Why Is the T-Moulding So Expensive for Laminate Floors?

Relative Costs

• Laminate flooring is typically priced by the square foot. When you compare one square foot of flooring versus the T-molding, the molding is going to look more expensive. However, you will only use a few pieces of the T-molding. The regular flooring adds up quite quickly for a whole room. If you are installing laminate floors throughout your home, the price of the molding could pale in comparison. It’s in companies’ best interests to keep costs at a level that will retain customers; if laminate flooring were too expensive, fewer people would want to buy it. That helps keep the cost of the main flooring down, but might not have as much of an effect on specialty pieces such as the molding.

Special Features

• Build Direct notes that depending on the company, installation could be included in the final cost. If you are having someone else install the molding, find out if the price they list for the piece includes installation labor. Any special services or additions will increase the price. Even if installation is not included, the piece could have special features that increase the amount of materials needed to produce the molding.

Specialized Parts

• Even if the T-molding manufacturing process is automated, the machines need special components to produce the particular shape of the piece. This isn’t a matter of grabbing a regular strip of flooring and gluing an extra dowel to one side; the molding is all one piece, and thus requires extra machinery for carving. Buying that equipment and keeping it in working order increase the price of the piece.

Wages and Demand

• T-molding is subject to the same economic factors as any other manufactured product. The demand for the materials used to make both the molding pieces and the manufacturing equipment can create higher prices if there isn’t enough supply, and power and fuel prices fluctuate as well. Rising worker wages and benefit costs, if the workers are receiving those, add to the total amount, too. Finally, the amount of profit the company wants to see influences the amount it charges for various pieces of flooring, although this doesn’t mean that a more expensive piece is a sign of a greedy company -- remember that all these factors combine to lead to the final price.