Hardwood Floor Installation Cost in Ottawa (2026): Per Sq Ft, Stairs and Extras

Hardwood costs more to install than vinyl or laminate, and the range is wide. The cost to install hardwood floors depends on the wood you choose, how it is fastened, what the subfloor needs and how many stairs and doorways are involved. This guide explains what hardwood installation costs per square foot, what a typical price covers, and what moves it up or down, with example budgets worked out from the ranges.

All the figures here come from our Ottawa flooring cost guide: the average of the published 2026 price ranges of four Ottawa flooring companies, rounded. They are a guide for budgeting, not an Agora Flooring price list. Your own price comes in a written quote after a free site visit.

Hardwood installation cost at a glance

The labour-only figure applies when you have already bought the flooring. The supplied-and-installed figure covers the hardwood and the installation together. The gap between the two is mostly the wood itself: species, grade, board width and, for engineered floors, the thickness of the top layer. Labour for an entry-level floor and a premium floor of the same type is often similar, so the product is where most of the difference lies.

What hardwood installation usually includes

A standard hardwood installation covers the steps that make the floor flat, tight and stable. Quotes don't all list the same things, so ask what yours includes.

The installer checks moisture in the wood and the subfloor, prepares the subfloor, and lays any underlayment or vapour retarder the maker calls for. The boards are racked out from several boxes so the colour is mixed, then installed with the end joints staggered and an expansion space left at every wall. Door casings are undercut so the boards slide under them. Transitions go in at the doorways, and the baseboard or quarter round goes back on to cover the gap.

Items that are often priced separately are removing the old floor, levelling or repairing the subfloor, stairs, new baseboard, moving furniture and trimming doors. None of them are unusual. They just need to be agreed before the work starts. Our guide to how hardwood flooring is installed explains each step in detail.

Solid vs engineered hardwood: how the price changes

Both solid and engineered hardwood fall within the same published ranges, but they get there differently.

Solid hardwood is milled from one piece of wood, usually 3/4" thick. It can be sanded and refinished several times, which is why it costs more to buy but can last for generations. It is nailed to a wood subfloor and is not recommended below grade or directly on concrete. Its price follows the species, the grade (how much natural character and colour variation the boards have) and the board width.

Engineered hardwood has a real wood top layer over a stable plywood or composite core. It moves less as Ottawa's humidity changes with the seasons, and it can be glued, nailed or floated, including over concrete where the maker allows it. The price follows the species and grade too, and the thickness of the top layer. A thicker wear layer costs more and allows more refinishing over the floor's life, so compare that number along with the price.

Wide boards and long lengths usually cost more per square foot than standard widths, in both types. Our guide to engineered vs solid hardwood compares the two room by room.

Installation method: nail-down, glue-down or floating

The method changes the labour, the materials and the preparation, and the maker's instructions decide which methods each product allows.

Nail-down is the classic method for main floors and upstairs on a plywood or OSB subfloor. Each board is blind-nailed through the tongue with a flooring nailer, using the fastener type and spacing the maker sets. It needs a sound wood subfloor and, with many products, a vapour retarder under the boards.

Glue-down is the usual way to put engineered hardwood on concrete. The adhesive is spread across the whole floor with the trowel the adhesive maker lists. It adds the cost of the adhesive and takes more care to keep adhesive off the finish, and it needs a flat slab that passes a moisture test. Some adhesives also act as a moisture barrier; others need a separate barrier coat.

Floating engineered hardwood clicks or glues together edge to edge over an underlay, without being fastened down. It is usually the quickest to install, but it is the least forgiving of dips, so the subfloor preparation matters most. In condos, the building's sound rules often decide the method and the underlay; see condo flooring rules.

Subfloor preparation and removing the old floor

Subfloor preparation is the extra most often missing from a low quote. A wood subfloor with loose panels squeaks under new hardwood, so squeaks are screwed down first and damaged panels replaced. Floating and glue-down floors need a flat surface; makers commonly specify a tolerance around 3/16" in 10 ft, and high spots are sanded while low spots are filled. Concrete that is out of flat over a wide area may need self-levelling compound. These repairs are usually priced once the subfloor can be seen and checked.

Removing the old floor averages about $0.50 to $1.75 per sq ft in the published ranges. Carpet and pad come up quickly. Glued-down vinyl, old tile and mortar beds take far longer, which is why the range is wide. Disposal is sometimes included and sometimes not.

Hardwood stairs

Hardwood stairs average about $150 to $300 per step in the published ranges. Stairs are priced per step rather than per square foot because every tread and riser is measured, cut and fastened by hand, with a nosing at the front edge. A staircase is a small area that takes a long time.

