Flooring costs per m2?

[pumaowner]

Hi there
We are hoping to get new solid oak floors fitted to 2 large bedrooms in the house we've just bought. We're not up to much beyond decorating, but I wondered what a sensible ballpark figure was in terms of fitting costs per square metre. It would be to fit to existing floorboards, on an area of around 22 m2 for the larger bedroom, and maybe 2/3rds that for the other one?

We did have a quotation from a large national company but it seemed terribly high, adding up to probably £130 incl VAT for supply and fit. That's our calculation - funnily enough, the bloke wasn't keen to give us a cost per m2...

Would be grateful for any advice?
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[gcol]

Am I reading this right? You've worked it out at £130 a metre?

 

[pumaowner]

Actually, it's more...

Floor area: 22 square metres
Quotation: £3,500!!!!

= £159 per square metre.

Obviously that's not precisely right as it also includes beading, door trimming etc. Unless my O Level Maths has totally gone to pot.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Actually, it's more...

Floor area: 22 square metres
Quotation: £3,500!!!!

= £159 per square metre.

What are you buying? Gold-plated floorboards? Or original design Parquet flooring?
Average (East Kent area that is) for proper solid (or better wood-engineered) flooring supplied and installed (with all the 'timmings') around £ 82.00 sq m ex VAT.

 

[RobTaylor]

Almost no fitter will quote prices per square metre for fitting, because there are so many variables. In the end it depends on how long it will take.

* Narrower boards take longer to fit per m2
* Bay windows are awkward
* So are fireplaces
* How many doors?
* Is it being nailed, glued, floated?
* Any underlayment, dpm, etc?

However, for square rooms with flooring being laid directly onto subfloor this job shouldn't take much longer than a couple of days for 1 man depending on the size of the boards.

A local joiner we use charges £130 per day. If it takes him 3 days thats £400 for the labour. (Mind you, we're in the North where labour is generally cheaper).

Prices for solid oak should be in the range £20-£30/m2, so 36m2 would cost £720-£1080.

Add on beading, T's, adhesives, etc and it shouldn't cost much more than £1300-£1700 in all.

On this basis I would say you're probably being over-charged. If you're willing to spend £3,500 find a recommended local fitter and get decent engineered flooring.

Rob

Disclaimer: I supply wood flooring

 

[WoodYouLike]

Almost no fitter will quote prices per square metre for fitting, because there are so many variables. In the end it depends on how long it will take.

Too many variables = doing a proper survey = proper estimation of time and materials needed = proper and specified quotation = sq m price (even on labour).
Even when customers bring their own drawings and other details to our showroom, experience has taught us to 'calculate' most variables pretty spot-on. Most times after also carrying out a survey my estimate and the estimate from the survey never vary that much ( £20 - £30 pounds in total tops).

A price per day always makes the customer wonder: yeah sure, you're saying it's going to take you only two days, but then you take 4 days and I have to pay you 2 x 130 extra?

 

[RobTaylor]

A price per day always makes the customer wonder: yeah sure, you're saying it's going to take you only two days, but then you take 4 days and I have to pay you 2 x 130 extra?

I agree. You should always get a firm quotation for the entire job. I was merely illustrating the sort of costs involved.

 

[pumaowner]

Just to say thanks - have now found a cheaper supplier at a cost of £30 plus VAT for installation per sq m.

Fingers crossed it all works out!

PO

 

[markie]

Actually, it's more...

Floor area: 22 square metres
Quotation: £3,500!!!!

= £159 per square metre.

What are you buying? Gold-plated floorboards? Or original design Parquet flooring?
Average (East Kent area that is) for proper solid (or better wood-engineered) flooring supplied and installed (with all the 'timmings') around £ 82.00 sq m ex VAT.

Do you charge the same price ( fitting only ) if it was the crap from lets say B&Q, ? if not why. ?

 

[WoodYouLike]

What are you buying? Gold-plated floorboards? Or original design Parquet flooring?
Average (East Kent area that is) for proper solid (or better wood-engineered) flooring supplied and installed (with all the 'timmings') around £ 82.00 sq m ex VAT.

Do you charge the same price ( fitting only ) if it was the rubbish from lets say B&Q, ? if not why. ?

Yes, installation is installation, although we then don't guarantee the product used and (after survey) we might calculate extra for 'time-waste' on sorting the bad bits from the good bits.
And our fitting prices are the same no matter if it's Melamine Laminated, Wood-Veneer, proper Wood-Engineered or pre-finished solid boards: the work involved is still the same.

 

[mallas]

You'll find most of the fitters in the North East, Markie, will charge more for solid wood and engineered (by a long way) than they will for laminate.

A lot of fitters I know simply won't entertain fitting cheapy B & Q junk laminate. We charge more because we wouldn't say it takes the same length of time to fit say Quickstep laminate as it does to fit a glued engineered wood floor - big time difference so big price difference for the fitter.

I'd also say that if you are talking about solid oak at £20-30 a sq.metre then it's probably not up to much. Most of this Russian/Chinese junk that fills up all the DIY sheds at that kind of price is ropey to say the least.

Stlil that £130 a square metre stuff mentioned earlier must be some floor!