Staggering Floor installation costs

Associate
Joined
4 Jan 2005
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394
Hi,

So we are having an extension built (ground floor out into the garden) within permitted development and are having a new floor laid (engineered oak - in a herringbone pattern, that is being glued down onto ply.

Our builders have just quoted just under £4k to fit 40 square meters.

This seems completely bonkers to me! We are under some time pressure as the kitchen is currently being installed but wanted some idea from someone about what sort of price would be reasonable?

Any help much appreciated!

P.S Before you say it I won't learn to do it myself with hectic work and a 7 month old!
 
Associate
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25 Jul 2003
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Cornwall/Bristol
Prob not completely extortionate. Can easily spend £100/sqm for v good quality wood floor, and herringbone will involve a lots of labour to lay that pattern. Ask for a breakdown, and get samples from other places online/local and get some prices. Otherwise, just pay what they're asking?
 
Soldato
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24 Feb 2003
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Stourport-On-Severn
Prob not completely extortionate. Can easily spend £100/sqm for v good quality wood floor, and herringbone will involve a lots of labour to lay that pattern. Ask for a breakdown, and get samples from other places online/local and get some prices. Otherwise, just pay what they're asking?

+1
Around where i live, a tiler will charge between £30/£40 a metre just to fit wall tiles. Fitting a Herringbone engineered wood floor is more labour intensive than tiling a wall and requires a lot of skill, so £50/£60 a metre for labour would be a reasonable amount. Add to that the cost of 40m of flooring, £4000 supplied and fitted seems to me to be around the right price.
 
Soldato
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Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
Yeah i think the issue here is the pattern. Assuming around £40pm as a material cost, plus waste of 15% (Would you get more waste due to the pattern?). Plus the cost of the ply and fitting of it. Plus some profit for the builder (if he's sub contracting it out)

I'd probably have expected around £60pm for the cost of laying engineered wood directly onto the floor in a regular pattern but once you ask them to lay a subfloor and do it in a herringbone pattern it's ramping the costs up.
 
Soldato
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7 Dec 2012
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Gloucestershire
We paid £2.5k (inc VAT) for laying oak flooring over a similar area (approx 35sqm). Included skirting (~38m), 3 door architraves, and self-levelling compound in about half of the area. Damp-proof membrane and acoustic underlay.

Gloucestershire.
 
Associate
OP
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4 Jan 2005
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394
Thanks for the replies - have so far had back that the costs are basically all labor and the builder thinks it will take about 2 weeks.

It would be simpler for us to go with the builders - it might be a case of negotiating to make it a bit cheaper and then going with it.
 
Soldato
Joined
4 May 2007
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9,366
Location
West Midlands
Thanks for the replies - have so far had back that the costs are basically all labor and the builder thinks it will take about 2 weeks.

It would be simpler for us to go with the builders - it might be a case of negotiating to make it a bit cheaper and then going with it.

Have you considered karndean/amtico floor? Engineered wood floating floor can be very good but also will swell with spills etc. That long a continuous stretch as well you'll struggle to fix it if you damage any parts

Karndean will be 50 quid upwards per sqm supply and install

Agree the main cost will be in the pattern. Considered just laying it normally?

Did some oak engineered flooring myself for about £15 a sqm with free underlay
 
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