Laminate flooring is a favorite solution for many homeowners, and Costco offers plenty of options for this faux wood floor type.
If you’re trying to find the ideal laminate flooring variant at Costco, learning all about the store’s offers will be the optimal way to go.
Calculating how much laminate flooring from Costco will cost requires you to consider plenty of moving parts, but the total expense for setting up a 1,000-square-foot floor will be in the range of $3,800 to $5,700.
Average Total Cost of Costco Laminate Flooring
As we pointed out, laminate flooring is an affordable solution for homeowners who want the quality, aesthetics, and durability of wood without the often hefty cost associated with this flooring type.
To that end, the price of the material may come as a pleasant surprise for many.
Plus, with Costco’s reputation for budget-friendly options, you can expect to pay some of the lowest prices in the market.
| Cost Breakdown | Price per Square Foot |
|---|---|
| Material | $1.80-$3.60 |
| Underlayment | $0.25-$0.60 |
| Installation | $1.70-$7 |
You can use our Laminate Flooring Cost Calculator to get a more accurate price estimate for your home.
Costco Flooring Laminate Cost Per Square Foot
On average, a square foot of laminate floor in Costco may cost up to $3.60. If you opt for cheaper solutions, you could get by paying as little as $1.80 per square foot.
However, it’s worth mentioning that these figures are for the material alone and many other factors will affect the final cost.
Did you know? Laminate has its beginnings in Sweden, where the layered material was invented in the 1920s. However, it took more than 50 years for laminate to find use in flooring. When laminate flooring was introduced in 1977, it wasn’t until the following decade that it became widely sought-after.
Cost Breakdown
When breaking down the total price of laminate flooring, you’ll need to consider three main factors: the laminate itself, installation materials, and labor.
We’ve already covered the average total cost for the material, so let’s move forward with the other two factors.
Installation materials may sound like an extensive category in this calculation, but the opposite is true. It actually includes only one thing: the underlayment, which is extra isolation and stability.
But it’s considered essential when installing laminate flooring. Some laminates come with this crucial layer pre-installed, which may affect the flooring material cost.
If you opt for laminate without built-in underlayment, you’ll need to add between $0.25 to $0.60 per square foot to your budget for the additional layer.
Finally, you’ll need to account for the price of labor, which will depend on several other factors.
Expect to pay somewhere between $1.70 and $7 per square foot for the installation, but note that the actual expense may vary. We’ll explore these variations in the context of additional cost factors.
Additional Cost Factors To Install Laminate Flooring From Costco
Continuing on the previous subject, several extra labor costs may apply to laminate flooring installation.
Firstly, if you’re considering laminate, there’s a good chance you’re engaging in home renovation and improvement rather than outfitting your home from scratch.
In that case, it’s reasonable to assume there’s already some old flooring in place, and that will need to be removed to make way for laminate.
The cost of removing the old floor will, like most other flooring expenses, be priced per square foot.
Depending on the complexity of the job, this may cost as low as $0.70 or up to $2 per square foot. Expect to spend an additional $300 – 500 on disposal.
However, these are only the average nationwide prices. Labor costs also vary by state, so you’ll need to consider local pricing.
Apart from the above considerations, you’ll need to account for the overall complexity of the job.
Ideally, you’d pay the lowest price when installing laminate on a perfectly regular rectangular surface.
However, few homes are set up that way and there are often numerous smaller spaces, additional corners, and structural elements like staircases to consider.
The principle here is straightforward: The more complex the job, the higher the price. And since, in most cases, the specific situation is unique, you’ll get the best idea of the final expense when you get an actual assessment of the area and an actual quote.
Does Costco Install Laminate Flooring?
The answer to the above question is both yes and no. To be specific, Costco can arrange for laminate flooring to be installed in your home. However, the technicians coming to do the job won’t be Costco’s employees but individual contractors.
As a retail brand, Costco collaborates with third-party contractors for installation jobs and doesn’t have in-house teams for this purpose.
