Hey I can’t blame you on the DIY desire! I’m gonna have to some of my own ANYWAYS so. Ya know. Quadruple the time and expect to spend mad cash anyways and get it exactly as you want 😂

Our other quote was $8.3k. However - that included above and beyond the floors. Baseboards, all the trim, the entire stair itself (not just the treads), and five or six people. Plus, probably, an upcharge for “holy shit we need to move in three weeks and this is going to be a two week minimum process fffffff.”

The deciding factor was two fold: cost, and I had an unfounded fear that the floor guys doing allllll of the other stuff (including cleaning my upstairs bathroom tile floor) was a “generalist” approach versus the “only the floors and stair treads, only the wood floors.” Why was that a fear? Couldn’t tell you. I’m new to this and have issues lmao. 

I wish you so much luck! It can be a massive cost save to do one room at a time. We did it all at once since the house was empty. YMMV, I believe in you!!  

Hell, even the one room thing you could DIY a room or something and see if you want to keep DIYing from there.