Choosing flooring for your home can be a much bigger home development project than many people realise. The choice of flooring will have a large impact on the comfort and aesthetic of a home.
The current flooring market has a huge range of options for homeowners; from affordable carpet and tiling to the more luxury installation of marble flooring, there’s a massive array of choices available for any homeowner wanting to invest in some new flooring.
Our guide looks at the cost of hiring a flooring specialist, including how much they charge for fitting different types of flooring, what affects the cost of hiring a flooring specialist, how you can save money and the best way to find a flooring specialist for your flooring project!
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How Much Do Flooring Specialists Charge?
Prices to hire a flooring specialist largely depend on the type of flooring you want to have installed in your property, as well as a few other factors we take a closer look at later in the article.
The table below breaks down the estimated costs of hiring a flooring specialist in a range of different flooring material types.
| Flooring Type | Estimated Labour Cost | Time Required |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet | £50-£150 | 1-3 days |
| Laminate | £70-£250 | 1-2 days |
| Vinyl | £25-£100 | 1-3 days |
| Hardwood | £200-£700 | 1-4 days |
| Linoleum | £25-£100 | 1-3 days |
| Parquet | £50-£500 | 1-4 days |
| Tiles | £200-£700 | 1-3 days |
The estimated labour cost for installing carpet is between £50-£150 depending on the size of the floor in the room. It’s estimated to take between one to three days to lay carpet.
Laminate flooring is estimated to cost between £70-£250 in labour charges, depending on the size of the floor in the room. It’s estimated to take between one to two days to add laminate flooring.
Vinyl flooring is estimated to cost between £25-£100 in labour charges to instal, depending on the size of the floor in the room. It’s estimated to take between one to three to instal.
Hardwood flooring is a more expensive option that is estimated to cost between £200-£700 in labour charges, depending on the size of the floor in the room. It’s estimated to take between one to four days to instal.
Linoleum flooring is estimated to cost between £25-£100 in labour charges, depending on the size of the flooring. It’s estimated to take between one to three days to instal.
Parquet flooring is estimated to cost between £50-£500 in labour charges, depending on the size of the flooring. It’s estimated to take between one to four days to instal.
Another more expensive flooring option is tiling, which is estimated to cost between £200-£700 in labour charges depending on the size of the flooring. It’s estimated to take between one to three days to instal.
If you’re hoping to hire a flooring specialist to help you install any of the above flooring, use HouseholdQuotes to quickly and easily compare quotes from qualified tradespeople and find the perfect flooring specialist for you!
Click To Get QuotesWhat Affects the Cost of Hiring a Flooring Specialist?
A few different factors will come into play when it comes to the cost of hiring a flooring specialist. It’s a good idea to be aware of these factors before your flooring project begins, so you can have an accurate idea of what kind of budget you might need to install the flooring of your dreams!
Choice of Flooring and Pattern
Choice of flooring is going to be the main factor that will determine the final price of hiring a flooring specialist. There’s a huge range of flooring materials to choose from and all of them have individual price brackets for installation.
Timber
When it comes to timber flooring, it’s firstly important to distinguish between two classifications of wood flooring for you to choose from. You can choose to install solid wood flooring or engineered wood flooring; the difference between the two can be noted in pricing and slight differences in their properties.
As you can imagine, solid wood is timber flooring made entirely from solid wood. Solid wood is known to be very durable and has an attractive aesthetic.
Engineered wood is an alternative to solid wood and contains multiple layers of plywood. It’s known to be durable, stable and hard-wearing and has the benefit of looking identical to solid wood!
Costs for engineered wood tend to be typically lower than solid wood, making it a great alternative to solid wood if you’re looking for the wood flooring aesthetic but are operating at a lower budget.
If you purchase click engineered wood for your flooring, your cost for a flooring specialist will be lower as click engineered wood flooring is very simple to instal.
Laminate
Flooring specialists will have a range of pricing given to different laminate flooring installations and that these prices will range from installer to installer.
Some installers will charge per square metre and this is estimated to normally cost between £8-£12 per square metre, whilst others are likely to charge a day rate and the average for this is around £150 per day.
One of the great things about laminate flooring is that it’s available in a range of different designs. This means it’s highly likely you’d be able to find a laminate floor type to match the interior of your home.
Vinyl
One of the reasons vinyl is such a popular flooring choice with homeowners is the huge range of design options available when it comes to finding the type of vinyl that will fit the interior of your home perfectly.
Vinyl is typically an affordable option when it comes to flooring, particularly in comparison to stone or solid wood, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t more luxury options available in vinyl that will increase costs.
Vinyl sheets are large rolls of vinyl that are usually cut into squares. Vinyl sheets require the least amount of time to fit and are typically the cheapest option, sheets can be as little as £10 per square and your labour costs for a specialist will be lower than if you were installing in planks or bespoke designs.
