The price of the flooring is only half the budget. Fitting often costs as much, sometimes more on a complex pattern. Here is how to read a quote and spot what is going to be expensive.
A useful clarification: we sell the flooring, we do not carry out the fitting. The ranges below are orders of magnitude observed on the market, materials excluded, to be confirmed by a local quote — differences between regions and between firms are real.
Ranges by installation method
| Work | Order of magnitude per m², labour only |
|---|---|
| Floating, straight planks | €20 to €35 |
| Glued, straight planks | €35 to €55 |
| Glued, diagonal | €45 to €65 |
| Herringbone or chevron | €60 to €100 |
| Versailles panels | From €90, usually on application |
| Nailed onto battens | €50 to €80 |
The gap between floating and glued is not a margin: gluing needs a prepared subfloor, adhesive, and slower work. What you buy with that supplement is silence and lifespan.
The items added to the quote
This is where the surprises come from. A serious quote itemises them line by line:
- Levelling compound. Required as soon as the subfloor is not flat to 5 mm under a 2 m straightedge. Expect a separate item, sometimes substantial on an old floor.
- Removing the old floor and taking it to a tip.
- Skirtings: supply and fit, charged per linear metre.
- Threshold strips, per unit.
- Trimming the doors when the new floor height requires it.
- The commissioning heating cycle, documented, on underfloor heating.
A quote that gives one all-inclusive rate per m² without detailing these lines deserves a written question before you sign.
What really pushes the bill up
- The pattern. A chevron doubles the fitting time of straight planks, and waste goes from 8% to 15%. The extra cost is therefore double: labour and material.
- The cuts. A room with five internal corners, an island and a fireplace costs more than a rectangle of the same area.
- The state of the subfloor. This is unknown number one. Have it assessed before signing.
- Small areas. Under 15 m², many fitters apply a call-out charge that inflates the rate per m².
Doing it yourself: what is realistic
Floating click systems, on a sound subfloor and in a simple room, are within reach for a competent DIYer. Allow a mitre saw, a tapping block, a pull bar and two days for 30 m² with two people.
For glued, a pattern or underfloor heating, use a professional. A setting-out error on a chevron shows across the whole room, and a botched glued floor cannot be corrected: it has to come up.
The budget rule that works
To estimate a whole project quickly: price of the flooring + fitting of the same order + 15% for contingencies (levelling, skirtings, thresholds). On a simple floating job, fitting comes in well below the cost of the wood; on a glued chevron, it exceeds it.