How Long Does Hardwood Installation Take?

Timeline is one of the first questions after cost, and "a few days" isn't a useful answer when you're planning around it. A typical 1,000 sq ft installation takes 5–8 days including acclimation, install, sanding and finishing. Here are the stages, what each one depends on, and what stretches or shortens that.

Acclimation: matching the flooring to your home

Wood flooring has to be matched to the moisture level it will live at in your home. The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) defines this as acclimation, or more accurately conditioning, and its guidelines do not set a fixed number of days: they tie it to moisture content and to the conditions in the house. If the flooring is delivered at a moisture content that matches the expected conditions in the home and the subfloor, and those conditions are being maintained, the NWFA says it may be installed immediately. Wood readily takes up and gives off moisture, and it changes size when it does, which is why boards that go in at the wrong moisture level can shrink or swell later. This stage does not look like progress, but it protects the floor after the crew leaves.

Installation itself

Once the flooring and the house are matched, installation time depends on square footage, layout complexity, and whether stairs are part of the project. Stairs take meaningfully longer per square foot than open floor because each step is essentially its own small installation. We give you the installation days for your home in the quote, after seeing it.

Sanding and finishing, if the floor is unfinished

Unfinished flooring is sanded and finished on site, which adds waiting as well as work: multiple coats of finish, each needing dry time before the next. The data sheet for Bona Traffic HD, a two-component waterborne finish, calls for the first coat to dry 2 to 3 hours and says high humidity or low temperature extends the dry time. Prefinished flooring, solid or engineered, is finished at the factory, so it skips this stage, which is part of why it is often faster overall.

Cure time before normal life resumes

Even after the last coat looks dry, a finish needs longer to fully cure before furniture, rugs, and heavy foot traffic return. The Bona Traffic HD data sheet says the floor may be walked on after 24 hours but stays susceptible to scuffing or marring until completely cured, and the NWFA says area rugs should wait at least seven days after the final coat unless the finish manufacturer says otherwise. We give you a specific timeline for furniture and rugs based on the finish used, and our post on walking on refinished floors has the full breakdown.

What can extend the timeline

A few things can add days to the 5–8 days above: high humidity slowing finish dry time, subfloor repair discovered once old flooring comes up, special-order species or plank widths with longer lead times, and multiple rooms or stairs adding to both the installation and finishing stages. None of these are unusual — they're exactly why we walk your specific home before giving a timeline instead of quoting one over the phone.

Putting the stages together

The total is the sum of the stages above, and it depends on the product. The 5–8 days above includes sanding and finishing on site; prefinished flooring skips that stage. Engineered wood and LVP follow their manufacturer's instructions, including acclimation. The NWFA tells installers to follow the manufacturer's moisture-testing and acclimation instructions for engineered wood, and the rule differs by LVP product: COREtec and Shaw (for its SMARTCORE line) say acclimation is not required as long as the floor goes into a climate-controlled space, while Bentley Mills, a commercial LVT maker, says that under normal conditions its LVT must come out of the boxes 72 hours before installation. We'll give you an exact timeline specific to your project and square footage during your free in-home quote — see our hardwood flooring page for more on the installation process itself.