By Emily Rivers
Last updated 12th May 2023

Wooden flooring cost in 2023

Wooden flooring is one of the most popular choices for flooring in the UK because it looks so good and doesn’t go out of style. Easier to keep clean than carpet, it’s a great choice if you have pets or small children.

Wooden flooring costs anywhere between £60-£160 per square metre to install, including the flooring itself. But what factors make up this cost? We’ll go through it in this guide.

How much does wooden flooring cost in the UK?

How much wooden flooring costs in the UK depends on where you live, the type of wooden flooring you choose and how difficult it is to lay, but these are the average costs to expect:

Job/item

Average cost

Pine wooden flooring

£30 per square metre

Hardwood flooring

£30-£40 per square metre

Engineered wood flooring

£40-£80 per square metre

Wooden flooring installation cost

£30-£80 per square metre

Laminate flooring

£8-£20 per square metre

Laminate flooring installation cost

£20-£30 per square metre

Carpenter hourly rate

£16-£40

How much you spend on labour for your wooden floor will vary depending on where you live. London and the south east tends to have the highest rates, while labour is cheaper in the north and Scotland.

HaMuch has a huge database of hourly and daily rates for carpenters and floor fitters across the country, so we’ve compiled this data to provide average costs for most towns and cities across the UK. Take a look at the table further down the page to get an idea of how much carpenters charge in your area.

Wooden flooring cost

What affects the cost of installing wood flooring?

Size of room

The size of your room will have the biggest impact on how much it costs to lay wooden flooring. The larger your room is, the more you’ll have to pay – and if there are lots of corners or your carpenter will have to make lots of cuts, it will drive up the cost more.

For an average 17 square metre living room, expect to spend between £1,020-£2,700 on wooden flooring.

Type of wooden flooring

The type of wooden flooring you choose will affect the cost too. Softwood flooring options like pine are the cheapest real wood flooring, while laminate flooring, which gives a wood effect, is even cheaper.

There are a few different types of wooden flooring to consider:

Softwood: Softwood flooring is a good choice if you’re on a budget. Materials like pine cost around £30 per square metre and offer a light, pale brown colour.

Hardwood: Hardwood flooring is usually made from oak, maple, beech, bamboo and many others. Hardwoods generally last longer than softwoods with proper care and maintenance.

The type of wood you choose will depend on the look you want for your home – for example, ash flooring has a light-coloured finish, while cherry is dark red in colour.

Expect to pay around £30-£40 per square metre for hardwood flooring.

Engineered wood: Engineered wood flooring is made up of a thin layer of hardwood that’s bonded on top of a high-quality plywood. It’s more resistant to moisture so is a better option for kitchens and bathrooms than solid wood.

Oak, walnut and elm are popular wood species for engineered wood flooring, and they often come pre-finished, eliminating the cost of staining and varnishing the floor.

Engineered wood flooring costs between £40-£80 per square metre.

Pattern of your wood floor

If you want parquet flooring, which refers to a set of patterns of flooring like herringbone or chevron, expect to pay more.

It will take your carpenter longer to lay parquet flooring than a standard floor because they have to make lots of cuts and position the boards to ensure that the pattern flows throughout your room.

You could pay up to £200 per square metre for parquet flooring.

Your location

Where you live will have a big impact on how much you pay a carpenter to lay your wooden flooring. Carpenters tend to charge more in major cities where the cost of living is higher, while those working in more remote areas will charge less.

Take a look at our table further down the page to get a more accurate idea of labour costs in your area.

Wooden flooring video

What is the lifespan of wooden flooring?

Properly-maintained hardwood flooring could last as long as 100 years, although you’ll notice fading after around 25 years.

Softwood flooring will still last a long time, but is more susceptible to wear than hardwood – expect it to last between 25-50 years.

In contrast, laminate flooring will last much less time – it will start to look worn within 20 years in high-traffic areas.

Are wooden floors warmer than tiles?

Yes, you’ll notice that wooden floors are warmer than tiles. Tiles often feel very cold underfoot as they’re usually made from porcelain or ceramic that don’t have good insulating properties.

Wooden floors also feel softer, which can be good if you have young children who might fall over a lot!

Are wood floors cheaper than tile and carpet?

In general, wood floors are more expensive than carpets and around the same price as tiles. However, it all depends on the quality of the floor covering.

You could spend more on a luxury carpet than you would on a mid-range wood floor, or less on mid-range tiles than you would on engineered wood flooring.

Consider your budget and aim to get the best quality flooring you can for your money.

Do wooden floors add value in the UK?

Yes, wooden floors are bound to add value to homes in the UK. Wooden floors are becoming more and more popular, and due to their longevity and timelessness, they are very attractive to potential buyers.

