Flooring throughout

PrimeCraft Surface Solutions lays and sands flooring across Greater London and the Home Counties — engineered wood, solid timber, parquet, luxury vinyl tile and ceramic or porcelain tile, laid across a single room or an entire property over a properly prepared subfloor. The pattern, species and finish are confirmed in writing before any boards go down.

Flooring across London — what's involved and where

A flooring job might be a single living room or a whole house, but the approach is the same: the subfloor is checked and prepared first, the material and pattern are set out in an itemised quote, and the finish is agreed before the first board is laid. The species, format and pattern are chosen around the room and the subfloor — not the other way round.

The work spans period homes in Chiswick (W4), Clapham (SW4), Islington (N1), Fulham (SW6) and South Kensington (SW7) — where Victorian and Edwardian floorboards are often worth restoring, and where parquet or herringbone engineered wood suits the proportions of the rooms — as well as new-build flats in Canary Wharf (E14) and across Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Hounslow, where LVT and wide-plank engineered boards are the most common requests.

The four main flooring types — and what each one suits

Engineered wood is the most practical choice for most London homes. A solid hardwood wear layer over a stable plywood core handles the central-heating cycles and humidity shifts that cause solid timber to move. It can be sanded and refinished one or two times over its life, and it installs as a floating or glued-down floor depending on the subfloor condition. Species range from oak (the standard choice) to walnut, ash and smoked variants. A wide plank — 180 mm or broader — suits larger reception rooms and open-plan kitchen-diners.

Solid wood gives a thicker wear layer and a longer refinishing life, but it needs a stable, well-ventilated subfloor and is not compatible with most underfloor heating systems. It works best in older period properties without UFH, where the subfloor is timber-joisted and the building has had time to dry out.

Parquet — laid in herringbone, chevron or traditional block patterns — is the highest-visual-impact option and adds the most value in period rooms. Most parquet today uses engineered-core boards for stability; a traditional solid-block restoration uses reclaimed or new-cut solid oak. Laying to pattern takes longer than straight-run boards, so the programme reflects that.

LVT (luxury vinyl tile) is the first choice for flats, wet-adjacent rooms, and anywhere a stone or wood look is wanted without the subfloor constraints. Click-lock LVT floats over most existing surfaces with minimal prep; glue-down LVT gives a firmer, quieter result. It is fully waterproof, quiet underfoot with the right underlay, and compatible with underfloor heating — which makes it the default for new-build flats in Canary Wharf (E14) or any managed apartment that restricts screed work.

As broad market guidance, supplied-and-fitted flooring of this kind in London typically runs around £45–£90 per m² for quality LVT or mid-range engineered boards, rising to £90–£160 per m² and beyond for solid timber, wide-plank engineered wood, or parquet laid to a herringbone or chevron pattern. Those are editorial ranges for the type of work, not a quote — the per-m² figure on any given floor turns on the material, the pattern, the subfloor condition and the room.

Why subfloor preparation comes first

The floor you see is only as good as what is under it. On a Victorian or Edwardian timber-joisted floor, that means checking for squeaks, broken or sprung boards, and moisture before anything else goes down. On a concrete slab — common in basement conversions, ground-floor extensions, and post-1990 flats — the level is checked with a straightedge and, where needed, a self-levelling latex screed is applied to bring the floor flat before the finish layer goes down. An out-of-level subfloor causes click-lock boards to gap and glue-down boards to lift; fixing it after the fact means taking the floor back up.

In purpose-built flats and mansion blocks the acoustic requirement changes the spec. Building regulations and most freeholder leases require a floating acoustic layer between the structural floor and the finish material, to limit impact noise to the flat below. That is accounted for in the quote, with the required build-up confirmed with the freeholder or managing agent where needed.

Underfloor heating compatibility — whether wet (hydronic) or electric mat — is agreed at survey stage before materials are ordered. Not every species or format works over UFH; the right one is specified, with the manufacturer's maximum operating temperature and the required acclimatisation period built into the programme. Where flooring forms part of a wider renovation or a new kitchen, it is sequenced to land after the wet trades finish, so a freshly laid floor is never the surface other trades are working over.

Restoring original boards and parquet

Many Victorian and Edwardian properties in W4, SW4, SW6, SW7 and N1 still have their original floorboards or parquet block floors under years of carpeting, paint, or adhesive residue. Where the timber is sound, floor sanding and refinishing is usually the right call: cheaper than replacement, and the finished result has the colour and character that new timber takes years to acquire. The process — machine sanding in stages, edge-sanding by hand, filling gaps with a matching compound, then sealing with oil or lacquer — produces a floor that looks and feels original without the cost of relaying.

Original parquet can be lifted, cleaned, re-laid, and refinished where the blocks are sound. Where some blocks are missing or damaged, reclaimed matching stock is the standard solution. The result is a continuous surface that reads as the original floor — because, largely, it is.

What's included in the quote

• Subfloor inspection, levelling and preparation (latex screed or board remediation as required)
• Acoustic underlay where required by regulations or the building lease
• Supply and lay of the agreed finish floor (engineered wood, solid wood, LVT, or tile) or restoration of the existing timber/parquet
• Threshold strips and door-height trimming
• Skirting removal and re-fix, or new skirting to the agreed profile, if included in scope
• Disposal of removed materials

Stairs, underfloor heating installation, and full tiling work (including walls) are scoped separately; all can be folded into the same programme where needed. A typical job of this kind sits naturally alongside renovation and kitchen work, and the choice between species and formats is set out in detail in the guide to engineered, solid and LVT wood flooring.

A written quote comes from a free site visit — get an estimate to arrange one and have the floor specified room by room before you commit.

Related

• Flooring — the supply, fitting, sanding and restoration service
• Renovations and kitchens — where new flooring most often sits in a wider scope
• Wood flooring in London: engineered, solid and LVT
• Get an estimate