Deciding to redo the flooring, whether in a single room or as part of the renovation of the entire house, is an important decision. It can be driven by aesthetic needs or practical necessities, such as improving insulation and installing underfloor heating.
While there are less invasive solutions for aesthetic needs, which we will see later, more technical needs require demolition and reconstruction: let’s look at the flooring renovation costs.
Demolishing flooring and screed
The first phase of flooring renovation involves the removal of the existing covering. Whether it’s tiles, marble, or parquet, the cost of the operation ranges from 10 to 20 euros per square meter, depending on the material’s thickness and debris disposal fees.
Once the covering is removed, it’s time for the screed, the base on which the walkable covering is laid. It varies in thickness from 4 to 10 centimeters and serves to thermally and acoustically insulate the home while integrating pipes and systems.
The screed must be perfectly leveled to ensure optimal laying. It’s essential to assess the condition of the support: although it is sometimes possible to reuse the existing screed, it often needs to be demolished and redone. The cost for demolition and disposal is around 15 euros per square meter, while reconstruction varies from 10 to 30 euros per square meter depending on the type chosen (traditional, self-leveling cement, or lightened with expanded clay or polystyrene).
Flooring renovation costs: materials
Once the old flooring is removed and the screed is prepared, it’s time to lay the new covering: at this point, a wide range of choices opens up regarding the type of materials to use based on personal taste, needs, pros and cons, and budget. Let’s look at some possibilities.
Wooden flooring
Highly appreciated for the warmth it brings to the environment, its insulating capabilities, and its endless pairing possibilities with any type of furniture and style, parquet is an excellent solution for living rooms and bedrooms. It is available in dozens of different essences, light, dark, bleached, allowing easy use in modern, classic, elegant, or rustic contexts; however, it is sensitive to water and is the most delicate. Wooden flooring offers various technical solutions with different costs.
- Solid parquet, real precious wood in strips from 12 to 20 mm, needs to be sanded and varnished after laying: the most beautiful but also expensive and delicate. The price is around 60 euros per square meter.
- Prefinished parquet is a wooden strip laid on a support, already sanded and varnished, ready to be laid. The price is about 30 euros per square meter.
- Laminate consists of a strip of less valuable wood on which a plastic material is laid that imitates the color and grain of wood. The price is around 15 euros per square meter.
Marble flooring
Widely used in past decades, it remains a must for more classic styles. It offers excellent wear resistance, however, the cold sensation it transmits to the touch during winter months can be uncomfortable, often suggesting pairing with rugs. Depending on the quality, rarity of the grain, and thickness (usually between 1 and 2 cm), a marble floor costs between 60 and 200 euros per square meter.
Porcelain stoneware flooring
It’s the Swiss army knife of flooring: economical, durable, capable of realistically imitating other coverings, from marble to parquet, porcelain stoneware tiles are now a highly requested choice for any type of environment, from the kitchen to the living room. The price ranges from 20 to 40 euros per square meter.
Linoleum flooring
Recently back in fashion, it is an eco-friendly material, pleasant to the touch, and resistant to wear, with a wide range of colors and designs ranging from neutral tones to bolder patterns, easily matching any decor style. On the downside, it is sensitive to humidity and can fade over time. The cost of linoleum flooring ranges from 15 to 65 euros per square meter, depending on the finish.
Resin flooring
Perfect for modern solutions characterized by large spaces without joints and maximum customization possibilities to adapt to environments, it is durable and very easy to clean, perfect for “wet” areas like bathrooms and kitchens. However, it requires great care during installation, and repeated impacts can leave superficial scratches. The cost ranges from 40 to 150 euros per square meter, depending on color, designs, and decorations.
The solution of flooring over flooring
If the need is purely aesthetic, the solution of overlay flooring can be considered, which is the installation of new covering directly over the old one. Numerous materials lend themselves to this solution, such as prefinished parquet and resin: obviously, installation costs are reduced because the demolition of the old floor and the reconstruction of the screed are excluded.
However, there are also downsides: the floor level rises, so interior doors and patio doors may need modifications to close perfectly. Additionally, the old floor may not be perfectly leveled, creating problems in laying the new one and affecting the final result.
Flooring renovation: 50% deduction from the Renovation Bonus
Flooring renovation can fall under extraordinary maintenance depending on the extent of the work, so the Renovation Bonus (50%) is accessible for private floors only if the intervention is part of a broader extraordinary maintenance project. In this case, it is possible to deduct 50% of the expenses on a maximum of 96,000 euros.
