If you're pricing up a new wood floor for a Wallington semi or terrace, the quotes you get back can vary wildly for what looks like the same job. This guide breaks down what actually drives the cost, so you know what you're paying for before a fitter walks through your door.
Most of Wallington's housing stock falls into two camps: 1930s semis around Woodcote and Beddington with suspended timber floors, and Victorian or Edwardian terraces nearer the town centre with original floorboards under decades of carpet. The condition of what's underneath matters more to the final price than the wood you pick.
Uneven boards, old nails, or a concrete subfloor that's out of level all add time and materials before a single plank goes down. On older terraces it's common to find dips of 10mm or more across a room, which needs levelling compound or plywood overboarding before fitting can start.
As a rough guide, engineered oak supplied and fitted usually runs from £45 to £85 per square metre, while solid oak sits higher at around £70 to £130 per square metre once you include fitting. Labour alone, where you supply the boards yourself, tends to be £20 to £35 per square metre.
For a typical Wallington living room of around 20 square metres, that puts engineered oak at roughly £900 to £1,700 fitted, and solid oak at £1,400 to £2,600. Hallways and smaller box rooms obviously cost less in total but can carry a higher price per metre because of cutting, doorway thresholds and extra labour time.
Taking up old carpet, gripper rods and underlay, or lifting a failed laminate floor, is usually charged separately and adds £5 to £15 per square metre. If there's asbestos-backed vinyl under an older Wallington kitchen floor, that needs a specialist to remove it safely, which is a different job and cost entirely.
Skirting boards almost always need lifting and refitting, or at least scribing and re-caulking, to get a neat finish against the new floor. New wood also needs 48 to 72 hours acclimatising inside the house before fitting, which matters in older properties with higher damp levels, since fitting too soon risks gaps or cupping later on.
Engineered boards are generally the better fit for most homes in the area because they're more stable against the seasonal movement and moisture typical of London clay subsoil, and they're the only safe option over underfloor heating. Solid wood looks and feels fantastic but is less forgiving in rooms prone to damp, like ground floor rooms in older terraces without a damp-proof membrane.
If your home already has old pine or oak floorboards under the carpet, it's worth asking a fitter to check them before buying new wood at all. Sanding and sealing existing boards typically costs £25 to £40 per square metre and can give a similar look for considerably less than a full new floor.
Ask any fitter to see the subfloor before they quote, rather than pricing from photos or a phone call, since hidden prep work is the most common reason a final bill creeps above the estimate. A proper quote should break out materials, fitting, prep and skirting as separate lines so you can see exactly what you're paying for.
It's also worth getting at least two quotes if the job covers more than one room, since the gap between a quick laminate-style click fit and a full solid wood installation with subfloor levelling can easily be a few hundred pounds, even for rooms of a similar size.
A single room of around 15 to 20 square metres usually takes one to two days once the subfloor is ready, though levelling or drying time for compound can add an extra day. Whole ground floors or open plan areas typically take three to five days.
Yes, engineered wood is generally the safer choice over underfloor heating because its layered construction resists the expansion and contraction that solid wood suffers from. Always check the specific board's maximum operating temperature and use a fitter experienced with heated floors.
In many Wallington terraces with original floorboards under old carpet, sanding and sealing is usually cheaper than a full new floor, often £25 to £40 per square metre against £45 or more for new engineered boards. It only works well if the existing boards are in reasonable condition without excessive gaps or damage.