Keeping the carpet in a bedroom is often the sensible choice, especially upstairs, where the pad gives you warmth and quiet for the least money. Replacing it with vinyl plank or laminate makes more sense in a basement bedroom, in a room shared with pets, or anywhere the carpet has been wet. The cost of that change is easier to predict than most homeowners expect: we take carpet out at $0.70 per sq ft in a house and $1.00 per sq ft in a condo, and install a click-lock floor at $1.50 per sq ft in a house or basement and $2.00 per sq ft in a condo. Below, that decision is priced room by room with our live box prices, so start with the laminate flooring collection if you want to see the material, then run your own measurements through our flooring budget estimator.
Quick answer: should you keep the carpet or replace it?
Choosing carpet or vinyl plank in bedrooms comes down to where the room is, what sits under the floor, and what the change costs. Three rules cover most cases:
- Keep the carpet if the bedroom is upstairs and dry, and you value the cushion and the quiet. No hard floor copies that exactly, though a rug beside the bed gets part of the way back and protects the finish where you step out.
- Replace it if the bedroom is below grade, if pets or a baby use the room, or if the carpet has ever been soaked. Waterproof SPC vinyl plank wipes clean, and spills stay on the surface instead of working into the material.
- Budget the swap, not just the boxes. Carpet removal alone is $100.80 for a 12x12 bedroom (144 sq ft) in a house or $144.00 in a condo, and a 400 sq ft basement bedroom comes to $2,172.99 with our 12mm laminate or $2,477.80 with the SPC plank at house rates, with HST and underlay counted.
One limitation worth stating plainly: we stock hard flooring rather than carpet, so a bedroom you want to keep soft is not a job we can quote. The comparison here is between the carpet already in the room and the two hard floors we sell.
What vinyl plank and laminate cost per square foot in our catalogue
Box prices on their own tell you very little, because boxes differ in coverage. Divide the box price by the square feet inside the box and the comparison turns into simple arithmetic. Three boards cover the ground for a bedroom project today:
| Product | Structure | Box price and coverage | Material per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riche Blonde Sand Oak SPC vinyl plank | Waterproof SPC, click-lock, attached IXPE pad, 7.09" wide | $62.93 per 23.64 sq ft box | $2.66 |
| Egger EM7206 laminate | Laminate, click-lock, 7.60" wide | $40.48 per 21.42 sq ft box | $1.89 |
| Krono K6207 laminate | Laminate, click-lock, 5" plank | $23.00 per 13.61 sq ft box | $1.69 |
Prices checked October 6, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
- The SPC plank carries its own pad. The Riche board is 6mm thick with an attached IXPE pad, and its product data lists it as waterproof with a 12mil wear level, so a bedroom or basement install needs no separate underlay roll.
- The two laminates need a roll. Our quotes add underlayment for laminate floors at $50.00 per roll, and each roll covers 200 sq ft.
- The price gap is real but modest. The Krono board is $0.97 per sq ft below the SPC plank, and the material line for a 144 sq ft room comes out $164.51 lower once whole boxes are counted.
All three are click-lock floors, which means they float over the subfloor instead of being nailed or glued to it. That matters for a bedroom you may want to change again later, and it is also why preparation under the floor is its own line in every quote.
Where vinyl plank and laminate differ underfoot
The Riche plank is 6mm thick with its pad attached. The Egger is 8mm and the Krono is 12mm, and both laminates sit on a roll of underlay that we add to the order at $50.00 per 200 sq ft. A thicker board on a roll of underlay is a different feel from a thin plank with a foam pad, but either way you are standing on a hard surface rather than on carpet, and the room will sound different for it.
What a carpet-to-hard-floor swap costs in a 12x12 bedroom
Every job we price uses the same seven steps, and a homeowner can repeat them on a phone calculator:
- Add 5% waste. Waste-adjusted sq ft = measured sq ft × 1.05.
- Count the boxes. Waste-adjusted sq ft ÷ coverage per box, rounded up to whole boxes.
- Material. Boxes × box price.
- Labour. Waste-adjusted sq ft × the install rate for your building type. Click-lock installation is $1.50 per sq ft in a house or basement, $2.00 in a condo, and one rate covers both vinyl plank and laminate.
