Part A: Terms of Business
These terms apply to floor sanding, restoration, staining, finishing, supply and installation work carried out by Howard Naish Wooden Floors Ltd. They sit alongside your written quote; if the two differ, the quote wins. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer.
1. Who we are
Howard Naish Wooden Floors Ltd, registered in England and Wales, Company No. 13111793, VAT Reg No. GB 366 9255 56, registered office 125 Wavertree Road, London SW2 3SN. Directors: Dean Naish and Luke Howard. Contact: 020 3131 0122, [email protected].
2. Quotes
Quotes are prepared after a free site visit and are valid for 30 days from their date. Any figure given before we have seen the floor (by phone, email or from photos) is an estimate only and the final price follows the site visit. If the measured area turns out to differ from the quoted area by more than 5%, we will discuss it with you before work begins and the price may be adjusted. Where a floor hides its condition (for example under carpet, furniture or an old finish), work that only becomes visible once we start is outside the original quote; we will show you what we have found and agree any addition in writing before doing it.
3. Booking, deposit and payment
A booking is confirmed when we accept it in writing and any deposit requested has been paid. We usually ask for a 40% deposit to secure your dates, with the balance due on the day of completion. Your deposit secures your place in our schedule and covers materials bought in for your job. Because we never cut a job short to start the next one, start dates can occasionally move; if yours does, you keep your place at the front of the queue and we agree the new date with you. If you need to move a booked date and give us seven days' notice or more, we simply rearrange at no charge and you keep your place in the queue. If we cancel a booking and cannot offer a reasonable alternative date, any deposit paid is refunded in full. All prices are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate, shown separately on the quote. If an invoice remains unpaid, we may charge statutory interest (for consumers, 4% above the Bank of England base rate; for business clients, 8% above base under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998).
4. Your right to cancel
If you are a consumer and the contract was agreed in your home or at a distance (by phone or email), you have the legal right to cancel within 14 days of the contract without giving a reason, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. To cancel, just tell us clearly in writing (email is fine). If you ask us in writing to start work within those 14 days and then cancel, you pay for the work done up to cancellation; once the work is complete, the right to cancel ends. Boards or materials cut, treated or mixed to your specification cannot be returned once ordered, and boards cannot be returned once laid.
Outside the cooling-off period, we ask for at least 48 hours' notice to cancel or move a booked start date. With less notice than that we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the lost day, and a deposit is not refundable once our team has arrived on site.
5. Getting the space ready
Before we arrive, the rooms being worked on need to be completely empty of furniture, appliances and belongings, with fitted items discussed in advance. We need mains electricity, running water and reasonable access throughout the job. Parking, permits, congestion and ULEZ charges are the client's responsibility (our quotes carry a parking line that is waived if you can provide parking). If rooms are not cleared when we arrive, we may charge for the lost visit, move light items at your risk, or work around what remains without guaranteeing a uniform result. Please make sure someone with authority to make decisions is reachable during the job, especially for stain and finish approvals, and that no other trades are working in the same rooms while we are sanding or finishing.
6. While we work
Our machines run with professional dust extraction and the process is around 95% dust free, but no sanding is completely dust free and a fine residue can settle after we leave. We cannot guarantee that skirting boards and decoration will stay pristine when floors are being fitted or sanded, and they may need touch-ups afterwards. The edging machines work right up against the skirting and can occasionally clip the bottom of boards or units that sit close to the floor. When we sand and stain floors we mask edges with tape, but if paint was not properly primed or applied in the first place, removing the tape can sometimes lift it. Machine vibration can also very occasionally show up hairline marks in fragile plaster. We take real care and protect edges as best we can, but some of this is out of anyone's control, and minor incidental marking of this kind is not something we can accept liability for. Please tell us before we start where pipes and cables run under the floor; we cannot be responsible for damage to services that are not to regulation or that we could not reasonably have known about.
7. Wood, colours and samples
Wood is a natural product. No two boards are identical, and reasonable variation in colour, grain and texture between boards, and between a sample and the finished floor, is a natural feature rather than a defect. Stain and finish samples are a guide; that is exactly why we do a patch test on your own boards and ask you to approve the colour on site before the final coats go down. A change of colour after you have approved it is chargeable. Where we source reclaimed or replacement boards to match an existing floor, we match species and character as closely as we can, but an exact match of colour, grain or age cannot be guaranteed. Gap filling (resin or slivers) can crack, sink or work loose over time as the timber moves with the seasons; this is inherent to wood floors and is not covered by our guarantee.
