In Ottawa, new flooring typically costs between $4 and $20+ per square foot supplied and installed in 2026, with most homeowners paying roughly $6,000 to $18,000 to redo the main living areas of a home. Carpet is the cheapest at about $4–$8 per square foot installed, laminate runs roughly $5–$9, luxury vinyl plank about $6–$12, engineered hardwood around $9–$16, solid hardwood approximately $11–$20, and ceramic or porcelain tile about $12–$22 once setting materials and labour are included. Installation labour alone accounts for roughly $2–$8 per square foot of that total, and subfloor prep — l...
The most useful way to budget flooring is per square foot, supplied and installed, because it scales directly with the area you are covering. In Ottawa for 2026, carpet with underpad is the most economical at roughly $4–$8 per square foot installed. Laminate follows at about $5–$9, with thicker 12 mm AC4-rated planks landing at the top of that range. Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) — currently the most popular choice in Ottawa homes — runs roughly $6–$12 installed, with rigid-core SPC products costing ...
Roughly speaking, Ottawa installers charge $2–$4 per square foot to install laminate or vinyl plank floating floors, $4–$6 for nail-down or glue-down hardwood, and $6–$10 for tile. The rest of the per-square-foot figure is the material itself plus underlay, transitions, and fasteners.
Translating per-square-foot numbers into a real budget is where most Ottawa homeowners get their bearings. A typical 1,200 square foot main floor in a Barrhaven or Kanata two-storey redone in luxury vinyl plank at $9 per square foot lands around $10,800 installed. The same area in engineered hardwood at $12 per square foot comes to roughly $14,400, while solid hardwood at $15 per square foot pushes it to about $18,000. A smaller project — say a 400 square foot basement rec room in laminate at $7...
Always budget 7–10 percent extra material for waste from cuts, and up to 15 percent for diagonal or herringbone patterns. Contractors quote installed square footage but order material with waste factored in, so the material line on your invoice will exceed your room measurements.
Subfloor preparation is the biggest source of budget surprises on Ottawa flooring jobs, especially in older homes in Centretown, Westboro, and the Glebe where floors have settled over decades. Removing and disposing of existing flooring typically adds $1–$3 per square foot, with glued-down tile and old ceramic on the expensive end because it has to be chipped out. Self-levelling compound to flatten a wavy or sloped subfloor runs about $2–$5 per square foot depending on depth. Installing new plyw...
Concrete slabs in Ottawa basements can transmit moisture year-round. Rigid-core vinyl plank and tile handle it well; solid hardwood and standard laminate generally should not be installed below grade without a proper vapour barrier and subfloor system.
Solid hardwood remains the premium choice in Ottawa at roughly $11–$20 per square foot installed, and it is the only option that can be sanded and refinished multiple times over 50-plus years. Its weakness is humidity: Ottawa swings from very dry winters at 20–30 percent indoor relative humidity to humid summers above 60 percent, which makes solid planks shrink and gap in January and cup in July unless the home has proper humidification. Engineered hardwood costs about $9–$16 installed and handl...
Luxury vinyl plank has taken over the mid-range Ottawa market for good reason: at $6–$12 per square foot installed it is fully waterproof, warm underfoot, quick to install as a floating floor, and convincing enough visually to satisfy most buyers. Rigid-core SPC products with attached pad handle basements, kitchens, and entryways that see road salt and snowmelt all winter. Ceramic and porcelain tile costs the most at $12–$22 per square foot installed but is the right call in bathrooms, mudrooms,...
The ranges above are planning numbers — your real figure depends on your subfloor, layout, and product choice, so get itemized written quotes from local flooring contractors. When requesting quotes, provide the square footage per room, the material and product line you are considering, the number of stair treads, and whether existing flooring needs removal. A complete quote separates material cost, underlay, installation labour, subfloor prep, removal and disposal, transitions and trim, and quar...
In 2026, new flooring in Ottawa typically costs $4–$20+ per square foot supplied and installed — about $4–$8 for carpet, $5–$9 for laminate, $6–$12 for luxury vinyl plank, $9–$16 for engineered hardwood, $11–$20 for solid hardwood, and $12–$22 for tile. Most main-floor projects land between $6,000 and $18,000.
A 1,200 square foot area costs roughly $10,800 in luxury vinyl plank at $9 per square foot, about $14,400 in engineered hardwood at $12 per square foot, and around $18,000 in solid hardwood at $15 per square foot. Add subfloor prep, stairs, and old-flooring removal on top of those figures.
Labour alone runs about $2–$4 per square foot for floating laminate or vinyl plank, $4–$6 for nail-down or glue-down hardwood, and $6–$10 for ceramic or porcelain tile in Ottawa. Stairs are quoted separately at roughly $75–$150 per tread for hardwood or vinyl.
Removing and disposing of old flooring adds $1–$3 per square foot, self-levelling compound $2–$5, and new plywood underlayment $2.50–$5. Ottawa basement slabs often need a dimpled membrane or sleeper subfloor system, which adds another $3–$7 per square foot before the finished floor goes down.
Carpet with underpad is the cheapest at roughly $4–$8 per square foot installed, followed closely by laminate at $5–$9. Laminate usually offers better long-term value than carpet because it lasts longer and resists pet damage, while carpet typically needs replacing every 8–12 years.