However, it’s important to get your wooden flooring laid properly and maintained well, which is why we’d always recommend getting a carpenter to lay your wood flooring. If you try to lay your flooring yourself and get cuts wrong or stain it incorrectly, you could ruin its look – and therefore damage the prospect of a higher offer from buyers.

If you’re ready to get quotes for your wooden flooring, post your job on HaMuch now. We’ll put you in touch with qualified carpenters in your area that are available to do the work.


Estimates for common carpenter & joiner jobs;

Rates for other trades

Wooden flooring installation cost in the UK
Wooden flooring installation cost in the UK (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKWooden flooring installation cost
Wooden flooring installation near Aberdeen£443
Wooden flooring installation near Amber Valley£421
Wooden flooring installation near Angus£473
Wooden flooring installation near Arun£477
Wooden flooring installation near Ashfield£413
Wooden flooring installation near Aylesbury Vale£487
Wooden flooring installation near Barnsley£403
Wooden flooring installation near Basildon£477
Wooden flooring installation near Basingstoke & Deane£445
Wooden flooring installation near Bassetlaw£387
Wooden flooring installation near Bath & North East Somerset£433
Wooden flooring installation near Bedford£495
Wooden flooring installation near Belfast£305
Wooden flooring installation near Birmingham£393
Wooden flooring installation near Blackburn£389
Wooden flooring installation near Blackpool£367
Wooden flooring installation near Bolton£419
Wooden flooring installation near Bournemouth£445
Wooden flooring installation near Bracknell Forest£479
Wooden flooring installation near Bradford£385
Wooden flooring installation near Braintree£463
Wooden flooring installation near Breckland£413
Wooden flooring installation near Bridgend£395
Wooden flooring installation near Brighton£467
Wooden flooring installation near Bristol£431
Wooden flooring installation near Broadland£385
Wooden flooring installation near Broxtowe£415
Wooden flooring installation near Bury£421
Wooden flooring installation near Caerphilly£427
Wooden flooring installation near Calderdale£379
Wooden flooring installation near Cambridge£451
Wooden flooring installation near Canterbury£415
Wooden flooring installation near Cardiff£429
Wooden flooring installation near Carmarthenshire£357
Wooden flooring installation near Charnwood£411
Wooden flooring installation near Chelmsford£471
Wooden flooring installation near Cheltenham£485
Wooden flooring installation near Cherwell£493
Wooden flooring installation near Chester£399
Wooden flooring installation near Colchester£455
Wooden flooring installation near Conway£375
Wooden flooring installation near Coventry£387
Wooden flooring installation near Crewe & Nantwich£505
Wooden flooring installation near Dacorum£475
Wooden flooring installation near Derby£421
Wooden flooring installation near Doncaster£387
Wooden flooring installation near Dover£407
Wooden flooring installation near Dudley£387
Wooden flooring installation near Dumfries & Galloway£349
Wooden flooring installation near Dundee£497
Wooden flooring installation near East Ayrshire£417
Wooden flooring installation near East Devon£397
Wooden flooring installation near East Dunbartonshire£397
Wooden flooring installation near East Hampshire£451
Wooden flooring installation near East Hertfordshire£481
Wooden flooring installation near East Riding£409
Wooden flooring installation near Eastleigh£465
Wooden flooring installation near Edinburgh£461
Wooden flooring installation near Elmbridge£491
Wooden flooring installation near Epping Forest£495
Wooden flooring installation near Erewash£417
Wooden flooring installation near Exeter£383
Wooden flooring installation near Falkirk£409
Wooden flooring installation near Fife£505
Wooden flooring installation near Flintshire£403
Wooden flooring installation near Gateshead£381
Wooden flooring installation near Gedling£405
Wooden flooring installation near Glasgow£395
Wooden flooring installation near Gloucester£463
Wooden flooring installation near Guildford£479
Wooden flooring installation near Gwynedd£353
Wooden flooring installation near Halton£413
Wooden flooring installation near Harrogate£389
Wooden flooring installation near Havant & Waterloo£457
Wooden flooring installation near Highland£439
Wooden flooring installation near Horsham£463
Wooden flooring installation near Huntingdonshire£493
Wooden flooring installation near Ipswich£451
Wooden flooring installation near Isle of Wight£449
Wooden flooring installation near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£415
Wooden flooring installation near Kingston-upon-Hull£377
Wooden flooring installation near Kirklees£397
Wooden flooring installation near Knowsley£387
Wooden flooring installation near Lancaster£401
Wooden flooring installation near Leeds£393
Wooden flooring installation near Leicester£403
Wooden flooring installation near Lisburn£305
Wooden flooring installation near Liverpool£385
Wooden flooring installation near London£491
Wooden flooring installation near Luton£483
Wooden flooring installation near Macclesfield£443
Wooden flooring installation near Maidstone£447
Wooden flooring installation near Manchester£431
