A lot of people put off booking a flooring estimate because it feels like a commitment. It is not meant to be one. An estimate is the point at which a flooring price stops being a range on a website and becomes a number for your house, and it is free.
It is also the most useful hour in the whole project. What gets noticed at the estimate is planned for. What gets missed turns up on install day, which is the most expensive and least convenient time to find anything out.
This is what happens when we come out, and how to make the visit count.
Why we measure in person
A price given over the phone is a guess. It is based on a square footage somebody paced out, for a floor nobody has looked at, over a subfloor nobody has seen. Guesses turn into change orders on install day.
Coming out to the house is what turns a guess into a price. It lets us measure the rooms properly, see how they connect, and look at what the new floor is going to sit on. That last part is what decides whether a job is straightforward or not, and no photograph tells you. There is more on it in what we find under your old floor.
What we look at
The measure itself is under an hour. In that time we are looking at more than the dimensions.
- The rooms and how they join. Where one floor meets another, which doorways need a transition, and whether it makes more sense to run one floor through. Where the new floor starts and stops is worth deciding now, not when the crew reaches the hallway.
- The subfloor. Soft spots, squeaks, dips, signs of old water damage around the toilet or the dishwasher, and what kind of subfloor the house has. On a concrete slab, whether it needs checking for moisture and flatness.
- What is coming up. Carpet and pad, sheet vinyl, old tile. In older houses we note any resilient flooring that could date from before about 1980, because it may need testing before it is disturbed.
- Heights. Door clearances, the bottom of the dishwasher, where the stairs start, and how the new floor will meet the floors that are staying.
- Stairs, trim and baseboards. Whether the baseboards come off and go back, or are replaced. What happens to your baseboards explains the choice.
- How the rooms are used. Dogs, kids, a home office chair, a room that floods, a kitchen that is going to be remodeled next year. The right floor depends on all of it.
Samples in your own light
We bring samples to the house. A floor that looked warm gray under showroom lights can look green by a north-facing window, and a carpet that felt soft in your hand at the store can look different on the floor it will actually cover. Seeing samples in your rooms, in daylight and in the evening, against your walls and your furniture, is the most reliable way to avoid a floor you regret.
If you have not narrowed things down yet, that is fine. We would rather start from how the rooms are used and work toward a shortlist than start from a color. If you want to see a wider range, the showroom at 900 Industrial Parkway in Newberg is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
What to have ready
None of this is required, but it makes the visit more useful.
- Which rooms, and which ones might be added later. Even if the budget only covers the living areas now, it is worth planning the whole floor together so the next phase meets the first one cleanly.
- Photos of floors you like. A screenshot says more than a description.
- A rough budget. It is not a negotiating move. It lets us steer toward products that fit rather than showing you the top of the range first.
- Your timeline, and any dates that cannot move, such as a sale, a new baby or a family visit.
- Anything heavy or unusual. A piano, a gun safe, a waterbed or a wall of built-ins is worth mentioning so it is planned for rather than met on the day.
- Anything you know about the house. A past leak, a room that was added on, a floor laid over another floor.
If anyone who will share the decision can be there, even better. It saves a second round of samples.
Questions worth asking
Ask these at any estimate, whoever you are getting a price from.
- Is removal and disposal included? With us it is part of the quote.
- What happens if something is found under the old floor? You want to know that before it happens, not after.
- Who will do the installation? At Norman's, the people who quote the job are the people who install it.
- What warranty covers the labor, and for how long? Ours is ten years on every install, separate from the manufacturer's warranty on the material.
- Is the contractor licensed? In Oregon, that means the Construction Contractors Board. Our number is CCB 103259, and you can check any contractor's license on the CCB website.
- What is the specification? For carpet, the density and the pad. For vinyl plank, the wear layer. Two quotes for "LVP" can be for very different floors.
- Is financing available? Ours is through Wisetack, and we will walk you through it at the estimate.
What the quote should include
When the written quote arrives, it should tell you what you are actually buying. What flooring costs in Oregon breaks down where the money goes, but in short, look for:
- The product, by name and specification, not just a category.
- The square footage, including waste. Every floor is ordered with extra for cuts, so the number will be larger than the room.
- Removal and disposal of the old floor.
- Subfloor preparation, if the estimate found any.
- Transitions, trim, stair work and baseboards.
- Furniture moving, if it is included.
If two quotes are far apart, it is almost always because they describe two different jobs. Put them side by side line by line and the difference usually shows itself.
After the estimate
There is no pressure to decide on the spot. Some people do. Most take a few days, look at the samples again, and call back with a question or two. Once you go ahead, we order the material and agree an installation date, and getting your home ready for installation covers what happens between now and then.
Book yours
Norman's has been measuring and installing floors from Newberg since 1978, across the valley and the southwest Portland metro, from McMinnville and Woodburn to Beaverton and Lake Oswego. Estimates are free anywhere in that area. Call (503) 538-8242, or book a free estimate online and choose a time that suits you.
Related services: floor removal and demolition and stairs and trim.
