Whether you’re looking for plush new carpet or you want gorgeous engineered wood flooring, you’ll need a flooring specialist to install it. Our cost guides give you an idea of how much a range of flooring jobs will cost.
Cheap flooring specialist cost
Flooring specialists charge from as little as £18 per hour to around £40, but it’s important not to choose someone purely based on price. If one flooring specialist is much cheaper than the rest of the quotes you’ve received, ask yourself why. Have they got the correct qualifications and insurance? What’s their experience like?
While it’s important to keep costs down and make sure you don’t get overcharged, it’s also crucial that you choose someone reliable who knows what they’re doing. Otherwise, you could end up spending even more money fixing the rogue flooring specialist’s mistakes.
Flooring Cost Guides
Cost Guides for Other Common Flooring Jobs
Flooring FAQs
What is the cheapest flooring option?
Generally, sheet vinyl flooring is the cheapest flooring option, with vinyl tiles following close behind. Vinyl flooring is easy to install and comes in a variety of styles, colours and patterns, so you’re bound to find something you like. It’s ideal for kitchens and bathrooms where there is the risk of moisture damage to flooring options like wood or laminate.
However, vinyl flooring won’t last as long as other flooring types. It is usually very thin and doesn’t provide much insulation. On the other hand, luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) are much more durable and offer more insulating properties, but this can cost as much or more than laminate.
How do you estimate how much flooring you need?
If you want to estimate how much flooring you need to help a flooring specialist quote for your job, you should use a tape measure to find out the square metreage. For simple square or rectangular rooms, this is very easy - simply measure the length and width of the room, then multiply the length by the width to get your square metreage.
For example, if your room is 4 metres long by 5 metres wide, you’ll need 20 square metres’ worth of flooring (4 x 5 = 20). Your flooring specialist should allow at least 10 for wastage.
Which is warmer: carpet or laminate flooring?
Overall, carpet is warmer than laminate flooring. Its fibres absorb and retain more heat, so it will feel much warmer underfoot than laminate. Carpets tend to insulate rooms more, as heat can’t escape as easily through the floor, so if you have an old house with poor insulation it might be better to stick with carpet.
Laminate flooring isn’t as warm, but you may find that some types of laminate feels warmer underfoot than others. Many homeowners report that wood effect laminates feel warmer than high-gloss ones.