If you have original wooden floors hidden under carpet or laminate, you might want to restore them. Original wooden flooring is becoming very popular again and not only does it look fantastic, it can also add value to your home.

But how much does wooden floor restoration cost? If your room is large, it's a big project, so it’s important to set a realistic budget. We'll go through the costs to restore your wooden or parquet flooring in this guide.

How much does it cost to refinish hardwood floors in the UK?

How much it costs to refinish hardwood floors in the UK will depend on the condition of the flooring, the size of the room and the kind of repairs that need doing. You'll usually need to have your floors sanded and stained to bring them back to their best.

Here are typical costs for restoring wooden floor in the UK:

Job / item

Average cost

Remove carpet

£6-£8 per square metre

Sanding and refinishing wooden floor

£20-£30 per square metre

Sanding stairs

£35-£50 per step

Wood floor stain

£8-£12 per square metre

Carpenter hourly rate

£16-£40

These costs are based on averages from across the UK. HaMuch has a large database of hourly and daily rates for wood floor restoration professionals across the UK, and we've used this data to provide more accurate labour costs for most towns and cities in the country.

Take a look at the table further down the page to get an idea of how much labour will cost in your area.

Wooden floor restoration cost

What factors affect the cost of wooden floor restoration?

Type of wood

The type of wood your original flooring is made from will make a difference to the cost. For example, if you want to restore parquet flooring, your professional will need to take care when they polish it to ensure they don't affect the pattern.

Hardwoods are generally harder to sand than softwoods, so expect it to take longer to restore a hardwood floor. Also, if your original floorboards haven't been treated before, it will take longer to get them up to a hard-wearing standard.

Flooring condition

The condition of your wood flooring will have the most impact on the cost to restore. If your professional lifts up your carpet or floor covering and finds that the wooden flooring is in very poor condition, with lots of repairs required, it’s going to take longer to restore. Therefore, you should expect the cost to be higher.

If you need some floorboards replaced, this will drive up the cost. For two or three floorboards to be replaced it could cost around £200, but if major repairs are required to many floorboards and joists you could spend £450 or more.

Size of your room

The size of your room will also have an impact on wooden floor restoration cost. Most carpenters and flooring specialists will charge by the square metre to restore your floor.

That means if your room is 10 square metres, expect to spend between £200-£300 to sand and refinish your wooden floor. If your room is 30 square metres, it’s likely to set you back £600-£900.

Where you live

Where you live also affects the cost of restoring your wooden or parquet flooring, and unfortunately you can't do much about this one. Labour costs tend to be highest in London and the south east, while rates in the north of England and Scotland are usually much lower.

Make sure you look at our location-based carpenter rates to get an idea of how much you should budget for labour.

Is it cheaper to refinish hardwood floors or replace?

It's definitely cheaper to refinish hardwood floors rather than replacing them. Hardwood floor starts at around £30 per square metre, not including labour. But for a premium hardwood or engineered wood, expect to spend at least £80 per square metre before fitting.

Before labour, you should expect to spend between £300-£800+ on hardwood flooring for a 10 square metre room. Since it would cost £200-£300 including labour to sand and refinish hardwood floors, you can see that it’s much cheaper to refinish them rather than replace.

Plus, you're doing your bit for the environment by restoring your wooden floors rather than replacing them and causing waste to go to landfill.

Can I stay in my house while floors are refinished?

Yes, you can stay in your house while your floors are being refinished, providing you won't need to walk on the floor. It might be more pleasant to leave for the day since floor sanders are noisy and there will be lots of dust around.

The stains, oils or polishes that your flooring specialists use on your floor might have a strong smell too, so if you have young children that might be affected by the odour it might be worth leaving your house while your floors are being refinished.

However, if you need to stay at home, that's no problem. Just bear in mind that you won't be able to walk on the floor for at least 5 hours after the last coat of polish has been applied.

Is it hard to restore wood floors?

It's certainly not easy to restore wood floors! While lots of people do try to restore wood floors themselves, it often overwhelms them.

You can hire a sander to sand the floor yourself, but this is hard work that takes skill to get right. It also creates a lot of dust that some DIYers aren’t prepared for – if you don’t protect your doorways you can end up with dust all over your house, and if you don’t have the right PPE you can end up breathing in all the dust particles.

You'll also need to make sure you choose the right oil, stain or polish for your wooden floor. If you choose the wrong product for the type of wood, you could ruin the floor’s natural properties, which will affect how it looks.

We'd always recommend using a professional to help you repair and restore your wooden floors to ensure you get the best finish and don’t waste money on abandoned DIY projects.

Post your job on HaMuch now to get quotes from qualified carpenters and flooring specialists in your area.


