Flooring Lifetime Cost Calculator

How it works

A floor that costs more to put in can cost less to own if it lasts longer. Each option's installed cost is the floor area times its material and installation prices per square foot. Spread over the expected life, that is a cost per year, and per square foot per year, which puts a 10-year carpet and a 75-year tile floor on the same footing.

The comparison period counts whole installations: a floor with a 10-year life is put in at years 0, 10 and 20 of a 30-year period, three times, while a 75-year floor is put in once. The period cost does not credit life left over at the end, so it favours the longer-lived floor less than the annual figure does when the period ends early in a floor's life.

At a discount rate above zero, money spent later counts for less than money spent now. The annual figure becomes the equivalent annual cost, the level yearly amount whose present value equals the installed cost, the same arithmetic as a loan payment, and each later installation in the period is discounted to today. At 0% the annual figure is simply the installed cost divided by the life.

Formula

installed cost        = area × (material + installation per sq ft)
cost per year         = installed cost ÷ life                         (0% discount rate)
                      = installed cost × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−life)      (rate r above 0)
per sq ft per year    = cost per year ÷ area
installations         = period ÷ life, rounded up (at least 1)
cost over period      = Σ installed cost ÷ (1 + r)^(k × life),  k = 0 … installations − 1

Example

200 sq ft of carpet at $3 material and $1 installation per square foot costs $800 installed. Over a 10-year life that is $80 a year, $0.40 per square foot per year. Tile at $4 and $6 costs $2,000 installed; over 75 years that is $26.67 a year, $0.13 per square foot per year, so option B costs $53.33 a year less.

Over 30 years the carpet is installed 3 times, $2,400 in all, and the tile once, $2,000.

Assumptions and limitations

• Expected lives are typical figures and editable. The defaults and the ranges in the help text are from InterNACHI's Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes (retrieved 2026-10-01; carpet 8–10 years, laminate 15–25, vinyl 25, tile 75–100, engineered wood 50+, “All Wood Floors” 100+). InterNACHI notes that life varies with use, installation, maintenance and material quality.
• Prices are illustrative defaults, not quotes or market averages. Removal and disposal of the old floor, underlayment, trim, cleaning, refinishing and repairs are not included unless added to the installation price.
• Prices stay the same for every installation in the period: no inflation. A discount rate, if entered, is an assumption you choose, and costs fall at the start of each installation's life.
• The results are informational and are not financial advice.

Frequently asked questions