Hardwood floor removal is priced on three facts: what the flooring is, what it is fastened to, and
how the debris gets out of the building. Get those three right and the number is predictable. Miss one
— usually the substrate — and a quote can be off by double. This is how we scope and price it across
the five boroughs and Nassau.
Cost by floor type
- Solid nail-down strip or plank: $1.75–$3.50 per sf
- Engineered glue-down on slab: $2.50–$5.50 per sf
- Floating laminate or click plank: $0.90–$2.00 per sf
- Parquet or herringbone in mastic: $3.00–$8.00 per sf
- Stairs: $20–$45 per tread
- Subfloor removal, where required: add $1.00–$2.50 per sf
Typical whole-floor jobs: a 900 sf apartment $1,800–$4,500; a 1,500–2,000 sf house first floor
$3,000–$7,000; a pre-war parquet apartment with adhesive removal, more.
The five things that move the price
- Fastening. Glued always beats nailed for cost, because of the adhesive bed left
behind. - Layers. Two or three floors stacked up is normal in older housing stock; we probe
before quoting. - Access. Walk-up versus elevator versus driveway. Flooring is heavy and every trip
is labour. - Occupied or empty. Containment, protected routes and restricted hours are real
line items. - Disposal weight. Oak is 2.5–4 lbs per sf; transfer stations bill by the ton.
Disposal: not a curbside item
Renovation flooring is construction debris in New York City and in Nassau — it cannot go out with
household collection, and a pile on the sidewalk is a summons risk. See
construction debris removal and our
renovation debris guide. In co-ops and
condos you will also need a certificate of insurance and building approval before the first board comes
up — COI requirements covers what managing agents ask
for.
Remove or refinish?
Refinishing usually wins on solid 3/4-inch floors with thickness left above the tongue. Removal wins
on worn-through engineered floors, water damage, and any project changing floor heights or layout.
Where flooring is one part of a bigger job, see
interior demolition cost,
gut renovation cost,
carpet removal,
drywall removal cost and our
stucco removal cost guide for exterior scopes.
Call (718) 587-0156 with the area, the floor type and the building type for a flat
quote — see pricing for how we measure work. We cover
Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and Nassau County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to remove hardwood floors in NYC?
Most residential jobs land between $1.75 and $3.50 per square foot for solid nail-down flooring, and $2.50 to $8.00 per square foot where the floor is glued down or is parquet set in mastic. Building access and disposal weight account for most of the spread.
Do I need a permit to remove flooring?
Removing a finish floor is not a permit item by itself. Permits come into play when work affects structure, layout, plumbing or gas. In co-ops and condos, building approval and a certificate of insurance are normally required even without a permit.
Is it cheaper to remove flooring during a full gut?
Yes. One mobilisation, one containment set-up and one disposal stream covers everything, and the flooring is no longer a separate visit with its own minimum charge.
What happens to the wood after removal?
Clean solid wood is separated for recycling where a facility accepts it; mixed, glued or finished material goes to a construction and demolition transfer station and is billed by weight. Nothing goes to the curb.
How long does hardwood floor removal take?
A single room is a few hours. A 1,000 to 1,500 square foot floor of nail-down strip is typically one to two days with a small crew. Glued parquet with adhesive removal can run three days or more, and building work-hour rules can extend the calendar.