How Much Does It Cost to Repair Flooring?

The floors in your home get a lot of use every day. And with frequent use comes wear and tear, causing damage and detracting from your interiors’ appearance. That is why repairing any issues with your floors as soon as possible helps your home maintain its beauty and value more efficiently.

There are many different types of flooring and issues that can occur. This leads to a wide range of costs associated with floor repairs. The national average for floor repair ranges from $200 to $3,000, with most people paying around $1,200 for hardwood floor repair with moderate damage. At the low end, carpet repair costs are as little as $100 for repairing a small tear without a patch. At the high end, fixing a sagging subfloor and joists and replacing the flooring above it costs $30,000.

Cost to Repair Flooring

Floor Repair Costs by Type

The type of flooring you have is the biggest driving factor behind repair costs. Each flooring wears and acquires damage in different ways, which dictates how the repairs are carried out and the average repair cost. Some repairs are done on the surface of your existing flooring, while others require the damaged section to be removed and replaced, influencing your total costs:

Tile Floor Repair

The most common problems you find with a tile floor are cracking and lippage. Cracking occurs when there is movement beneath the tile or when the tile was improperly installed. Lippage is a condition where a corner of the tile sticks up, which can cause trips or breakage of that corner. In either case, the best scenario is to chisel out the old tile, replace it, and regrout the surrounding area. Depending on how many tiles are affected, this costs $100 to $1,000.

Carpet Repair Costs

Carpet can develop several problems over its lifespan, and many of them are easily repaired to restore your carpet to its former condition. These include rips and tears, burns, stains, and sagging of the carpet. Fixing a small tear costs as little as $100, while restretching and patching a larger section of carpet costs as much as $2,000, resulting in a wide range of carpet repair costs.

Laminate Floor Repair Cost

Laminate floors develop many problems over their lifetime, from scratches and gouges to swelling and buckling from moisture and improper installation. Minor surface damage may sometimes be filled with putty, but the most common method of repairing a laminate floor is to replace the affected planks. This is done by removing all planks to the affected one, replacing it, and reinstalling the rest. Depending on how many planks are affected, this can cost $225 to $400.

Cork Flooring Repair

Cork is a fairly resilient material that holds up well long term, but it can still be damaged from heavy use. Cracked planks or tiles and gouges are the two most common problems. The method to fix it is usually to replace the impacted section. This may mean digging up the affected tile or taking up a floating floor like laminate and replacing the impacted section before reinstalling the rest. This costs between $225 and $500, depending on how many tiles or planks are affected.

Vinyl Floor Repair

Vinyl is a flexible, resilient, plastic flooring material that comes in many forms, from sheet flooring to floating tiles. It can develop many different problems, from cracks and tears to curling and lifting. Sheet vinyl may be heated and stretched, then glued back into place to hide a tear, while curling tiles are removed and replaced. Because some vinyl glues grow stronger with time, removing them can be very difficult. For this reason, there is a much wider cost range associated with fixing vinyl floors, between $225 and $1,000.

Bamboo Flooring Repair

The age and type of your bamboo floor dictate a large part of your repair costs. Many older bamboo floors are only a thin veneer that scratches and gouges easily. The only way to repair these floors is to replace the impacted planks. Newer floors have a thicker veneer and can be refinished to remove surface damage. The average cost to repair a bamboo floor ranges from $250 to $500.

Hardwood Floor Repair Cost

Hardwood floors can be made of many species. They can be solid or engineered, which impacts how they are made and installed. These factors influence how easily a floor is damaged and how it may be repaired. The most common issues that hardwood floors face is surface damage - stains, scratches, and gouges. However, some floors in a wet area may be damaged by water and need replacement. The average cost to repair a hardwood floor ranges from $250 for spot treating small areas to $3,000 for refinishing the entire floor.