8. Subfloors, moisture and underfloor heating
The client is responsible for the building being dry and sound. If we find damp, an unstable subfloor or another hidden problem, we will show you and agree any extra work in writing before continuing. Moisture rising into the floor after completion, and damage caused by leaks, spills or extremes of humidity, are outside our control and outside the guarantee. With underfloor heating, the floor surface should never exceed 27 degrees Celsius and temperature changes should be made gradually, a few degrees per day; damage from running the heating outside these limits is not covered.
9. Finishes and curing
Our standard specification is three coats for lacquers, two coats for oils, confirmed on your quote. A freshly finished floor is touch dry quickly but cures over several days. We will tell you the timings for your product; as a rule, no foot traffic for the first hours we specify, no furniture for at least 24 hours, and no rugs or coverings until the finish has fully cured. Marks made during the curing window after we have left are not ours to put right, though we will always advise on the fix.
10. Boards we supply
Where we supply flooring, we choose the right boards for the job and manage any acclimatisation they need: modern engineered boards typically need a day or two on site in their sealed packs, solid wood needs longer, and we build whatever the product's instructions require into the schedule. We check the boards, and the moisture in the subfloor, before fitting. Please inspect goods on delivery and tell us about visible damage or shortages within 48 hours. Installation is acceptance: once a board is laid, no claim can be made for a visible defect, colour or grade that inspection would have shown. Goods remain our property until paid for in full. If you supply your own materials, they must have been acclimatised in the room where they will be laid for at least two days before our fitting day, and we may ask for evidence of when they arrived on site. We fit customer-supplied materials with the same care, but our guarantee covers our workmanship only: not the materials themselves, and not movement or gapping caused by boards that were not properly acclimatised.
11. Snags and our guarantee
If anything is not right, tell us in writing within 14 days of discovering it and give us the chance to inspect and put it right before anyone else touches the floor; we cannot accept charges from third parties we were never given the opportunity to beat. Anything visible at handover, such as a missed patch, an uneven area or a machine mark, needs to be raised within 14 days of the job finishing: the longer guarantee below is for faults that could not have been seen when the job was completed. Our workmanship is guaranteed under the Howard Naish Workmanship Promise for 2 years on installation and 12 months on sanding, restoration and refinishing, in addition to your statutory rights. The guarantee covers failures caused by our workmanship, established on inspection, and not problems arising from the conditions the floor lives in: it does not cover normal wear and tear, misuse, damage from water, humidity or unsuitable cleaning products, natural movement of the timber, subfloor or moisture problems, or floors that have not been cared for in line with the aftercare guidance we provide. The invoice must have been paid in full. Work agreed privately with anyone on site, rather than with the company in writing, is not covered. If we and the client cannot agree on the cause of a floor moving or lifting, either side may commission an independent flooring inspection, for example by a consultant member of the Contract Flooring Association (cfa.org.uk) or another independent flooring inspector, with the commissioning party meeting the cost initially. If the inspection finds the cause is our workmanship, we will put it right without argument and reimburse the client's reasonable inspection cost; if it finds the cause lies elsewhere, the cost stays where it was incurred.
12. Changes and delays
Additional work requested or discovered mid-job is agreed in writing (email is fine) before it is done. When you accept a quote and we book you in, we offer you the next available dates. Jobs ahead of yours do not always run to plan: floors hide surprises, and a job can overrun. If that happens you never lose your place in the queue, but your start date may move by a couple of days, and we will let you know as early as we can. Dates and durations are given in good faith but are estimates; we are not liable for delays caused by events outside our reasonable control, including overruns on earlier jobs, weather, illness, supplier failures or access problems, and we will always re-book at the earliest opportunity.
13. Waste
We bag our sanding waste as standard. Removal of waste, old flooring or packaging is the client's responsibility unless a waste removal line appears on the quote.
14. Our liability
Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud. Subject to that, our total liability in connection with a job is limited to twice the contract price, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses such as loss of earnings, alternative accommodation or redecoration beyond the rooms worked on. We hold public liability insurance; details on request.
15. Photographs
We sometimes photograph or film finished floors for our portfolio, website and social media. We never include people or personal details, and if you would rather your floor stayed off camera, just say so at any time.
16. Complaints and governing law
Complaints go to [email protected] and we respond within 5 working days. If we cannot resolve something between us, we are open to alternative dispute resolution before court. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your home courts.