Estimates for common carpenter & joiner jobs;

Job Estimate
Cost to install wooden flooring £605
Cost to restore a wooden floor £278
Cost to create under stairs storage £915
Cost to install a partition wall £262
Cost to fit out a shop £1290
Cost to fit out a restaurant £1400
Cost to replace a window sill £349
Cost to replace the floorboards £310
Cost to replace the staircase and bannister £4500
Supply and fit new skirting, architrave and door frames £400
Cost to replace a door frame £165
Cost to install a loft ladder £118
Cost to board the loft £650
Cost to fit fitted wardrobes £4500
Cost to have bespoke bookshelves fitted £280
Cost to fit blinds £30 per blind
Cost to make and fit a radiator cover £352
Cost to fit a cat flap £115
Cost to box in pipes £259
Cost to design and fit alcove cupboards or shelves £650
Repairs on window frames and windowpanes including leaks £100 per window

Rates for other trades

Wooden floor restoration cost in the UK
Wooden floor restoration cost in the UK (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKWooden floor restoration cost
Wooden floor restoration near Aberdeen£278
Wooden floor restoration near Amber Valley£266
Wooden floor restoration near Angus£292
Wooden floor restoration near Arun£295
Wooden floor restoration near Ashfield£263
Wooden floor restoration near Aylesbury Vale£294
Wooden floor restoration near Barnsley£258
Wooden floor restoration near Basildon£294
Wooden floor restoration near Basingstoke & Deane£279
Wooden floor restoration near Bassetlaw£248
Wooden floor restoration near Bath & North East Somerset£273
Wooden floor restoration near Bedford£304
Wooden floor restoration near Belfast£210
Wooden floor restoration near Birmingham£254
Wooden floor restoration near Blackburn£246
Wooden floor restoration near Blackpool£236
Wooden floor restoration near Bolton£264
Wooden floor restoration near Bournemouth£276
Wooden floor restoration near Bracknell Forest£296
Wooden floor restoration near Bradford£249
Wooden floor restoration near Braintree£288
Wooden floor restoration near Breckland£263
Wooden floor restoration near Bridgend£254
Wooden floor restoration near Brighton£290
Wooden floor restoration near Bristol£272
Wooden floor restoration near Broadland£249
Wooden floor restoration near Broxtowe£263
Wooden floor restoration near Bury£266
Wooden floor restoration near Caerphilly£268
Wooden floor restoration near Calderdale£245
Wooden floor restoration near Cambridge£282
Wooden floor restoration near Canterbury£263
Wooden floor restoration near Cardiff£269
Wooden floor restoration near Carmarthenshire£235
Wooden floor restoration near Charnwood£261
Wooden floor restoration near Chelmsford£291
Wooden floor restoration near Cheltenham£300
Wooden floor restoration near Cherwell£301
Wooden floor restoration near Chester£256
Wooden floor restoration near Colchester£284
Wooden floor restoration near Conway£244
Wooden floor restoration near Coventry£249
Wooden floor restoration near Crewe & Nantwich£308
Wooden floor restoration near Dacorum£293
Wooden floor restoration near Derby£267
Wooden floor restoration near Doncaster£249
Wooden floor restoration near Dover£259
Wooden floor restoration near Dudley£250
Wooden floor restoration near Dumfries & Galloway£231
Wooden floor restoration near Dundee£305
Wooden floor restoration near East Ayrshire£265
Wooden floor restoration near East Devon£255
Wooden floor restoration near East Dunbartonshire£251
Wooden floor restoration near East Hampshire£279
Wooden floor restoration near East Hertfordshire£297
Wooden floor restoration near East Riding£261
Wooden floor restoration near Eastleigh£288
Wooden floor restoration near Edinburgh£287
Wooden floor restoration near Elmbridge£302
Wooden floor restoration near Epping Forest£301
Wooden floor restoration near Erewash£264
Wooden floor restoration near Exeter£248
Wooden floor restoration near Falkirk£262
Wooden floor restoration near Fife£306
Wooden floor restoration near Flintshire£258
Wooden floor restoration near Gateshead£247
Wooden floor restoration near Gedling£258
Wooden floor restoration near Glasgow£251
Wooden floor restoration near Gloucester£288
Wooden floor restoration near Guildford£297
Wooden floor restoration near Gwynedd£233
Wooden floor restoration near Halton£264
Wooden floor restoration near Harrogate£251
Wooden floor restoration near Havant & Waterloo£283
Wooden floor restoration near Highland£276
Wooden floor restoration near Horsham£288
Wooden floor restoration near Huntingdonshire£303
Wooden floor restoration near Ipswich£282
Wooden floor restoration near Isle of Wight£279
Wooden floor restoration near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£269
Wooden floor restoration near Kingston-upon-Hull£246
Wooden floor restoration near Kirklees£255
Wooden floor restoration near Knowsley£250
Wooden floor restoration near Lancaster£257
Wooden floor restoration near Leeds£253
Wooden floor restoration near Leicester£258
Wooden floor restoration near Lisburn£210
Wooden floor restoration near Liverpool£249
Wooden floor restoration near London£300