Engineered Wood Floor Repair

Engineered wood is a subtype of hardwood. It has a piece of wood veneer on top of layers of plywood running in opposite directions. This flooring type is more stable and resistant to moisture. It is repaired just like solid hardwood, but it usually needs repairs less often. The one difference is that while solid hardwood can be refinished an infinite number of times, engineered hardwood may only be refinished 5 or 6 times over its lifetime. The cost is the same, $250 to $3,000 on average for repairs.

Concrete Flooring Repair

Concrete is a trendy flooring type found in many modern homes. It can also be found in basements and other areas where the concrete has been polished to become the main floor, rather than installing another flooring. Concrete is durable, but it cracks and is susceptible to moisture. The most common repairs are filling cracks and leveling, which is required if the floor settles or slumps. Concrete repairs have a range of $300 to $3,000, depending on the repair level.

Floor Repair Cost by Problem

Sometimes the floor’s problems are caused by something other than the material. This may be when moisture is involved or when the subfloor or floor joists are the problems. Some issues are more common than others, depending on the age and flooring you have:

Floor Scratch Repair

Scratches are common in laminate, some types of vinyl, and many wood floors. Minor scratches may be filled or buffed away, particularly in wood floors. Deeper scratches in laminate and vinyl require lifting and replacing the damaged planks, while deeper scratches in wood require you to refinish the floor. This ranges from $75 to $2,000, depending on how badly scratched the floor is.

Cost to Fix Squeaky Floors

Floors squeak for several reasons, usually due to movement in the underlayment. The underlayment may need to be screwed down more tightly. Or, you may have gaps between the floor and the subfloor that can be filled with a little adhesive and some wood shims. Depending on how many squeaky spots you have, the cost ranges from $200 to $1,000 on average.

Floor Bubble Repair

Some types of vinyl flooring and older sheet linoleum floors may get a bubble. This is caused by the adhesive separating unevenly in this area, allowing moisture or air to become trapped and form a bubble. To fix this, you need to lift the area, reapply the adhesive, and stretch, reset, and roll the affected section back down. Sometimes, you may need to replace a section if it is too worn to reattach. This has a cost range of $225 to $600, depending on how large the section is.

Floor Buckling Repair

If your floors are buckling, it is happening for one of two reasons: they were installed without an expansion gap around the perimeter or water below them. In both cases, the fix is the same. Remove the baseboards, and unclick and remove the flooring until you reach the affected section. Replace the buckled boards, and reinstall the rest of the flooring. This costs between $225 and $3,000, depending on how large the section is.

Warped Floor Repair

Floors warp for the same reasons that they buckle, improper installation or moisture. The remedy is also the same. The flooring needs to come up, the damaged boards replaced, and the rest of the boards reinstalled. The cost is also the same, $225 to $3,000, depending on how many boards need to be repaired.

Water Damage Floor Repair Cost

Water damage can take on many forms in a floor. A small amount of moisture causes buckling and warping in wood, bamboo, laminate, and vinyl floors. A lot of water can damage the subfloor, which means that in addition to fixing the floor, you also have water damage subfloor repair costs.

Small amounts of water damage can mean removing and replacing the affected section of flooring. More severe issues can mean removing all the flooring, repairing or replacing the subflooring, and installing a brand new floor. You may also have additional problems with mold if it is not caught quickly, and the area may need to be cleaned and dried before repairs commence. For these reasons, there is a wide range of associated costs from $225 for minor damage to $20,000 for an entire new subfloor, cleaning, drying, and new floor installation.

Sunken Floor Repair

If you have a sunken floor, the problem is not with the floor itself. It is likely what is below the floor causing the problem. Your subfloor or joists need to be repaired or replaced to relift the floor. In the case of a concrete floor, a sunken area means that the floor needs to be lifted or jacked back up from below as well.

In most cases, fixing a sunken floor is done by “sistering” your floor joists by installing new material beside the existing joists to strengthen or replace them. This costs $200 to $400 a joist, with most floor repairs costing $2,000 to $30,000 on average.

