How Much Does It Cost to Put in a Subfloor in 2025?

This article was updated using automation technology and thoroughly reviewed for accuracy by HomeAdvisor Editor Ryan Noonan.

Is your floor feeling uneven or making squeaky noises? It might be time to replace your subflooring. On average, replacing subflooring in a 300-square-foot room costs $1,560, but prices can range from $420 to $10,000 depending on various factors. Understanding what affects the cost can help you budget for this essential home improvement project.

Subfloor Replacement Cost Factors

The cost to replace your subflooring. Prices range between $3 and $10 per square foot, depending on the material you choose, like plywood or treated plywood. For a 300-square-foot room, you can expect to pay between $900 and $3,000. To estimate your costs, multiply your room's length by its width to find the square footage, then multiply by the cost per square foot of your chosen material.

Location

The location of the subfloor in your home is a factor in your total cost. For example, subfloor replacement for a bathroom costs around $120 to $400 total. If you're replacing concrete slab flooring in a 1,500-square-foot basement, you might pay as much as $3,000 to $10,000, including labor and materials. Here is a breakdown of average subfloor replacement costs by location in your home.

Labor

Contractors charge between $25 and $30 per hour to remove and replace subflooring. To start, the contractor removes the flooring, cuts the old subfloor into pieces, and then hauls the material to a waste facility. After removing the old subflooring, your contractor will install the new materials. Most homeowners opt to use the same company to install the new finished floor surface.

A small, simple job can take as little as four hours, while a larger project—like fully replacing the subflooring in a finished basement—can take up to 24 hours over four to five days. The time required to repair, replace, or install new subflooring varies by several factors, including:

• The type of room

• The size and shape of the room

• The number of appliances and furniture pieces that need to be moved

• Whether you hire the same flooring company to both remove and install the new floors

Subfloor Costs by Material

The subfloor material you choose significantly impacts the cost. Moisture-resistant options like concrete or Amdry are ideal for basements, while plywood or OSB work well in living areas. Here's what you can expect to pay for different materials.

Plywood

Plywood costs around $40 to $50 per 4-by-8-foot panel, and a plywood subfloor costs $2.50 to $3.50 per square foot. For a 300-square-foot room, that's a total of $459.

The most common type of subflooring is made from 3/4-inch thick plywood panels. Most types of plywood subflooring fit together using a simple tongue and groove system, allowing them to lay flat without squeaking underfoot.

DRIcore® Subfloor

DRIcore® costs an average of $2.50 per square foot. One of the more popular alternatives to plywood, DRIcore® engineered panels are composed of a hard plastic base and a top layer made of oriented strand board (OSB)—thin strips of wood bonded with wax and resin. The product is highly moisture resistant.

Amdry Insulated Subflooring

It costs $3 to $10 per square foot, or $900 to $3,000 for a 300-square-foot room. To complete the installation, you must also purchase connectors. A package of 15 connectors costs about $20.

Designed for concrete slab basements, Amdry’s multilayered panels are highly insulated. They offer products with R-values from 5 to 7, the highest among all subfloor materials on the market.

Barricade

Expect to pay $2 to $10 per square foot for Barricade materials. Barricade subfloor systems serve various needs, including sound dampening, floor heating, and moisture resistance. The company provides products suited to many flooring materials, including vinyl, laminate, engineered hardwood, carpet, and tile.

Warmboard for Radiant Heated Flooring

Used with radiant heat hydronic systems, Warmboard costs about $7 per square foot or $2,100 for a 300-square-foot room.

OSB

OSB panels tend to cost about 10 to 20 percent less than plywood, or about $2.50 to $4.50 per square foot for an OSB tongue and groove system. An inexpensive and popular material, oriented strand board (OSB) is an engineered wood similar to particleboard.

OSB subfloor systems come in thick, heavy panels that match the heft of plywood and provide structural support. However, OSB is highly absorbent on its own, putting it at risk of warping in case of a flood.

Concrete Slab

Concrete subfloors cost an average of $6 per square foot. Some homeowners skip wood-based subfloors altogether and install a concrete slab for maximum durability. A flooring contractor can install tile and stone directly on top of concrete slab subflooring, but if you want carpets, hardwood, or laminate, you’ll need to install an underlayment on top of the concrete.

This subflooring does little to stop moisture or cool air from entering your home, so you may need to add a moisture barrier or additional insulation.

Other Flooring Replacement Costs

With most subfloor repairs or replacements, you’ll likely replace the flooring and the floor joists as well. Here’s the cost breakdown for other subfloor replacement costs. 

New Flooring

New flooring ranges in cost depending on the type you choose. These are the average costs for various types of flooring materials.

Joists

Joists support your floors, so it’s important to have a local home inspector inspect them when replacing your subflooring. Floor joist replacement costs vary widely depending on the extent of the damage and the type of joist. Expect to pay $100 to $300 per joist.

Signs you might need to replace your joists include:

• Visibly moist or rotting wood

• Tilted or sinking crawl space supports

• Uneven or tilting door and window frames

• Sloping or sagging within your upstairs floors

• Cracks in interior drywall

DIY vs. Hiring a Flooring Contractor

Replacing subflooring requires expertise and precision. While you might handle minor repairs yourself to save on labor costs, hiring a flooring installation professional ensures your floors are level, safe, and properly installed. Flooring pros have the tools and knowledge to tackle complex issues like structural repairs or moisture barriers, preventing costly mistakes down the line. If you're looking to save money, consider removing the old flooring yourself or purchasing materials during sales. Don't forget to get multiple quotes to find the best price when hiring your flooring pro.

How HomeAdvisor Gets Its Cost Data

No place is more important than your home, which is why HomeAdvisor connects homeowners with local pros to transform their houses into homes they love. To help homeowners prepare for their next project, HomeAdvisor provides readers with accurate cost data and follows strict editorial guidelines. After a project is complete, we survey real customers about the costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.