What moves the price within that range: whether the old carpet or treads come off first, whether the stairs are open on one or both sides, curved or pie-shaped steps, landings, and whether the risers are wood or painted. Matching the nosing to the floor is part of the job. Our guide to stair nosing explains the types, and our stair installation page covers treads and refacing.

Transitions, baseboards and quarter round

Every doorway where hardwood meets tile, carpet or vinyl needs a transition, such as a reducer, T-moulding or threshold, usually made to match the floor. The heights of both floors should be checked before the wood is ordered, so the transition sits neatly. Our guide to floor transition strips explains each type.

At the walls, the expansion space is covered with trim. You can take the baseboards off and reinstall or replace them, which gives the cleanest result, or keep them and add quarter round or shoe moulding. Either way the trim is nailed to the wall, not down into the floor, so the wood can move. Our guide to quarter round vs baseboard compares the two. New baseboard and painting are usually priced separately.

Prefinished vs site-finished hardwood

Most hardwood installed today is prefinished, with a factory finish applied before it leaves the mill. It can be walked on as soon as it is installed, and the installation price covers the whole job.

Site-finished hardwood is installed raw, then sanded, stained if wanted, and coated with several coats of finish in the home. That adds a separate stage with its own labour, dust, drying time and ventilation, and the rooms can't be used while it cures. It allows custom stain colours and a perfectly flush surface across the boards. If a quote is for site-finished wood, check whether the sanding and finishing are included or priced as a separate trade.

Ottawa humidity and timing

Wood takes on moisture in humid summers and gives it up in dry winters. Ottawa's swing between the two is large, which is why moisture readings and expansion space matter so much here. Makers commonly ask for indoor humidity around 35 to 55 percent. A floor installed too wet gaps when it dries, and one installed too dry swells and cups.

This affects cost mostly through timing. The house should be at normal living conditions before the wood arrives, with heat or air conditioning running and drywall, paint and concrete work dry. If the readings are outside the maker's limits, the installation waits. Some makers also ask for the boards to sit in the home for a set time first. Our guide to hardwood floors in an Ottawa winter explains seasonal gaps and cupping.

Example hardwood budgets

These examples multiply the published ranges by stated areas. They are for budgeting only.

A bedroom, 12 ft by 12 ft. The floor area is 12 × 12 = 144 sq ft. Supplied and installed: 144 × $8.50 = $1,224, and 144 × $19.50 = $2,808, so about $1,225 to $2,810. Labour only, if you have bought the flooring: 144 × $3.50 = $504 to 144 × $6.25 = $900. Removing old carpet adds 144 × $0.50 = $72 to 144 × $1.75 = $252.

A main floor, 400 sq ft of engineered hardwood. Supplied and installed: 400 × $8.50 = $3,400, and 400 × $19.50 = $7,800, so about $3,400 to $7,800. Labour only: 400 × $3.50 = $1,400 to 400 × $6.25 = $2,500. Removing the old floor: 400 × $0.50 = $200 to 400 × $1.75 = $700.

A staircase of 13 steps. 13 × $150 = $1,950, and 13 × $300 = $3,900, so about $1,950 to $3,900.

The main floor and stairs together. $3,400 + $1,950 = $5,350 at the low end, and $7,800 + $3,900 = $11,700 at the high end, before removal, levelling, transitions and trim. Prices in Ontario are usually quoted before the 13% HST, so check whether a quote includes it.

What's usually not included in a hardwood quote

Read the exclusions as carefully as the price. These are often left out, so ask who takes care of each:

• Removing and disposing of the old floor.
• Subfloor repairs and levelling found once the old floor is up.
• Moving furniture and appliances.
• New baseboard, painting trim and touching up walls.
• Trimming doors that no longer clear the new floor.
• Sanding and finishing, for site-finished wood.

How to compare hardwood installation quotes

A low price often leaves out what another includes, so compare line by line. Check that every quote covers the same rooms, closets and stairs, and the same product, including species, grade, width and, for engineered, the wear layer thickness. Confirm the method (nail, glue or float) and the underlay, vapour retarder or adhesive that goes with it.

Then look at the extras: removal and disposal, subfloor preparation, transitions at each doorway, baseboard or quarter round, and how any repairs will be priced. Ask whether moisture readings are taken before installing. Agora gives free estimates in person, by phone, by email or online, and a written quote, and we check the subfloor before any wood is ordered. See our hardwood flooring installation page.

Frequently asked questions