The contractors determine their own rates and negotiate the exact terms of the job with you independently of Costco. Essentially, the retailer may only suggest a company for the project, but can’t determine the work schedule or pricing.
Additionally, you can opt to find a contractor yourself – buying laminate from Costco doesn’t confine you to the options the retailer offers. But as a general rule, installers may charge anywhere from $1.70 to $7 per square foot.
Did you know? Compared to other brands in the industry, Costco is relatively young. The company started operating in 1983 but grew exceedingly quickly. Two decades after launching, Costco already had numerous stores on four continents: North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Costco Laminate Brands
Talking about Costco laminate flooring may be somewhat confusing as it may lead you to believe the retailer has its own laminate brand. However, this isn’t true – Costco collaborates with flooring brands and sells their products rather than dealing with in-house laminate flooring.
Simply put, there’s no such thing as a Costco laminate brand. Whatever product you purchase from the store will come from two individual brands: Shaw and Mohawk. Yet, the matter gets a bit more complicated.
When it comes to Shaw laminates, Costco has a peculiar deal with the brand: Rather than carrying the actual products, the store will direct you to a Shaw representative.
In other words, you can’t buy Shaw laminates from Costco directly and take them home, but you can use the retailer to find Shaw products. In an interesting twist, the representatives in-store likely won’t work for Shaw or Costco but are employed by a third party.
By this point, you might wonder the reason for all these complications. The answer is actually relatively simple: Costco has an exclusive deal with Mohawk for flooring solutions.
So, by simply referring to another Shaw dealership, the retailer maintains exclusivity with Mohawk while expanding its offer.
Speaking of Mohawk flooring, this brand offers laminates that you can buy directly from Costco.
For many, going with Mohawk will be the go-to solution since the manufacturer is a worldwide leader in the flooring industry in general and laminates in particular.
In fact, Mohawk now owns the very company that brought laminate to the world – the 50-year-old Pergo.
Other heavy-hitters in the laminate industry like RevWood are likewise a part of Mohawk, making the brand a very appealing choice.
Costco Laminate Floors Pros and Cons
Going with Costco for laminate flooring comes with plenty of advantages, but the brand isn’t without its shortcomings. It would be best to weigh all of the pros and cons to determine whether Costco is the best solution for you.
Starting with the pros, the price-per-value ratio has to come first. Costco, with its Mohawk and Shaw product offering, provides excellent-quality laminates that are simultaneously quite affordable. For many homeowners, this will be the deciding factor even despite some of the brand’s cons.
The laminates that you can get via Costco may come with special features like extra water-resistant coating or effortless installation designs. Additionally, these flooring solutions most often include thick base layers and padded surfaces for extra insulation.
We’ve already touched upon the sturdiness of laminates sold through Costco. Expanding on this subject, it’s worth noting that Mohawk laminates come with high AC ratings, which means they’re tough enough to endure heavy traffic and resist long-term wear and tear.
In other words, Costco laminate flooring might last longer and look great throughout its lifetime.
Finally, certain flooring solutions bought at Costco are designed for seamless installation, especially if they’re floating floor variants.
What does this mean? You might be able to make the flooring installation a DIY project. If you’re proficient enough to install the laminate yourself, you could end up saving thousands of dollars on associated costs.
While Costco laminate flooring solutions may seem ideal based on the listed advantages, certain cons could make the retailer a no-go for some customers. Let’s look at the brand’s shortcomings when it comes to laminate flooring.
First, limiting yourself to a single retailer will invariably mean fewer options. If you’ve set your mind on getting laminate flooring from Costco, you’ll have only about 20 options to choose from.
This might be enough variety for some homeowners, but others might like to explore different laminate variants as well.
Next, Costco sells water-resistant and waterproof laminates, but these features will depend on the quality of installation. If the installation job isn’t done right, it’s possible for Costco laminate flooring to develop water-related issues.
We must mention that, although potential water damage counts as a con for Costco laminates, no brand can guarantee complete water resistance regardless of installation technique. In other words, you’d encounter the same issue with any other brand if your flooring isn’t installed properly.
