Honest Numbers

What a Wood Floor Really Costs in London

Guide ranges, what moves the number, and how the fixed written quote works. No teaser rates, no quote that grows mid-job. Every price below is a guide; your floor gets its own fixed price in writing after a free site visit.

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The Guide Ranges

These are the honest ranges most London floors land in, per square metre, including-VAT first and shown both ways so you can compare any quote like for like, whichever way it was given to you. Where your floor sits inside a range depends on condition, species and specification, which is exactly what the free visit establishes.

Hardwood floor sanding: £36 to £60 per m² including VAT (£30 to £50 plus VAT), the full three-stage sanding process with the finish included: three coats of lacquer or two coats of oil.
Pine floorboard sanding: £48 to £72 per m² including VAT (£40 to £60 plus VAT). Pine runs higher than hardwood because old boards nearly always need repairs, gap filling and more careful sanding.
Plank floor fitting: £36 to £60 per m² including VAT (£30 to £50 plus VAT) labour for straight planks, engineered or solid.
Herringbone, chevron and parquet fitting: £48 to £84 per m² including VAT (£40 to £70 plus VAT) labour, always glue-down, because pattern work takes pattern time.
Board supply: £36 to £180 per m² including VAT (£30 to £150 plus VAT) depending on what you choose, from sensible everyday engineered oak to premium wide boards. We bring samples to your door.

The full detail lives in our two cost guides: what floor sanding costs in London and what wood floor installation costs in London.

What Moves the Number

Condition. A floor with loose blocks, water marks or old paint takes more work before the first cut than one that just needs freshening.
Repairs. Replacement boards, gap filling and re-fixing are itemised on the quote, never hidden in the rate.
The finish specification. Standard lacquer or oil is included. Stepping up to a commercial-strength lacquer for kitchens and areas with heavy foot traffic is a small itemised extra.
Staining. A colour change adds a stage, proven first with a free patch test on your own boards.
Stairs. Handheld, slower work, priced per staircase after a look: see the stair sanding page.
Size. Larger areas earn a better rate, because the set-up costs the same either way.

Three Real Job Shapes

Worked from the guide ranges above so you can sense-check any quote, ours included. Both figures shown, all confirmed in writing after a visit.

Rich dark oak plank floor finished by Howard Naish in a basement games room — Oak, sanded and finished.

Original Victorian pine floorboards restored and finished by Howard Naish — Victorian pine, brought back.

New engineered oak herringbone hallway supplied and fitted by Howard Naish — Engineered oak, supplied and fitted.

One reception room, hardwood, sand and refinish. Around 20 m² at £30 to £50 lands between £720 and £1,200 including VAT (£600 to £1,000 plus VAT), with waste clearance and any repairs itemised on top.
Two rooms and a hallway of Victorian pine. Around 35 m² at £40 to £60 lands between £1,680 and £2,520 including VAT (£1,400 to £2,100 plus VAT), usually with gap filling and a handful of board repairs itemised alongside.
A new engineered oak floor, supplied and fitted. Around 25 m² of boards at £30 to £150 plus fitting at £30 to £50 spans roughly £1,800 to £6,000 including VAT (£1,500 to £5,000 plus VAT) depending mostly on the board you fall in love with.

If a quote you have been given sits far outside these shapes, in either direction, it is worth asking why. Our guide on how to choose a floor sanding company in London covers the questions to ask.

How the Quote Works

One of us comes out, Dean or Luke, measures up, and talks through the options with samples in your own light. Your fixed written quote follows shortly after, itemised so you can see what each part costs, valid for 30 days. A 40 percent deposit secures your booking and your place in our queue, and the balance is due on the day the work is completed, once you have walked your own floor.

Every job is backed by the Howard Naish Workmanship Promise: 2 years on installation, 12 months on sanding and refinishing.

Straight Answers

Pricing Questions, Answered Honestly

Why are these ranges and not fixed prices?

Because no two floors are the same. Condition, species, repairs, access and the finish specification all move the number, and pretending otherwise is how quotes grow mid-job. The free site visit is where the range becomes a fixed written price that does not move.

What is included in a sanding price?

The full three-stage sanding process and the finish: three coats if you choose a lacquer, two coats if you choose an oil, included in the price. Repairs, gap filling and staining are itemised separately on the quote so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

How does payment work?

A 40 percent deposit secures your booking and your place in our queue, and the balance is due on the day the work is completed, once you have walked your own floor. Cancelled by us, full refund.

Do larger jobs cost less per square metre?

Usually, yes. Setting up the machines costs the same whether the room is ten square metres or forty, so bigger areas earn a better rate. That is one of the things the site visit settles.

Every job is backed by the Howard Naish Workmanship Promise: 2 years on installation, 12 months on sanding and refinishing. If our work fails, we fix it.

Thirty Seconds, Five Boxes

Get Your Fixed Written Price

Leave your details and one of us replies personally, usually the same day, to arrange your free site visit.

We're booking about three months ahead at the moment, and a deposit holds your place in the queue. Dates tight? Ring us anyway, cancellations happen and smaller jobs can often be slotted in.