Two flooring quotes for the "same" job can be thousands apart and both be honest — because they're rarely quoting the same scope. One includes the moisture barrier, the furniture move, and the haul-away; the other adds those on install day. Before you sign anything, these are the questions that tell you which kind of quote you're holding.
Why the quote isn't the whole story
A price per square foot is a starting point, not a scope. Every floor is genuinely priced by the job — square footage, species, finish, and any stair or pattern detail all move the number — so the question that matters is what the number includes. A scope you can trust is written down and fixed before you sign; a number that's still moving on install day is a number you can't plan around.
“The number on the page is only half the story. What it includes is the other half.”
Who actually does the install
Ask plainly: who is in your house doing the work? Some shops sell the floor and sub out the install to whoever's available that week. We install with our own crew of 3–5 from our own shop — the same people, start to finish, with one project manager who owns the job from the hello at your door through the final walkthrough. One finger to point at, never a hand-off. That continuity is most of what makes a job go right.
Is the slab tested before a price?
In Florida, this is the question that prevents the most expensive surprises. A responsible installer moisture-tests the slab — a calcium-chloride test at three points over 72 hours — before committing to an approach, because the slab reading determines the method and the materials. If a quote doesn't mention testing your slab, ask why. Too many Naples re-do calls start with a skipped moisture test and a floor laid in hope.
What the fixed-price scope includes
Get the inclusions in writing. The line items that quietly turn a cheap quote expensive are the ones left off it. On our scopes, the moisture plan and underlayment, the furniture move, and the haul-away of your existing floor are written in — not discovered later. Here's what a complete flooring scope should spell out before you sign.
- Board width, finish, transitions, and any stair-tread or pattern detail — written, not assumed.
- The moisture plan: slab testing and the barrier/underlayment that follows from it.
- Acclimation: where and how long the material settles before it's installed.
- Furniture move and haul-away of the existing floor — included or excluded, in writing.
- Dust containment and daily site care during the work.
- A workmanship warranty on the install, separate from the manufacturer's warranty on the material.
Timeline, dust, and your daily life
Ask how long the job actually takes door to door, and what your life looks like during it. A 1,500–2,500 sq ft hardwood project typically runs 6–8 weeks from signed scope to broom-clean finish — and two of those weeks are acclimation with no on-site work, which a fair installer will tell you up front rather than letting you wonder. Pre-finished engineered flooring produces close to zero sanding dust; solid floors finished on-site get a negative-pressure containment rig so you can often live upstairs while the downstairs is worked.
- 01Ask for the real door-to-door timeline
Including acclimation. "A few days of install" hides the weeks of settling that protect the floor.
- 02Ask about dust and living arrangements
Pre-finished engineered is near dustless; on-site finishing needs containment and sometimes a few days vacated during cure.
- 03Ask about the furniture and the existing floor
Who moves it, who hauls the old floor away, and is any of it extra. Get the answer before, not on day one.
Warranty and records
Two warranties should exist: the manufacturer's on the material, and the installer's own workmanship warranty on the install. Ask whether your project specs are kept on file — we keep ours for 25 years, so a homeowner can call in 2040 and we'll know the exact finish and board pattern to match a repair. A shop that records what it installed is a shop that expects to stand behind it.
The questions to bring
Print these and bring them to any flooring appointment — ours included. Honest answers are quick; evasive answers are the signal.
- Who, specifically, installs my floor — your crew or a subcontractor?
- Will you moisture-test my slab before quoting an approach?
- Is this a fixed-price scope, and what exactly does it include?
- Is the moisture barrier, furniture move, and haul-away in the price?
- How long, door to door — including acclimation?
- What's the workmanship warranty, and do you keep my specs on file?
Bring your plans to the showroom and we'll answer every one of these in person, then write a fixed-price scope before you sign anything. The right floor is a long relationship. The contract is where you find out whether it'll be a good one.
