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Price of unfinished red oak

3 years ago

Hi all- we are installing about 1000 sq feet of unfinished red oak rift and quarter sawn clear grade. This will be matching existing flooring in the house. I’m in Sacramento. One quote was $9.50 sq ft for material only and the other $9.75 / sq ft. We are using very experienced skilled flooring contractors who specialize in matching existing floor. Is this crazy high for material costs? installation and finish prices are fine. Thank you.

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Comments (3)

kempek01
3 years ago
With the clear grade, and the rift and quarter sawn cut, you are looking at upgrades over "standard" red oak.

You are looking in Sacramento, which seems to be a high cost area, although not as bad as some of your nearby cities.

Since the price is so close between the two contractors, that is a clue that it is reasonable. However, whether the price is actually reasonable is something that will need to be answered by someone with local knowledge. I'm not sure if there is anyone here with that information, but there might be!
PRO
G & S Floor Service
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
2 1/4" Select grade red oak in the Northeast is currently just under $6.00 per sq ft for material only. Rift and quarter sawn is in high demand, especially for white oak. I priced out a project back in October for 4" rift and quarter red oak at $7.96 psf. for flooring only. Your pricing will depend on the width of your flooring and the mill for today's market price.
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PRO
Uptown Floors
3 years ago
Supply and demand plays a role too. I dropped all RQ Red oak three years ago due to low demand. We had to focus on the products that were in higher demand and stopped milling the RQ Red Oak. Other manufacturers have followed.
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