Linoleum
Linoleum and vinyl flooring are long-standing favourites when it comes to picking out flooring. Though they’re very similar and often mistaken for one another, there are differences between the two materials.
Linoleum is constructed differently with a mix of natural materials such as flax seeds and linseed oil, and the design is embedded throughout.
Linoleum is easy to install, durable, and made of natural properties. Because it’s easy to lay linoleum, you should expect the pricing for a specialist in this material to be relatively affordable.
Vinyl is likely to be less expensive than linoleum, but linoleum does typically have a better lifespan than vinyl if it’s properly maintained.
Rubber
Rubber can be a really useful and durable flooring material option. Rubber doesn’t tend to scratch or scrape very easily and so you don’t need to worry about it losing its appearance over time.
An advantage of rubber flooring is that it’s quite reasonably priced. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to source this kind of flooring at your local DIY store, however, so you will likely need to speak to a specialist about installation.
On average, the estimated cost to install rubber flooring is £40-£70 per square metre. Usually, the installation of rubber flooring will require one to two days to complete.
You will also need to allow for an extra one to three after installation for the adhesive underneath the flooring to dry. Once the third day is up you should be able to replace furniture and other belongings in the room as needed.
Polished Concrete
Polished concrete flooring can be finished to be sleek, elegant and blend in with a range of home interior styles. Its durability also makes it a great floor option for living rooms and bathrooms.
If you want to add polished concrete flooring to your home, it is estimated to cost £100-£130 per square metre. This cost is for the concrete to be poured and finished in your home.
It’s estimated to take three to four days to pour the concrete, plus up to 28 days for curing time.
Polished concrete flooring can be a very sought-after feature of a home due to the contemporary and industrial aesthetic it creates. It has good qualities, such as durability and heat conductor and with the new technologies in finishings, it can be finished to ensure it is anti-slip.
Carpet
Carpet is used in many households and many rooms in a household due to the comfort it offers, as well as keeping a room warm.
Carpets are relatively easy to maintain and can hide dirt and dust well in comparison to other flooring types. There are many different types of carpet available for homeowners to choose from, making it a popular option for many homeowners.
Hiring a specialist to lay your carpet is an affordable choice.
Size of the Room
As you would likely expect, the size of the room will have a major impact on the cost, simply because the larger the room, the more labour and supplies are required to complete the job.
The more labour needed to sand and finish the room, the higher the cost of the job will be.
Any Required Preparation
If any additional preparation is required before installing the flooring, you should expect the cost of labour to be much higher. These are jobs such as:
- Removing a pre-existing carpet or wood flooring.
- Removing skirting boards.
- Repairing subfloor.
- Levelling an uneven floor.
- Underlay installation.
Location
As with all home renovation or construction projects, where you are located in the UK will undoubtedly impact the final cost of a flooring project.
If you’re located in central London, you can expect the prices for installing your flooring to be two to three times more expensive than to hire a specialist to install flooring for a property located in the Western or Northern regions.
Ease of Access
If you have furniture or items in the room that will need to be cleared out by the tradesperson you’ve hired, then this is likely to mean that the cost of the job will increase, as you will need to pay for the time it took and the labour of making the floor accessible.
How Can I Save Money on New Flooring?
Firstly, you should ensure that the tradesperson will have access to the flooring and won’t need to move out any furniture or items. This will save you the cost of the additional time and labour it might take to get the flooring accessible.
The best way to save money when it comes to new flooring is to opt for a more affordable flooring type.
Carpet, vinyl, linoleum and laminate flooring are all relatively inexpensive flooring options that come in many different designs and styles – this means you aren’t going to feel limited in design choice and are still likely to be able to find the type of flooring that suits the interior of your home best.
It’s important to set an accurate budget that takes into account all of the potential costs you may need to pay when it comes to new flooring.
Don’t forget about the accessories that may come with the job and could impact the pricing.
Laying underlay, threshold strips, pipe surrounds, new skirting boards and if you’re going the whole hog, new paint for the skirting boards will soon add up.
Some boards will need to be cut to fit the smaller corners of a room. This is also why it’s important to make sure you purchase a least five per cent more supplies than you actually require, as some may need to be cut into shape.
You can also check websites such as Gumtree and Preloved for flooring at discounted rates to help you save on supply cost.
A great way to save money is by using HouseholdQuotes to find professionals within your area to suit your budget and requirements when it comes to hiring a specialist to install your floor. You can use our search function to compare quotes from vetted tradespeople and find the best deal for you!
Click To Get QuotesWhat’s Involved in Removing or Installing Flooring?
If your floor needs to be screeded beforehand, the surface for screeding needs to be completely level. A professional could potentially use the mix to create a frame for the screed, but we wouldn’t recommend you try this at home without the correct experience.