Cost to Fix Uneven Floors

Uneven floors have the same cause as sunken floors: old and sagging joists and the floor needs to be lifted and reinforced with either sistered joists or brand new ones, depending on the issue. Many uneven floors need to have all the joists done, even if only one side is sloping because bracing one side stresses the other if it is not done simultaneously. Therefore, this has a cost of $2,000 to $30,000, depending on how large the area is.

Sagging Floor Repair Costs

Another problem that you see with old and damaged floor joists is a sagging floor. The repair is the same as sunken and uneven floors: you need to brace, reinforce, or replace the sagging and damaged joists to bring your floor back to level. Depending on how large the sagging area is, this job costs between $2,000 and $30,000.

Floor Repair Cost by Solution

Most of the time, any issue you encounter with your floor has one recommended solution to fix the problem. However, some issues have a few different solutions. For example, a scratched floor can be spot treated or completely refinished. Not every solution is the best choice for every scenario, but there are times when you may have the ability to opt for a less expensive repair to stop further damage from occurring:

Floorboard Repair Cost

If you have a single floorboard that is damaged, it can be repaired in a couple of ways. It can be filled with putty and sanded and stained, or the more frequent method of repair can be used, which is to remove and replace the affected board. The average cost is $75 to $225 per damaged floorboard to be repaired.

Floor Joist Repair Cost

If you have a damaged or weakened floor joist, it can be repaired with bracing or sistering to strengthen it. This is usually done by putting a new joist alongside the old one to help carry the load and strengthen the floor. It has a cost of $200 to $400 per joist on average.

Cost to Sister Floor Joists

Sistering is the most common method for repairing a floor joist. It lends strength to an existing joist so that you do not need to remove the old joist to fix the floor. This has a cost of $200 to $400 per joist on average.

Floor Patching

If you have an old sheet vinyl, carpet, or linoleum floor that has a hole in it, you may need it to be patched. Patching includes removing the damaged section and replacing it with a new piece, either from leftover material or new material that is a close match. Depending on the size, the average cost range is $200 to $500 a patch.

Subfloor Repair Cost

If your subfloor has undertaken damage, you may need to repair it to keep your floor level and even. You may also need to repair or replace your subfloor if the floor above has been affected by moisture. Repairing a subfloor means removing and replacing the damaged section or sections, costing around $500 to $700 per room on average.

Floor Refinishing Cost

Refinishing is a great way to restore old hardwood floors with surface damage like scratches, gouges, and minor hills or valleys. Refinishing includes sanding down the existing floor and giving it a new finish. This removes scratches and other minor surface wear and protects it from future damage. The average cost of refinishing is between $850 and $2,000 per room.

Floor Leveling Cost

If your floor is uneven, sagging, sloping, or not level, you likely have sagging joists. Your joists need to be braced or replaced to help level the floor. It is very uncommon for a single joist to go at once, so you likely need to do several, if not all, to fix the problem. This has a cost range of $900 to $30,000, depending on the room size.

Floor Repair vs Replacement

Sometimes when your floor is damaged, the best thing to do is replace it rather than fix it. Other times, you may need to replace a section of the floor, such as individual floorboards, because they cannot be repaired, while the majority of the floor is in good shape. It can be difficult to separate repairing and replacement from one another because they go hand in hand.

For example, a warped laminate floor may only need 20 boards replaced, while the rest can be reinstalled to complete the repair. This can mean significant savings over replacing the entire floor.

However, there are times when you may want to replace the entire floor rather than only a section. If you need to replace a few boards or tiles and do not have a good match, which makes the repair very obvious, a replacement restores the floor’s appearance. Other times, if the damage is widespread and you are repairing more than 50% of the floor, you may want to opt for a total replacement at this point because it gives the best-looking results. Sometimes if the issues were caused by faulty installation, such as squeaking floors or buckling floors from a lack of expansion gap, replacing the floor also allows you to address these issues so that they do not reoccur.

