick the wood, because material can range from less than the labor to three times the labor. What we can do is publish the labor rate, explain exactly what it covers, and show you how the material tiers stack up so you can budget a Lynnwood project before we ever measure it.
What the installation labor rate covers
Prefinished, most Lynnwood jobs
Engineered or solid
Nail-down, glue-down or floating installation of prefinished planks. Includes layout, cutting, rack-and-stagger, transitions at doorways and reinstalling baseboard shoe. You walk on it the same day.
Site-finished
Unfinished hardwood
Installing raw planks that get sanded and finished in place. Add our refinishing rates ($3.99 natural, $6.50 stained) for the sanding and three coats of Bona finish, so the true labor is $6.74 or more per sq ft.
Per tread and riser
Hardwood on stairs
Solid treads, risers and nosing fitted and fastened. Split-levels in Alderwood and Martha Lake usually have 13 to 14 stairs, which adds $1,625 to $1,750 to the job.
Prices from Wills Flooring's published price list. Flooring material, underlayment, old-floor removal and subfloor prep are quoted at the free in-home estimate.
What material adds to the price
This is where quotes spread. We are a Metropolitan Hardwood distributor, so we bring the sample boards to your house and quote the material on the spot. The ranges below are typical regional retail ranges for the material only, not Wills prices, and they exist so you can budget. Your actual number depends on species, width, wear layer and how much waste your room layout creates.
| Material tier | Typical retail range (material only) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Builder-grade engineered oak | Low | 2 mm veneer, 3 to 5 in wide, one or two refinishes at most. Fine for rentals and flips. |
| Solid red oak, 2 1/4 in strip | Low to mid | The floor already under carpet in half of Lynnwood's 1960s to 80s ramblers. Sands six or more times. |
| Mid-grade engineered white oak, 5 to 7 in | Mid | 3 to 4 mm wear layer, matte finish, the look most buyers expect today. Our most common Lynnwood sale. |
| Premium wide plank, 7 to 9 in, 4 mm plus | High | European white oak, long lengths, refinishable two or three times. Adds resale value in Meadowdale and newer townhomes. |
| Unfinished red or white oak | Low to mid | Cheapest per box, but remember the sanding and finish labor on top. |
Plan on 7 to 10 percent extra material for waste on a straight layout, 12 to 15 percent for diagonal or herringbone.
Price your Lynnwood floor right now
Hardwood Installation Calculator
Installation pricing from our published rate card. Material is quoted separately based on the floor you choose.
Three Lynnwood jobs, priced the way we bill them
- Martha Lake rambler · 1,100 sq ftEngineered white oak over the existing plywood subfloor, carpet removed first.1,100 × $3.25 = $3,575 labor, plus material and carpet removal quoted on site
- Alderwood split-level · 800 sq ft + 13 stairsPrefinished solid oak on the main floor, matching solid treads on the staircase.800 × $3.25 + 13 × $125 = $2,600 + $1,625 = $4,225 labor, plus material
- Meadowdale remodel · 950 sq ft unfinishedSite-finished red oak to match an original hallway, natural finish.950 × $2.75 + 950 × $3.99 = $2,612.50 + $3,790.50 = $6,403 labor and finish, plus material
The extras that show up on a Lynnwood invoice
Old floor removal
Carpet and pad come up fast. Glued vinyl, tile or an old glued-down hardwood take longer and generate disposal fees. We quote removal by the room after seeing what is down there.
Subfloor prep
Split-levels and ramblers from the 70s often have particleboard underlayment that must come out before nail-down hardwood, or dips that need leveling. This is the most common surprise, so we check it at the estimate.
Vapor barrier and underlayment
Over a crawlspace, which is most of Lynnwood, we lay a moisture retarder under nail-down floors. Floating engineered floors need a pad. Both are small line items but they are not in the labor rate.
Trim and transitions
New hardwood is thicker than the carpet it replaces, so doors get trimmed and thresholds change. Reducers to tile and shoe molding are included in labor; new baseboard is not.
Prefinished or unfinished: which saves money?
Prefinished, $3.25
Pick prefinished when
- You want the house back the same day
- The floor is a single open area with no old hardwood to match
- You are buying engineered wide plank
- Budget matters more than a seamless custom look
Unfinished, $2.75 + finish
Pick unfinished when
- You are tying into original oak in another room
- You want a custom stain color across the whole floor
- You prefer a flat, filled surface with no bevels
- You can be out of the house for four to five days
Check under the carpet first: A large share of 1960s to 80s Lynnwood ramblers have solid oak under the carpet. Refinishing it costs $3.99 per sq ft all-in, which is usually less than new hardwood labor plus material. We look before we quote, and we will tell you if the cheaper job is the right one.
How to keep the quote honest
- Get labor and material on separate lines. A single "per square foot installed" number hides which one is inflated. Ours are always split.
- Ask what square footage is being billed. We bill the measured floor area, not the whole house, with a 500 sq ft minimum.
- Ask about the wear layer. Two engineered floors can look identical in the box and differ by two refinishes over their life. Read more in our post on engineered vs solid hardwood.
- Book in the off-season. Our Lynnwood install calendar is tightest from May through September. Winter installs are easier to schedule and the wood acclimates fine in a heated house.
- Confirm the warranty and license. Wills Flooring is licensed and insured, has installed floors since 2013 and backs every install with a 1-year workmanship warranty. See the full price list before you compare.
Lynnwood hardwood installation questions
What people ask when they walk into the showroom on 196th.
How much does it cost to install 1,000 sq ft of hardwood in Lynnwood?
Is engineered hardwood cheaper to install than solid?
Does the price include removing my carpet?
What is the 500 sq ft minimum?
How long does hardwood installation take in a Lynnwood house?
Can I buy the hardwood myself and just pay for labor?
Get a firm Lynnwood hardwood quote
We bring the sample boards to your house, measure, check the subfloor and write a labor-plus-material quote on the spot. Free and no obligation.
Wills Flooring serves Lynnwood, Everett, Seattle, Sammamish, Edmonds, Kirkland, Snohomish and the rest of Snohomish and King County from our Lynnwood showroom. See our hardwood installation in Lynnwood, WA, hardwood installation service, published price list, engineered vs solid hardwood, hardwood over a concrete slab and refinishing costs in Seattle.
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