Wooden floor restoration near Luton£298
Wooden floor restoration near Macclesfield£279
Wooden floor restoration near Maidstone£280
Wooden floor restoration near Manchester£271
Wooden floor restoration near Mid Bedfordshire£298
Wooden floor restoration near Mid Sussex£284
Wooden floor restoration near Middlesbrough£281
Wooden floor restoration near Milton Keynes£292
Wooden floor restoration near Neath Port Talbot£253
Wooden floor restoration near New Forest£281
Wooden floor restoration near Newbury£278
Wooden floor restoration near Newcastle-under-Lyme£279
Wooden floor restoration near Newcastle-upon-Tyne£246
Wooden floor restoration near Newport£270
Wooden floor restoration near North Ayrshire£260
Wooden floor restoration near North East Lincolnshire£260
Wooden floor restoration near North Hertfordshire£302
Wooden floor restoration near North Lanarkshire£250
Wooden floor restoration near North Lincolnshire£249
Wooden floor restoration near North Somerset£274
Wooden floor restoration near North Tyneside£246
Wooden floor restoration near North Wiltshire£273
Wooden floor restoration near Northampton£277
Wooden floor restoration near Norwich£254
Wooden floor restoration near Nottingham£264
Wooden floor restoration near Nuneaton & Bedworth£251
Wooden floor restoration near Oldham£267
Wooden floor restoration near Oxford£299
Wooden floor restoration near Pembrokeshire£274
Wooden floor restoration near Perth & Kinross£336
Wooden floor restoration near Peterborough£312
Wooden floor restoration near Plymouth£258
Wooden floor restoration near Poole£278
Wooden floor restoration near Portsmouth£283
Wooden floor restoration near Preston£240
Wooden floor restoration near Reading£292
Wooden floor restoration near Redcar & Cleveland£280
Wooden floor restoration near Reigate & Banstead£301
Wooden floor restoration near Renfrewshire£259
Wooden floor restoration near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£264
Wooden floor restoration near Rochdale£262
Wooden floor restoration near Rochester-upon-Medway£304
Wooden floor restoration near Rotherham£255
Wooden floor restoration near Salford£269
Wooden floor restoration near Salisbury£286
Wooden floor restoration near Sandwell£250
Wooden floor restoration near Scarborough£285
Wooden floor restoration near Scottish Borders£297
Wooden floor restoration near Sefton£249
Wooden floor restoration near Sevenoaks£291
Wooden floor restoration near Sheffield£255
Wooden floor restoration near Slough£299
Wooden floor restoration near Solihull£247
Wooden floor restoration near South Ayrshire£266
Wooden floor restoration near South Bedfordshire£304
Wooden floor restoration near South Cambridgeshire£294
Wooden floor restoration near South Gloucestershire£270
Wooden floor restoration near South Kesteven£274
Wooden floor restoration near South Lanarkshire£242
Wooden floor restoration near South Oxfordshire£297
Wooden floor restoration near South Somerset£319
Wooden floor restoration near South Tyneside£247
Wooden floor restoration near Southampton£287
Wooden floor restoration near Southend-on-Sea£283
Wooden floor restoration near St Albans£298
Wooden floor restoration near St Helens£253
Wooden floor restoration near Stafford£275
Wooden floor restoration near Stockport£275
Wooden floor restoration near Stockton-on-Tees£280
Wooden floor restoration near Stoke-on-Trent£277
Wooden floor restoration near Stratford-on-Avon£260
Wooden floor restoration near Stroud£281
Wooden floor restoration near Suffolk Coastal£279
Wooden floor restoration near Sunderland£249
Wooden floor restoration near Swale£277
Wooden floor restoration near Swansea£249
Wooden floor restoration near Tameside£272
Wooden floor restoration near Teignbridge£257
Wooden floor restoration near Tendring£284
Wooden floor restoration near Test Valley£281
Wooden floor restoration near Thamesdown£266
Wooden floor restoration near Thanet£261
Wooden floor restoration near The Wrekin£250
Wooden floor restoration near Thurrock£290
Wooden floor restoration near Torbay£254
Wooden floor restoration near Trafford£276
Wooden floor restoration near Vale of Glamorgan£273
Wooden floor restoration near Vale of White Horse£296
Wooden floor restoration near Vale Royal£258
Wooden floor restoration near Wakefield£251
Wooden floor restoration near Walsall£253
Wooden floor restoration near Warrington£273
Wooden floor restoration near Warwick£249
Wooden floor restoration near Waveney£248
Wooden floor restoration near Waverley£290
Wooden floor restoration near Wealden£285
Wooden floor restoration near West Lancashire£247
Wooden floor restoration near West Lothian£280
Wooden floor restoration near West Wiltshire£273
Wooden floor restoration near Wigan£254
Wooden floor restoration near Windsor & Maidenhead£298
Wooden floor restoration near Wirral£251
Wooden floor restoration near Wokingham£294
Wooden floor restoration near Wolverhampton£257
Wooden floor restoration near Wrexham Maelor£265
Wooden floor restoration near Wychavon£265
Wooden floor restoration near Wycombe£305
Wooden floor restoration near York£254