Flooring materials for Utah houses
What each one is good at, what it costs installed here, and the rooms where it is the wrong answer.
Eight kinds of floor, honestly
What each one is good at, what it costs installed here, and the rooms where it is the wrong answer.
Hardwood
Solid and engineered. Still the best resale return on this list.
Luxury Vinyl Plank
Waterproof, and the usual answer on a slab that is still drying.
Carpet
Bedrooms, stairs and the finished basement.
Refinishing
Sand, stain and seal the boards already under the carpet.
Tile & Porcelain
Entries, mudrooms and anywhere the canyon dust lands.
Laminate
The budget end done properly — and where it is a false economy.
Natural Stone
Entries and great rooms, where the floor does the talking.
Stairs & Landings
Treads, risers and railings, split-entry included.
Installed ranges across Utah
Materials and labor together. The Salt Lake City metro sets the top of each band; Utah County and southern Utah sit just under it, and Ogden and Davis County at the bottom.
| Work | Installed range | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardwood, installed | $6 – $22 | per sq ft |
| Luxury vinyl plank | $2 – $12 | per sq ft |
| Carpet, installed | $2 – $8 | per sq ft |
| Laminate | $3 – $9 | per sq ft |
| Refinish existing boards | $3 – $8 | per sq ft |
| Tile, installed | $9 – $15 | per sq ft |
| Removing the old floor | $1 – $4 | per sq ft |
An estimate, not a quote. These are planning ranges for Utah, not a quote. What you actually pay depends on your rooms, your subfloor and the material you choose.
Choosing between them
In a Utah house the choice is narrowed by the building far more than by taste. Three questions settle most of it:
- Is it on a slab, and how old is the slab? On concrete that has not tested dry, wood and laminate are a bad bet and rigid-core luxury vinyl plank or tile is the answer until it has.
- What is the subfloor? A diagonal plank subfloor takes nailed solid hardwood and carpet directly. Everything else wants an underlayment or an overlay first, and that is a real cost. How to identify yours.
- How much does the floor move? Framed floors deflect and rigid materials crack. Tile and stone need a deflection check before a product is chosen, not after — and on a slab the equivalent question is whether there is an existing crack to isolate.
And one that comes before all three: is there already a hardwood floor under the carpet? In a great many Utah houses there is, and refinishing it costs roughly a third of replacing it.
Questions people actually ask
How long does a new concrete slab need before flooring goes down?
Long enough to pass a moisture test, which is not the same as a number of weeks. The rule of thumb is about thirty days per inch of thickness in good drying conditions, but the answer that matters comes from an in-situ relative humidity probe under ASTM F2170, drilled to 40% of the slab depth and left to equilibrate at least 24 hours. Most wood flooring wants 75–80% RH or below.
What happens if flooring goes down over a slab that is still wet?
The moisture has nowhere to go but up, into the adhesive and the flooring. Glued floors debond, seams peak, engineered wood cups, and organic growth can start underneath where nobody sees it until there is a smell. None of it shows up on day one, which is why the test matters more than how the slab looks.
Do I need a licensed contractor to install flooring in Utah?
It depends on the material, and the rule is unusually clear. Utah's S220 Carpentry and Flooring classification covers wood, laminate, tile, sanding and finishing, underlayment and subfloors. Carpet, vinyl sheet, vinyl tile and vinyl plank installation are expressly exempt as work that does not significantly affect public health, safety or welfare. An unlicensed carpet or LVP installer here is operating exactly as the rule intends. Insurance, references and a written contract are the checks worth making in either case.
Why do my wood floors gap in the winter in Utah?
Dry air. Indoor humidity through a Utah heating season runs very low, and wood releases moisture into dry air and shrinks across the width of each board, opening gaps at the seams. Holding the house in the 30–40% range through winter is what keeps it in check. A floor that was properly acclimated before installation gaps far less.
Is my Salt Lake City house likely to have hardwood under the carpet?
More likely than anywhere else in the state. A third of Salt Lake City's housing predates 1940 and the median home was built in 1965, so original oak under carpet is a routine find rather than a lucky one. Ogden is the other good bet at 27.8% prewar. In Lehi or St. George, where three-quarters of the housing went up this century, it is essentially never there.