How long from estimate to work starting for wood floors

We're in contract on a house and there are oak floors under the carpet that we want to have refinished. I don't want to be held up moving though waiting for floors to be done. Do people work out getting an estimate before closing?

Re: How long from estimate to work starting for wood floors

It really depends on how comfortable you are asking the owners if you can bring contractors by before closing. But, in my experience, getting estimates means getting estimates from multiple contractors. And each one can take 1-2 hours. Most owners don't really want to be that accommodating, nor would buyers really want to ask about that. Also, it's often better to wait until the house is empty and you can really see what's going on under furniture, etc.

We're closing on Wednesday and have 6 contractors lined up on Thursday and Friday to give us estimates. Some would be able to start the work sooner than others, and if they didn't have availability until September, for example, we didn't even both asking them to come. I also figure that someone who can start the work right away...well, there must be a reason they aren't busy. So I expect that we will have to wait for the work. But if it's a small job, sometimes they can squeeze you in between jobs. Or, some contractors have multiple teams, so that helps speed things up.

Basically, there are a lot of variables.

Re: How long from estimate to work starting for wood floors

We had ours done shortly after closing. We had some painting to do first. We got estimates before closing, the previous owner had no issue with us and the floor company coming to measure the floors. Have your real estate agent ask the sellers if it's ok. We were in the house for maybe 15 min getting and estimate and we refinished every room.

How long from estimate to work starting for wood floors

We are getting our floors done in two weeks - when the flooring person came he said his lead time was about two weeks. I would call around and see how long people are booking in advance and go from there.

Re: How long from estimate to work starting for wood floors

In my experience, most sellers will accommodate reasonable requests for estimates. I've arranged for clients to get estimates on flooring, painting, etc. prior to closing.

But by "reasonable" - I mean, give some advance notice of when you want to get in, be flexible, ask nicely, thank the seller, don't ask to go back five times. Sometimes there are provisions in the contract that the buyer can get access to the house once prior to the walk through and closing for this type of thing, but if no such provisions are included, then the seller doesn't HAVE to let you in for this. Most will. As others have said, just ask your agent to speak to the listing agent about this. Unless you've had an extremely contentious transaction up until now, I can't imagine it will be an issue. (I would also check your contract, or ask your attorney whether there is anything in there about this type of thing.)

If the seller is ok with it, then try to line up all of the estimates you want to get for that time period. Better to go once and spend an hour or so there than to rush out in 15 minutes and then ask to get back in multiple times. This is also a good time to take room measurements for furniture, if you haven't done it already. Try to do it all in one visit to not have to rely on the seller's good graces multiple times.

If the house is vacant, then obviously this is much less of a concern (the listing agent would probably just give the key to your agent), and you could go in a few times if needed.

I don't think there's huge lead time for refinishing floors. Many of my clients do their painting and floors within a week or so of closing, and then can move in.

But I do agree with the poster who said that you will get a better estimate if you wait until the house is vacant and furniture is removed to bring in the flooring company. You never really know what's under furniture (in terms of stains, patches, etc.) -- better if they can assess the floors in their entirety, imo.

Re: How long from estimate to work starting for wood floors

When we sold our old house. the new owners brought a contract with them to the final walk through. We had arranged to come see our house before closing to get measurements and such. So if the homeowners you are working with are nice than I dont see why you couldnt arrange to come see the house with a floor guy.

We just did our floors, from the time we got the estimate until we did the floors was 1 month but we acutally pushed back the original start date. They could have done it in a week or 2.

Re: How long from estimate to work starting for wood floors

We just hired a company for this. They're 2 weeks out as far as scheduling the job. And then the job itself is 3 days. You can't be on the floors until the 4th day.