We paid about $700 for Armstong Alterna LVT in a 6' x 8' guest bath. You have to buy it by the carton so there is some waste on small projects. Maybe you could save some money by not having it grouted. I would just use sheet vinyl. No one will be walking in your laundry closet so you don't really need a product with a 20 year warranty.

Diy sheet vinyl.

Hope you are managing leaks and overflow potential.

you can get an end sheet of vinyl - about 5 x 8 or so (some are a bit larger and some smaller - price differs for size) at HD / Ls for about 50.00. I've seen it in both places - usually rolled up, standing on end in a bin on the end of an aisle. If you don't see it, ask them - I had to ask at one store and it was in an odd place, not by the flooring! What I've seen are light colors and plain. While a bit shinier than I'd like, it's fine for a laundry area. I looked for a laundry room - but my handyman isn't secure in his ability to cut it... sigh... I'm not that particular either (no BH & G photographers coming here for a magazine spread).

you can get a lipped pan to put under the washer... also, you can get a water alarm.

Water cop might be good too, to shut off the water when a leak is detected. (That's a brand name, I don't know which brands are best.)

I don't think it seems all that outrageous. The folks installing the floor don't need to pay mind to what is being put on the flooring- just on installing the flooring itself. It does not matter if you are leaving it totally bare or completely covering it- their job is to make sure the flooring is right no matter what you are choosing to do with it.

Maybe if you think the price is too steep for what you will be doing with the floor, consider a less costly option.

Where I live - I would grab that quote so fast.

I agree with blfenton. That seems like a reasonable price to me installed when figuring roughly $75-125 an hour for labor and the product itself. Maybe we're living in lalaland haha.

Thanks all. I live in Fairfax County VA (DC burbs) in a HCOL area so I am very conscious of price differences between where we live and my parents, let's say, in Philly.

I spoke with the flooring guy and we are going to go with a vinyl remnant in similar colors, $400 including install. Seems much better than $600 for a small floor that I won't see.

Thank you all for your advice on leaking. Will ask the project manager about the alarm. We have a drain installed and the washer will sit in a pan.

Homeowners and unfortunately some business persons forget the economies of scale. A 4'x4' bathroom takes the same guy, the same tools, the same truck, the same time to get there, and damn near the same time to lay as a 40'x40' which pays considerably more and the risks of an unhappy customer are equal.

The quote is reasonable, especially if the guy is licensed, insured, and has an excellent reputation.

It's not the labor fee I'm concerned with but the price of the tile. I'm pleased with a vinyl option and think it makes sense for the space.

Honestly, it is so easy to get a remnant and do that, save the $400 for something else.

I would pose a question... how important are the small details to you 'viennamommy19'? My laundry area in my kitchen has a full tile surround, walls and floor. Personally I'm a stickler for the small details. I had laminate in a previous laundry room and while probably nobody else ever noticed... I did. If you're thinking budget, or you're happy with anything, just do the cheap stuff. Nobody but you will honestly ever know.

Welcome to my world. I think there must be a neon sign on my forehead that every contractor can read that says "take advantage". You don't need that kind of flooring when you're just going to put machines on top of it and you really would prefer to spend as little time on the laundry as possible. Sheet vinyl seems a better choice, not just because you should be able to find a small remnant for about $50 but also because if it leaks there's no little cracks for the water to leak into. I am certain that the labor to install sheet vinyl is (magically) going to be just as much as the duraceramic which is a more labor-intensive process...if installed correctly. Even if you can get this job done in a half a day you will still have to pay for a full day's worth of work. The guy had to show up to work, pick up the floor covering, move the truck to the installation site, do the work (even if it only takes two hours) and in contractor language that is a full days worth of work (after all the guy is licensed, bonded, and insured, and you need to pay his overhead), no matter how you slice and dice it. 200% profit please. Good luck.

So glad I live in the Midwest. I had 2 bathrooms installed with Alterna and grouted for $800.. each room was at least 5 x 8 and one needed some underlayment repair.

"200% profit please"

practigal:

The contractor's profit, no matter the size, is none of your business. Neither are any of his costs or supplier discounts.

200% profit, I must be in the wrong business!!

Oh wait a minute, I am in the construction business....sorry but there is no way that there is 200% profit in anything that your contractor is doing....closer to 20%

This is a laundry closet, not a laundry room. In ours, 2" of flooring shows in front of the machines. Save the $200.

Having had a washer overflow on the second floor, causing close to $20,000 of damage and disrupting our lives for seven weeks, I'd upgrade the plastic hoses that come with the washer. Also turn off the water when it's not in use.

I wouldn't want those cracks either. That product will probably get scratched up when the machines are moved across it anyway.

Treb,
I completely agree with you. However, I also know for a fact that when the construction market is go go, the jobs are bid at 200% profit in my neighborhood-the rationale is that it covers them just in case they have to redo the work to satisfy a disgruntled homeowner. They don't offer to reduce the price if in fact they get it right the first time. If you aren't willing to pay that kind of extra freight you just don't get the work done. Yes, I do resent that attitude very, very much. When I get bids on commercial jobs the contractor puts in a bid on a line item basis including a line item "profit and overhead" it's completely clear to me how the money is being allocated and I am absolutely fine with that approach. I don't understand why the game playing on residential jobs.

When I did my upstairs laundry room, I made the whole area under my W/D units a big custom porcelain tile shower pan, complete with drain. If the hose ever leaks or breaks....it all flows down the drain. You can buy tile for $1 square foot. I wish I had a picture of it...sold that house 4 years ago.

I found a picture. We had a plumber do the drain and my husband put the tile down. Here it is partially done....later he tiled around the wall....not a full surround, but a single tile height....6" or so all the way around. In retrospect, I would have tiled it like a shower, I think. The hose could still get loose and water could disinegrate the drywall and then leak down. But it held up great for us the 8 years we lived there.

The linen closet to the left also opened up in to my master bathroom on the other side. So I fold towels and went straight in to the linen closet. I loved that feature. The master suite was an addition...where that closet was, there was a window. It worked great.

You are probably talking about 200% markup, not 200% profit. You pay cost times 200% (or more) when you go to the store, also. What, specifically do the breakdowns on the bids/estimates describe? Do they really state that $2000 profit and overhead will be charged for every $1000 spent on labor and materials etc.?

I'm not familiar with the product or the pricing, but is it possible that there is any structural work to be done to support those machines that might be included?

Great ideas- thanks all!!! Prickly- no structural work (that's already been completed).

Going with vinyl and very happy with the decision. Will def replace the hoses. Will have a drain and a pan. Very cool idea kompy about the tile. Will have to think on that one!