Part B: The Floor Care Plan and Maintenance Contracts
These terms apply to the Floor Care Plan (our annual maintenance membership for homes) and to commercial maintenance contracts. Part A applies to all work we carry out under them, except where varied below.
1. What the Floor Care Plan is
An annual membership for floors Howard Naish has sanded or fitted ourselves. Each membership year includes one maintenance day: a deep clean of the floor, a machine buff, one fresh coat of the floor's existing finish (lacquer or oil), and minor scratch and gap touch-ups. Your price includes the labour and the product: there is nothing to pay on top for the standard visit.
2. Eligibility
The plan is exclusive to floors we finished. If a floor has been significantly altered, refinished by someone else, or damaged since we finished it, we may need to survey it again and adjust or decline membership, and we will always tell you why.
3. Your price
Your plan price is confirmed in writing when you join, based on the size of your floor and the finish on it. It stays fixed while your membership runs continuously. If we ever need to change it, we will tell you in writing before your renewal, and you are free to leave before the new price starts. All prices are subject to VAT; monthly Direct Debit amounts are collected inclusive of VAT. VAT invoices and receipts are available on request at any time.
4. Paying
You can pay yearly in advance against our invoice, or monthly by Direct Debit (twelve collections per membership year, protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee). Paying yearly in full is priced slightly lower than twelve monthly collections.
5. Scheduling your maintenance day
Your maintenance visit falls around the anniversary of your original job, and we agree the exact date with you nearer the time. For monthly members, the maintenance day is scheduled from the seventh month of the membership year onwards. Clear the rooms before we arrive, most members do, and we take £50 off the day; if you cannot, we will sort it together on the day.
6. What the plan does not cover
The maintenance day keeps a healthy floor at its best. It does not include: full sanding or restoration, changing the floor's colour or finish type, repairs beyond minor touch-ups, or damage caused by water, leaks, flooding, building works or misuse. Where a floor needs more than maintenance, we will tell you honestly and quote the work separately, and plan members receive 10% off the labour on that work.
7. Member benefits
While your membership is active you receive 10% off everything in the Howard Naish shop and 10% off the labour on any future work we carry out for you. Benefits apply to your membership address and end if the membership ends.
8. Cancelling
You can cancel at any time, no notice period, no exit fee. If you have paid yearly and your maintenance day has not yet happened, we refund the year in full. If you pay monthly, you can cancel the Direct Debit whenever you like: if your maintenance day has already happened in that membership year, the remaining months of that year stay payable; if it has not, nothing more is owed and the membership simply ends. If you move house, tell us: the membership belongs to the floor, and we will happily talk to the new owners about taking it on.
9. Commercial maintenance contracts
Commercial contracts are agreed individually in writing after a site survey, including the visit schedule, the price, and any out-of-hours arrangements. Contract clients also receive emergency call-outs for minor repairs (for example a split board or two, a loose threshold, or a small localised patch): we aim to attend within 48 hours on working days, the labour is covered by the contract, and only materials are chargeable. Larger events, such as flood or leak damage or floors that need lifting, are not covered by a maintenance contract; they are surveyed and quoted separately, with contract clients given priority scheduling and 10% off the labour.
10. Everything else
Deposits, liability, complaints and governing law are as set out in Part A above.
Part C: Website Terms of Use
Terms and conditions of use
Introduction
These terms and conditions apply between you, the User of this Website (including any sub-domains, unless expressly excluded by their own terms and conditions), and Howard Naish, the owner and operator of this Website. Please read these terms and conditions carefully, as they affect your legal rights. Your agreement to comply with and be bound by these terms and conditions is deemed to occur upon your first use of the Website. If you do not agree to be bound by these terms and conditions, you should stop using the Website immediately.
In these terms and conditions, User or Users means any third party that accesses the Website and is not either (i) employed by Howard Naish and acting in the course of their employment or (ii) engaged as a consultant or otherwise providing services to Howard Naish and accessing the Website in connection with the provision of such services.
You must be at least 18 years of age to use this Website. By using the Website and agreeing to these terms and conditions, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age.
