Flooring buying guide: Choosing the best flooring for your home

This flooring buying guide will help you to select the perfect flooring for every room. Taking into account style, maintenance, suitability, and cost.

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There's much to consider when selecting the best flooring for your home.

Different rooms have different demands in terms of practicality and durability.

Your flooring also needs to reflect your home's style and the amount of maintenance you're able to commit to.

And last but not least, cost plays a major role in the decision-making process too. So let's get into it...

How to choose the best type of flooring for your needs

The first step in choosing the right flooring is understanding the requirements of each room. Having a clear idea of how much traffic, moisture, and wear and tear the flooring will face will help you narrow your choices.

• Living rooms and bedrooms: Homeowners often prefer cosy, warm, and comfortable flooring in these rooms, such as carpet

• Kitchens and bathrooms: These wet environments benefit from moisture-resistant and durable flooring, such as vinyl or tile

• Hallways: High-traffic areas of the home need hard-wearing and easy-to-clean floors, such as laminate or wood

Tip: Measure up how much flooring you require in m². That way, you can more easily gauge which types of flooring are best suited to your available budget.

Popular types of flooring

Several types of flooring are available, including many environmentally friendly options such as bamboo, cork, and reclaimed wood.

There's something for every style, budget, and need, but to help keep things simple, we'll focus on five of the most popular flooring types. This includes carpet, wood, laminate, vinyl, and tile.

In this section, you'll find an overview of the pros and cons of each type of flooring, where they're best suited, and the average price per m².

1. Carpet

• Pros: Soft and warm underfoot, provides good insulation, reduces noise, available in a range of colours and styles

• Cons: Can stain easily, prone to wear and tear in high-traffic areas, and needs regular vacuuming and cleaning

• Suitability: Ideal for low-traffic areas such as bedrooms or a living room

• Cost:Expect to pay between £6 - £60 per m², with premium carpets costing upwards of £80 per m²

• Budget tip: Synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester tend to be more budget-friendly than wool

2. Wood flooring

• Pros: Timeless and versatile - it can be used all through the house - and can add value to your home

• Cons: Susceptible to scratches, dents, and water damage (although engineered wood is more forgiving than solid wood), and requires regular maintenance

• Suitability: A popular choice for living rooms, hallways, kitchens, and bedrooms

• Cost: Prices average around £35 per m² for engineered wood, up to around £80+ per m² for high-end hardwood flooring

• Budget tip: Laminate or wood-effect vinyl can offer a similar look for less

3. Laminate flooring

• Pros: Inexpensive and easy to install; laminate flooring is a good option for those who want the look of wood or tile but without the high price tag

• Cons: Not as durable as vinyl or hardwood and can swell or warp with water exposure; it also feels less authentic underfoot than real wood or tile

• Suitability: Ideal for most rooms including kitchens and hallways

• Cost: Laminate flooring tends to cost in the region of £20 - £60 per m²

• Budget tip: For better durability, make sure to choose a moisture-resistant option if using laminate in a kitchen

4. Vinyl flooring

• Pros: Vinyl is easy to clean, cost-effective, and water-resistant, and available in various styles such as wood, stone, or tile, offering versatility

• Cons: Can dent or scratch with heavy furniture or high heels; cheaper options can fade or peel over time

• Suitability: Perfect for kitchens and high-traffic areas due to its durability and soft feel underfoot

• Cost: Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) typically costs between £20 - £50 per m² depending on the quality

• Budget tip: Where possible, opt for thicker vinyl (3mm+) for increased durability and comfort

5. Tile

• Pros: Timeless, hard-wearing, easy to clean, versatile, and stain and water-resistant. Tiles add value to a property and are available in a range of styles including ceramic, porcelain, and natural stone such as slate or limestone

• Cons: Can be cold and hard underfoot, grout may need to be cleaned or regrouted over time

• Suitability: A popular choice for modern and traditional homes, especially in bathrooms, kitchens, entrance hallways, and bootrooms

• Cost: Tiled flooring starts at around £20 per m² upwards of £400+ per m² depending on the type of tile you select

• Budget tip: Ceramic and porcelain tiles are generally more affordable than natural stone tiles such as slate

Average flooring costs

When budgeting for your flooring project, you'll need to factor in the cost of materials, labour, plus additional costs. We'll break these down, below:

Materials

• Carpet:The average price for carpet is around £6 - £60 per m²

• Hardwood: On average, expect to pay around £35 per m² for engineered wood and up to around £80+ per m² for high-end hardwood flooring

• Laminate: The average cost of laminate flooring is £20 - £60 per m²

• Vinyl: Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) costs between £20 per m² - £50 per m² depending on the quality

• Tiles:Tiled flooring starts at around £20 up to around£400+ per m² depending on the type of tile you select

There's huge variance in price within each flooring type. Speak with an experienced flooring specialist to understand which options are best suited to your needs.

Labour

Depending on your floor fitter's experience, their location, and the complexity of the work, expect to pay anything between £7 - £10 per m² for carpet fitting up to around£50 per m² for floor tile installation.

Additional costs

Sometimes, a few additional components are needed when laying new flooring so it's important to know what to expect to help budget accordingly. For example:

• Floor levelling:Average cost £10 - £15 per m²

• Staircase levelling or repair:Average cost ranges from £45 - £90

• Adjusting doors:Average cost £20 - £30 per door

• Underlay:Average cost £8 - £12 per m²

Be sure to obtain a selection of quotes from local floor fitters and ensure they are itemised so you can easily see what's included and compare costs, like-for-like.

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Do you need help with the rest of your home decor?

At Checkatrade, we help to connect homeowners with quality tradespeople across the UK.

So if your flooring project is part of a wider home improvement, such as redecoration or underfloor heating, we can help. Enter your postcode below to search for the trades you need.

Key takeaways

While hardwood flooring and natural stone tiles sit at the top end of the price bracket, there's a huge variance in price among other flooring materials depending on the type and quality you choose.

If you're set on the look of hardwood or natural stone but your budget won't stretch, consider laminate or vinyl, which can mimic the look for a fraction of the price.

Finally, consider the room your flooring will go in and the needs it must fulfil. For example, a cosy carpet is great underfoot in a living room or bedroom, waterproof vinyl is perfect for a bathroom or kitchen, and wood or tile makes for a stylish and hard-wearing option for the entrance hallway.

Head over to our flooring hub for plenty more advice, information, ideas, and guidance to help nail your home flooring project.

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