How Long Does Flooring Take? Honest Timelines for Every Material (Shoals, 2026)

Homeowners ask about price first and time second, but the time answer is the one that changes your week. Living through a flooring job — or living somewhere else during it — is the real cost nobody puts on the estimate. So here are honest pace numbers from real Shoals jobs, material by material, plus the things that honestly slow a job down.

Honest Pace by Material

• LVP (floating): the fastest full-house floor. A crew typically lays 400 to 600 square feet a day, so a 1,200 sq ft home is usually two to three working days including transitions and trim.
• Carpet: the fastest room-by-room — most carpet installs are a single day, with furniture moving the day before.
• Tile: the slowest common floor. Setting and grouting run roughly 100 to 150 square feet a day, and then grout cures on its own schedule. A typical bathroom is one to two working days; a large kitchen with pattern work can run three or more.
• Hardwood installation: nail-down hardwood runs about 300 to 500 square feet a day for a crew — a 1,000 sq ft level usually finishes inside a week with trim work.
• Hardwood refinishing: sanding and finishing is typically two to three working days for normal rooms, then finish cure time before rugs and heavy furniture return. The cure is not optional — walking on schedule is how finishes fail.
• Sheet vinyl: fast like carpet — most rooms are a day once the subfloor is ready.

What Honestly Slows a Job Down

• Tear-out surprises: a second layer of old flooring or glued-down material adds real hours. This is why tear-out is its own line on our estimates.
• Subfloor work: leveling compound has to dry before flooring goes over it — physics, not scheduling.
• Pattern layouts: diagonals and herringbone look incredible and cut your daily square footage roughly in half. Budget the calendar, not just the money.
• Stairs: priced and scheduled per step — a staircase is closer to half a day of detail work than a floor.
• Material delivery: acclimation matters for real wood products — hardwood and some engineered floors should sit in the rooms before install day. We build that into the schedule instead of pretending it does not exist.

How to Plan Your Week Around It

For a whole-house LVP job, plan on two to three days where the crew moves room to room — you can usually stay home if you do not mind one loud day. For tile, plan around the room entirely for the working days plus cure. For refinishing, plan to be off the floor from sanding day through the cure window — pets included, because finish fumes and wet coats do not forgive curious paws. Bedrooms can often be done in a second phase so you always have a place to sleep. Our refinish or replace guide covers the refinishing-specific calendar.

Get a Timeline With Your Quote

Every estimate we write includes the working days and the cure days, not just the price — because "how long is my house torn up" deserves a straight answer before you sign. Call (256) 415-7610 or request a free estimate online, and we will walk the rooms and give you both numbers together.