Wooden flooring installation near Mid Bedfordshire£489
Wooden flooring installation near Mid Sussex£455
Wooden flooring installation near Middlesbrough£449
Wooden flooring installation near Milton Keynes£481
Wooden flooring installation near Neath Port Talbot£393
Wooden flooring installation near New Forest£453
Wooden flooring installation near Newbury£443
Wooden flooring installation near Newcastle-under-Lyme£447
Wooden flooring installation near Newcastle-upon-Tyne£379
Wooden flooring installation near Newport£433
Wooden flooring installation near North Ayrshire£407
Wooden flooring installation near North East Lincolnshire£407
Wooden flooring installation near North Hertfordshire£491
Wooden flooring installation near North Lanarkshire£395
Wooden flooring installation near North Lincolnshire£385
Wooden flooring installation near North Somerset£435
Wooden flooring installation near North Tyneside£379
Wooden flooring installation near North Wiltshire£439
Wooden flooring installation near Northampton£441
Wooden flooring installation near Norwich£395
Wooden flooring installation near Nottingham£415
Wooden flooring installation near Nuneaton & Bedworth£393
Wooden flooring installation near Oldham£425
Wooden flooring installation near Oxford£489
Wooden flooring installation near Pembrokeshire£435
Wooden flooring installation near Perth & Kinross£563
Wooden flooring installation near Peterborough£511
Wooden flooring installation near Plymouth£389
Wooden flooring installation near Poole£447
Wooden flooring installation near Portsmouth£455
Wooden flooring installation near Preston£371
Wooden flooring installation near Reading£469
Wooden flooring installation near Redcar & Cleveland£447
Wooden flooring installation near Reigate & Banstead£487
Wooden flooring installation near Renfrewshire£419
Wooden flooring installation near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£417
Wooden flooring installation near Rochdale£415
Wooden flooring installation near Rochester-upon-Medway£495
Wooden flooring installation near Rotherham£399
Wooden flooring installation near Salford£427
Wooden flooring installation near Salisbury£459
Wooden flooring installation near Sandwell£387
Wooden flooring installation near Scarborough£471
Wooden flooring installation near Scottish Borders£481
Wooden flooring installation near Sefton£383
Wooden flooring installation near Sevenoaks£469
Wooden flooring installation near Sheffield£399
Wooden flooring installation near Slough£485
Wooden flooring installation near Solihull£383
Wooden flooring installation near South Ayrshire£419
Wooden flooring installation near South Bedfordshire£495
Wooden flooring installation near South Cambridgeshire£475
Wooden flooring installation near South Gloucestershire£429
Wooden flooring installation near South Kesteven£435
Wooden flooring installation near South Lanarkshire£371
Wooden flooring installation near South Oxfordshire£481
Wooden flooring installation near South Somerset£525
Wooden flooring installation near South Tyneside£381
Wooden flooring installation near Southampton£465
Wooden flooring installation near Southend-on-Sea£453
Wooden flooring installation near St Albans£483
Wooden flooring installation near St Helens£393
Wooden flooring installation near Stafford£435
Wooden flooring installation near Stockport£439
Wooden flooring installation near Stockton-on-Tees£447
Wooden flooring installation near Stoke-on-Trent£441
Wooden flooring installation near Stratford-on-Avon£405
Wooden flooring installation near Stroud£449
Wooden flooring installation near Suffolk Coastal£445
Wooden flooring installation near Sunderland£385
Wooden flooring installation near Swale£441
Wooden flooring installation near Swansea£385
Wooden flooring installation near Tameside£435
Wooden flooring installation near Teignbridge£401
Wooden flooring installation near Tendring£455
Wooden flooring installation near Test Valley£449
Wooden flooring installation near Thamesdown£423
Wooden flooring installation near Thanet£409
Wooden flooring installation near The Wrekin£391
Wooden flooring installation near Thurrock£469
Wooden flooring installation near Torbay£395
Wooden flooring installation near Trafford£441
Wooden flooring installation near Vale of Glamorgan£435
Wooden flooring installation near Vale of White Horse£483
Wooden flooring installation near Vale Royal£403
Wooden flooring installation near Wakefield£389
Wooden flooring installation near Walsall£391
Wooden flooring installation near Warrington£439
Wooden flooring installation near Warwick£387
Wooden flooring installation near Waveney£383
Wooden flooring installation near Waverley£467
Wooden flooring installation near Wealden£457
Wooden flooring installation near West Lancashire£381
Wooden flooring installation near West Lothian£447
Wooden flooring installation near West Wiltshire£439
Wooden flooring installation near Wigan£403
Wooden flooring installation near Windsor & Maidenhead£485
Wooden flooring installation near Wirral£387
Wooden flooring installation near Wokingham£475
Wooden flooring installation near Wolverhampton£399
Wooden flooring installation near Wrexham Maelor£421
Wooden flooring installation near Wychavon£417
Wooden flooring installation near Wycombe£501
Wooden flooring installation near York£407