The mix will then be spread across the floor and smoothed out. Once the surface has been smoothed over, a polythene sheet may be placed over it to protect the surface and preserve the moisture.
The screed will then need to cure for a specific amount of time. Once it’s cured, the drying process should begin.
Some flooring materials will need to be left to acclimatise to your room conditions – this is especially true for wooden flooring, so make sure to find out from the installer or manufacturer if your flooring type should be left to acclimatise before it’s installed.
The flooring material of your choice will then be cut to fit the size of the room. If your room is shaped with bends and curves, you should purchase a little more flooring material to allow for any extra cutting that may need to be done.
Once everything has been measured and the subfloor or underlay is in good condition and prepared for new flooring, the flooring will be installed.
When it comes to removing flooring, there are different processes involved for different flooring types. This is why – when it comes to the installation and removal of flooring – it’s a good idea to hire a professional who will know exactly what process to use with each material.
Any flooring fixtures will be removed first, with the flooring material then removed using whatever tools are most appropriate. Some flooring will need hammers, chisels and cutting scissors to remove.
Once the flooring has been removed, the area will then need to be cleaned with the waste removed from the property.
How Do I Find and Hire a Flooring Specialist?
We always recommend you try to seek recommendations from family, friends or neighbours who may have recently had new flooring installed by a specialist. This way you can trust their recommendations and potentially even see the quality of the job done for yourself.
HouseholdQuotes can also help you find the right professional! Our search function allows you to compare quotes from vetted traders.
All our companies and tradespeople on site are reputable and you don’t have to be concerned that you may run into any rogue traders.
Click To Get QuotesEnsuring the Professional Is the Right Fit
It’s a good idea to make sure you have a list of questions ready to verify that the professional you are hoping to hire is the right fit for you and meets the correct standards. Use the questions below to make sure your professional is up to the job:
- Ask them for a written quote. Any contractor worth their salt will be happy to provide you with a written quote and this way you will get to see exactly what is included in the price.
- Ask for their experience. It’s best to go with a tradesperson who is a specialist in their field.
- For their references. If they are able to provide you with references you can be sure of their ability and may even be able to see some of their previous work.
- If they and their tools are insured. This can protect you from lawsuits if they or your property is damaged when they come to your home.
Final Checklist:
Use the below checklist to make sure you’ve got everything you need in order to hire a flooring specialist:
- Decide what kind of flooring you think you’d like to have put down, or what kind of flooring you’d like to have removed from your home.
- Use HouseholdQuotes to potentially save 40% off your project quote, when you compare quotes from three to four traders using our search function!
Click To Get QuotesFrequently Asked Questions:
How Much Flooring Do I Need?
Be sure to measure the length and width of the room you’re installing new flooring in.
Once you have these measurements you can either supply to them a professional who will do the calculation for you, or if you’re planning to do the project yourself, you can then take a look at the different available flooring sizes in the material you want.
How Much Extra Flooring (Wastage) Should I Order?
This covers you for any boards or planks that may need to be cut to fit the size of the room, as well as ensuring you still have enough material if any of it arrives damaged or unworkable.
What’s the Difference Between Solid, Engineered, and Laminate Wooden Flooring?
It can last, with good care, for a very long period of time and doesn’t require much maintenance.
There are many styles of solid wood flooring available, with numerous style choices also.
In comparison to other flooring options, including engineered wood, the cost of solid wood flooring does tend to be more expensive due to the amount of solid wood involved in the making of the flooring.
Engineered wood is an alternative to solid wood and contains multiple layers of plywood that have been reformed. Costs for engineered wood tend to be typically lower than solid wood, making it a great alternative to solid wood if you’re looking for the wood flooring aesthetic but are operating at a lower budget.
Engineered wood isn’t as durable as solid wood and can become scratched and damaged over time and it isn’t always possible to refinish the boards either.
Laminate flooring is made of fibreboard materials and simulates a wooden look at a much cheaper cost. One of the great things about laminate flooring is that it’s available in a range of different designs.
If you’re operating to a lower budget, consider going for slate or oak effect laminate flooring as you should find you’ll receive a much cheaper quote from companies if you go for this type of effect as opposed to a more exotic wood flooring effect.
Can You Lay New Flooring on Top of Old Carpet?
You can lay new carpet over old carpet, and flooring types such as vinyl can be laid over the carpet as well as long as it’s done correctly.
It’s not recommended that you install laminate flooring over the carpet and in lots of cases, it is best to remove the carpet entirely before laying down new flooring.
Does My Floor Need an Underlay?
If the surface is not smooth or level then the flooring could be laid incorrectly or may be bumping or have air pockets.
How Much Does Tiling Cost?
The supply cost for tiling, however, is usually quite affordable and you can find tiles in local DIY stores.