The average range of repair is $200 to $3,000, while the average costs of a new floor are $1,500 to $5,000 for the same size space. This often makes repair more cost-effective, particularly if less than 50% of the floor needs to be repaired.

Subfloor Replacement Cost

If your subfloor is damaged, you likely need to replace the affected sections. Most repairs cost $500 to $700 per room. However, completely replacing the subfloor - removal and disposal of the existing subfloor included - costs between $1,500 and $2,000 per room.

Replacing Floorboards Cost

Most times, if you need to repair your floorboards, you replace at least some of them. When replacing individual boards, your cost is around $75 to $225 per board replaced. If you need to replace more than 50% of the boards in the room, it makes more sense to install new flooring. This costs around $1,500 to $5,000, depending on the floorboard type and room size.

Costs of Replacing Floor Joists

It is most cost effective to brace or sister your floor joists for $200 to $400 per joist whenever possible. If you need to completely replace them, the cost is much higher at $5,000 to $7,000 because you need to brace and hold the floor while the new joists go in or the entire floor needs to be replaced at the same time.

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Bathroom Floor Repair Costs

The majority of bathroom floors are usually clad in tile, with some also using vinyl or another water-resistant floor covering. The most common issues impacting a bathroom floor are tile cracking, grout cracking and replacement, and occasionally separation or bubbling.

If your bathroom floor is uneven and you use a tile larger than 6 to 8 inches in width, you are likely to experience cracks. This is especially true in older homes, and it is recommended that you replace your bathroom flooring with mosaics to address this problem. If moisture is the issue, then the floor needs to be removed and dried before the new flooring is put down. Most bathroom floors are small enough that removing any of the flooring surrounding the impacted area involves replacing the floor and addressing the underlying issues. This leads to bathroom floor repair costs of $500 to $1,000.

Bathroom Subfloor Replacement Cost

If you have cracking tiles in the bathroom or moisture issues, one thing that addresses both is a new subfloor. New subflooring for the average 40 sq.ft. bathroom is around $100 - $200 for a water-resistant cement backer board installation.

Mobile Home Floor Repair Costs

Most mobile homes have floor repair issues similar to other homes. Buckling and warping floors are likely due to improper installation or moisture problems and cost $225 to $3,000 to address. Scratched floors are repaired for $75 to $2,000, depending on the extent of the scratches. Carpeting is fixed for $100 to $2,000 on average.

Enhancements and Improvement Costs

Floor Cleaning Cost

Sometimes cleaning your floor helps it look newer. If you have had one section repaired, cleaning the entire thing brings it to life. The cost is dependent on the floor type, with carpet cleaning costing between $50 and $75 and tile cleaning costing around $500 on average. Cleaning hardwood floors costs $75 to $300, depending on the room’s level of grime and size.

Radiant Flooring

If you are replacing your flooring, this may be a good time to install radiant floor heating, which is more comfortable and energy-efficient. Radiant heating costs around $28,000 on average.

Additional Considerations and Costs

• Your total cost depends on how badly damaged your floor is. A small scratch costs significantly less than a fully cracked board to repair. The larger the repair, the higher the total cost.
• The accessibility of the damaged area also influences the cost. Difficult-to-reach joists cost more to repair than surface damage. Planks in the center of the room that need to be removed cost more than planks close to a wall. If your contractor can reach the area easily, the costs are likely lower.
• Improperly installed flooring buckles, warps, and cracks over time. These can be some of the easiest repairs because it only requires reinstallation.
• Repairs take from half a day to several days, depending on the level of damage and its accessibility.
• It is unlikely you need a permit for this project unless you decide to make major structural changes at the same time.
• Repairs do not raise your home’s value. Instead, they help your home maintain its current value, which is why it is important to take care of them in a timely way.

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