Cost to Install an Attic Floor – 2021

| Last Updated: August 23, 2021

National Average Improvement and Repair Cost

Pro

DIY

Hours:

5

8.5

Cost:

$ 550

$ 190

Would you do this project? According to our survey, 73% of respondents preferred DIY compared to hiring a pro.

The average price to Install an Attic Floor noted above is cost data to compare a contractor’s estimate with doing it yourself.

What’s the cost to install an attic floor? The contractor cost to install an attic floor is $550 vs. doing it yourself for $190 and saving 65 percent.

Finding more space to store stuff is a constant cry from homeowners. Our closets are too small and our garages and basements fill up as our belongings overcome us. We found untapped storage space in the attic that was just waiting to be utilized; all it needed was flooring to become a place to stash all our stuff. We used plywood sheets, readily available at lumberyards, cut into 2-by-4-foot panels, and installed them perpendicularly to the floor joists with a screw gun.

A contractor will charge $550, which includes labor and material, to lay a plywood floor in an area approximately 10-feet square. If you have basic carpentry skills and tools, you can do the job for $190, the cost of the plywood and screws.

You’ll save 65 percent and need a circular saw, carpenter’s square, and measuring tape to cut the 4-by-8-foot sheets into 2-by-4 panels so they can be easily moved up an attic stair and into place.

The real work is muscling the panels up the ladder, so try to enlist the help of a friend who can hoist them to you. To fasten the panels to the floor joists, you’ll be working on your knees, so wear kneepads to protect your shins.

Open the windows so there’s good ventilation and use work lights so you can see what you’re doing.

Here’s more about attic flooring Choices in Attic Flooring.

Now you know the average cost to install an attic floor, which includes the labor and material, and what’s involved, so you can decide to do it yourself or hire a contractor. 

Welcome! We hope you’ll find the job costs of home improvement projects useful when you’re deciding whether to do a job yourself vs. hire a contractor. We’re the authors of 20 home improvement books, most notably Home Improvement for Dummies©, Bathroom Remodeling for Dummies©, Carpentry for Dummies©, Plumbing for Dummies©, and Painting and Wallpapering for Dummies©. Our most recent book Fix It and Flip It is in its second edition. We’ve appeared as home improvement experts on television programs such as CNN, Dateline, the Today Show, HGTV and many others.