- Removal. Measured sq ft × the rate for what comes out. No waste allowance here.
- Delivery. $150.00 for Toronto postal codes starting with M, $200.00 for postal codes starting with L.
- HST. 13% on the subtotal, with any underlay rolls added before tax.
A 12x12 bedroom measures 144 sq ft. With 5% waste that becomes 151.20 sq ft of material and labour, and the SPC plank covers 23.64 sq ft per box, so the order rounds from 6.4 boxes up to 7 boxes at $62.93 each: $440.51 of material. Here is the whole job in a house and in a condo, including removal of the carpet in the room now, plus delivery:
| Line | House rates | Condo rates |
|---|---|---|
| Material (7 boxes × $62.93) | $440.51 | $440.51 |
| Labour (151.20 sq ft at $1.50 or $2.00) | $226.80 | $302.40 |
| Carpet removal (144 sq ft at $0.70 or $1.00) | $100.80 | $144.00 |
| Delivery (M postal code) | $150.00 | $150.00 |
| Subtotal | $918.11 | $1,036.91 |
| HST 13% | $119.35 | $134.80 |
| Total | $1,037.46 | $1,171.71 |
Our installation rate card covers jobs of 301 sq ft and up, and a single 144 sq ft bedroom is priced after we see the floor, so read the figures above as the arithmetic for that room size inside a larger carpet-out project. The materials themselves land at very different totals, even though the labour, removal and delivery lines are the same. Each laminate total below also carries one roll of underlay, since a 151.20 sq ft order fits inside a single 200 sq ft roll:
| Floor | Boxes for 144 sq ft | Material | Complete house total with HST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riche SPC vinyl plank | 7 boxes | $440.51 | $1,037.46 |
| Egger EM7206 laminate | 8 boxes | $323.84 | $962.13 |
| Krono K6207 laminate | 12 boxes | $276.00 | $908.07 |
Condo rates change two lines: installation is $2.00 per sq ft and carpet removal is $1.00 per sq ft, both above the house rates, so the same SPC bedroom finishes at $1,171.71 in a condo. Check your building's own rules before you order; the condo flooring guide covers the approval side of a high-rise job.
Not in any of these totals: stairs, subfloor levelling, door shaving, and removal of glued flooring or tile. Those are priced after we see the job, and we say so rather than guessing at a number.
Basement bedrooms: where a hard floor wins
Below grade, the floor you choose matters more than the colour. Natural Resources Canada notes that basements can account for about 25 percent of a home's total heat loss, largely because of the uninsulated surface area above and below grade. For basement floors, the same guide suggests applying a moisture barrier to the floor or sealing it, for comfort and moisture control. Carpet and pad laid straight over a slab that has not been sealed sit right where that moisture can gather, which is the main case for a hard floor in a basement bedroom.
Waterproof SPC plank is the safer surface. The Riche board is listed as waterproof in its product data, it clicks together as a floating floor, and its attached pad means no separate roll. Laminate can still work over concrete when the slab is dry and sealed, and the quote will include an underlay roll for it.
The same seven steps on a 400 sq ft basement bedroom, with carpet removal at $0.70 per sq ft and house labour at $1.50 per sq ft, look like this:
| Line | Riche SPC vinyl plank | Krono K6207 laminate |
|---|---|---|
| Material (18 boxes × $62.93 or 31 boxes × $23.00) | $1,132.74 | $713.00 |
| Labour (420 sq ft at $1.50) | $630.00 | $630.00 |
| Underlay (3 rolls at $50.00) | Not needed | $150.00 |
| Carpet removal (400 sq ft at $0.70) | $280.00 | $280.00 |
| Delivery (M postal code) | $150.00 | $150.00 |
| Subtotal | $2,192.74 | $1,923.00 |
| HST 13% | $285.06 | $249.99 |
| Total | $2,477.80 | $2,172.99 |
Measured across the 400 sq ft, that is $6.19 per sq ft with the SPC plank and $5.43 per sq ft with the laminate, HST included. The laminate is the cheaper of the two even after three rolls of underlay, and the plank is the one to choose where the slab has ever been damp. Our basement flooring guide goes further into subfloors, moisture testing and slab conditions.