Speaking of installation, laminate flooring from Costco may present problems when fitting the planks together. This issue is reportedly limited to the Uniclic system provided by Mohawk.
To summarize, going with Costco will be a great choice if you want an affordable yet quality solution and already like what the retailer has to offer. Provided the flooring is installed correctly, you should have no issues with it moving forward.
Pro Tip: When looking for installers, try to cover as many options as possible. Search online and read user reviews, but don’t forget to ask your friend or family members, especially those who had flooring done recently. This will be the best way to find a reliable service.
Costco Laminate Flooring Reviews
For the most part, users have left positive reviews for Costco laminate flooring products. When it comes to negative reviews, those mostly come down to installation issues and similar remarks that don’t involve the quality of the laminate material itself.
However, installation reviews are worth exploring further here since the retailer will offer contractor suggestions.
Experiences with installation have been something of a mixed bag according to many reviewers. For instance, complaints have been made regarding the communication between the customers and contractors, as well as the subsequent scheduling.
Worse yet, some reviewers noted that their flooring was damaged as a direct result of installation.
Note that since the installers are third-party contractors, Costco is in no way responsible for what happens with your flooring after you purchase it.
To that end, the reviews indicate that exploring other installation options may be well worth your while.
What Other Flooring Options Are Available at Costco?
It should come as no surprise that Costco offers various other flooring options besides laminate. Some of the available flooring materials include rubber tile, carpet, vinyl, and wood.
Although these options may prove to be the perfect fit for some homes, few will offer the combination of quality, versatility, and cost-effectiveness that you’ll find with laminate.
Costco Laminate vs. Home Depot
(Image: https://www.costco.com/)
Costco and Home Depot are comparable in many respects, including the quality of laminate flooring products and customer and shipping services.
Home Depot might have a greater variety of flooring options, but this doesn’t necessarily mean all of the products can match the quality offered by Costco.
The most notable difference is in comparing the choice of installers. Home Depot has relatively high standards in terms of the contractors it suggests, as installers must have proper certification and experience.
Due to this, your experience with laminate flooring installation with Home Depot might be superior compared to Costco.
Costco vs. Sam’s Club Laminate Flooring
Comparing Costco and Sam’s Club raises similar issues as in the Costco vs. Home Depot discussion. Namely, Sam’s Club and Costco offer a similar level of service and laminate quality. Sam’s Club has an exclusive offer of Select Surfaces laminates, which count among the best worldwide.
However, Select Surfaces is comparable to Mohawk products and doesn’t have a definitive edge. In other words, for most owners, the manufacturer difference won’t be the deciding factor.
Is Costco Laminate Floor Waterproof?
Mohawk products sold via Costco are indeed waterproof. These laminates are designed and tested to ensure the risks of water damage are minimized.
While the material itself is all but impervious to water, we’ll remind you that some user reviews noted water damage occurring due to poor installation.
In other words, the laminate quality alone won’t be enough to make the flooring waterproof – it will also need to be installed professionally and according to exact specifications.
When Does Costco Laminate Go On Sale?
Like all retailers, Costco offers sales and discounts occasionally. The best times of year to look for particularly favorable deals will be in January and May when the price of flooring tends to drop.
Did you know? During January and May, flooring prices can go down quite a lot. If you’re lucky, you might find a 30% discount on certain materials. However, make sure to avoid the period around Christmas because flooring gets expensive then, just like most other products.
Does Costco Laminate Need an Underlayment?
Underlayment isn’t a strict necessity when installing Costco laminate flooring. However, the additional sound, temperature, and moisture resistance it affords might be worth the extra cost.
Unless you’re absolutely certain your flooring doesn’t need an underlayment, opting to add this layer will be your best bet.
Is Costco Flooring Laminate Worth It?
(Image: https://www.costco.com/)
The ultimate verdict in this case would have to be yes. Costco laminate flooring will be worth it for most customers.
The quality on offer is world-class and the pricing is quite attractive. While it’s always advisable to shop around before making the final decision, going with Costco will be a safe bet in most cases.