Comfort, noise and cleaning: what actually changes
Three things change when the carpet goes, and only one is about money.
Underfoot. Carpet and pad give a bedroom a cushion that a hard floor does not have, and bare feet notice that on a winter morning. A rug beside the bed is the usual answer, and it takes the wear where you step out.
Noise. Carpet absorbs footfall sound within a room, and a hard floor will sound livelier. If sound between floors is your main concern, say so when you ask for a quote, and in a condo check your building's own rules on underlay before you order.
Cleaning. A hard floor is swept and damp-mopped, while carpet is vacuumed. Health Canada's guidance on dust and dust mites covers both habits. It suggests vacuuming carpets and soft furnishings often, and it also suggests considering hard flooring such as laminate instead of carpet where dust exposure is a concern. The same page recommends keeping indoor humidity between 35% and 50% and running a dehumidifier in damp areas such as basements. That guidance is about household dust rather than a promise about allergies, and it applies to a carpet you keep as much as to the floor that replaces it.
Which bedrooms should keep the carpet?
The decision usually sorts itself out by room once you know what is under the floor:
| Room or situation | Floor to plan for | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Upstairs bedroom, dry, used by adults | Keep the carpet | Pad gives cushion and quiet; change it when it wears out |
| Basement bedroom | Waterproof SPC plank | NRCan advises a moisture barrier or sealed slab, and the plank is listed waterproof |
| Kids, pets or a spare room over a heated space | Laminate or SPC plank | Spills and accidents wipe up instead of soaking into pad |
| Bedroom that has been flooded or smells damp | Waterproof SPC plank | Replacing a soaked carpet is the moment to choose a floor listed as waterproof |
| Bedroom beside a bathroom or laundry room | Check the floor first, then SPC plank | These rooms see water first, and the plank is listed waterproof in its product data |
When one room changes in an otherwise finished house, the transition matters as much as the plank. Our post on matching a bedroom floor to the rest of the house covers thresholds, colour and doorways, and the bedroom flooring guide compares the options for a full renovation.
Questions about carpet, vinyl plank and laminate in bedrooms
Is carpet or laminate cheaper?
Among the three boards priced here, laminate is the cheaper material per square foot: our two laminate boards are $1.69 and $1.89 per sq ft, against $2.66 for the SPC vinyl plank. We do not stock carpet, so there is no carpet price to set beside those. Once removal, delivery, underlay and 13% HST are counted, the 400 sq ft basement bedroom example finished $304.81 lower with the 12mm laminate than with the plank at house rates.
Do I have to take the carpet out first?
Yes. Plank and laminate need a firm, level surface, and carpet with its underlay is not one. Our quote lists carpet removal as its own line at $0.70 per sq ft in a house or basement and $1.00 per sq ft in a condo, disposal included, and the subfloor is checked once the carpet is up.
Which is better for a basement bedroom, vinyl plank or laminate?
The SPC plank, because its product data lists it as waterproof and it floats over the slab with its own pad. Laminate over concrete can work when the slab is dry, sealed and checked first, and the order will carry a roll at $50.00 per 200 sq ft. Where water has ever reached the slab, plank is the safer of the two.
Will a hard floor change what my bedroom sells for?
There is no figure we can give you for that, because resale depends on the whole house and the buyer. What you can control is what the change costs and how the floor wears: the plank is listed waterproof with a 12mil wear level, and the two laminates are 8mm and 12mm click-lock boards.
Does a small bedroom cost more per square foot?
Often, yes. Boxes come in fixed coverage and the count rounds up to the next whole box, so a 144 sq ft room took 7 boxes of the 23.64 sq ft SPC plank even though 6.4 boxes was the arithmetic. Our installation rate applies to jobs of 301 sq ft and up, and a single small room is priced after we see the floor.
Get a bedroom flooring quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send us your room sizes, the building type (house, basement or condo) and what is on the floor now, and the quote will come back in the same lines used above: material, labour, removal, underlay and delivery, then 13% HST. You can request a quote online, or bring your measurements to the showroom.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819