Intellectual property and acceptable use
1. All Content included on the Website, unless uploaded by Users, is the property of Howard Naish, our affiliates or other relevant third parties. In these terms and conditions, Content means any text, graphics, images, audio, video, software, data compilations, page layout, underlying code and software and any other form of information capable of being stored in a computer that appears on or forms part of this Website, including any such content uploaded by Users. By continuing to use the Website you acknowledge that such Content is protected by copyright, trademarks, database rights and other intellectual property rights. Nothing on this site shall be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any licence or right to use any trademark, logo or service mark displayed on the site without the owner's prior written permission
2. You may, for your own personal, non-commercial use only, do the following:
a. retrieve, display and view the Content on a computer screen
3. You must not otherwise reproduce, modify, copy, distribute or use for commercial purposes any Content without the written permission of Howard Naish.
Prohibited use
4. You may not use the Website for any of the following purposes:
a. in any way which causes, or may cause, damage to the Website or interferes with any other person's use or enjoyment of the Website;
b. in any way which is harmful, unlawful, illegal, abusive, harassing, threatening or otherwise objectionable or in breach of any applicable law, regulation, governmental order;
c. making, transmitting or storing electronic copies of Content protected by copyright without the permission of the owner.
Links to other websites
5. This Website may contain links to other sites. Unless expressly stated, these sites are not under the control of Howard Naish or that of our affiliates.
6. We assume no responsibility for the content of such Websites and disclaim liability for any and all forms of loss or damage arising out of the use of them.
7. The inclusion of a link to another site on this Website does not imply any endorsement of the sites themselves or of those in control of them.
Privacy Policy
8. Use of the Website is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these terms and conditions by this reference. To view the Privacy Policy, please click on the following: https://www.howardnaish.co.uk/privacy-policy.
Availability of the Website and disclaimers
9. Any online facilities, tools, services or information that Howard Naish makes available through the Website (the Service) is provided "as is" and on an "as available" basis. We give no warranty that the Service will be free of defects and/or faults. To the maximum extent permitted by the law, we provide no warranties (express or implied) of fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy of information, compatibility and satisfactory quality. Howard Naish is under no obligation to update information on the Website regularly.
10. Whilst Howard Naish uses reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Website is secure and free of errors, viruses and other malware, we give no warranty or guarantee in that regard and all Users take responsibility for their own security, that of their personal details and their computers.
11. Howard Naish accepts no liability for any disruption or non-availability of the Website.
12. Howard Naish reserves the right to alter, suspend or discontinue any part (or the whole of) the Website including, but not limited to, any products and/or services available. These terms and conditions shall continue to apply to any modified version of the Website unless it is expressly stated otherwise.
Limitation of liability
13. Nothing in these terms and conditions will: (a) limit or exclude our or your liability for death or personal injury resulting from our or your negligence, as applicable; (b) limit or exclude our or your liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) limit or exclude any of our or your liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law.
14. We will not be liable to you in respect of any losses arising out of events beyond our reasonable control.
15. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Howard Naish accepts no liability for any of the following:
a. any business losses, such as loss of profits, income, revenue, anticipated savings, business, contracts, goodwill or commercial opportunities;
b. loss or corruption of any data, database or software;
c. any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage.
General
16. You may not transfer any of your rights under these terms and conditions to any other person. We may transfer our rights under these terms and conditions where we reasonably believe your rights will not be affected.
17. These terms and conditions may be varied by us from time to time. Such revised terms will apply to the Website from the date of publication. Users should check the terms and conditions regularly to ensure familiarity with the then current version.
18. These terms and conditions together with the Privacy Policy contain the whole agreement between the parties relating to its subject matter and supersede all prior discussions, arrangements or agreements that might have taken place in relation to the terms and conditions.
19. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 shall not apply to these terms and conditions and no third party will have any right to enforce or rely on any provision of these terms and conditions.
20. If any court or competent authority finds that any provision of these terms and conditions (or part of any provision) is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision or part-provision will, to the extent required, be deemed to be deleted, and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions of these terms and conditions will not be affected.
21. Unless otherwise agreed, no delay, act or omission by a party in exercising any right or remedy will be deemed a waiver of that, or any other, right or remedy.
22. This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted according to the law of England and Wales and all disputes arising under the Agreement (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
Part D: Shop Terms (Online Product Orders)
This part applies when you buy a physical product (aftercare, finishes, tools or trims) through the online shop at www.howardnaish.co.uk/shop. It does not apply to wood flooring, which is enquire-to-order and quoted separately under Part A, or to our services.
1. Ordering and payment
Payment is taken at checkout through Stripe, our payment provider. All prices shown include VAT. Your order is accepted when we confirm it by email. If an item turns out to be unavailable, we will tell you promptly and refund it in full.
2. Delivery
UK delivery is £4.95 per order (£10 for heavy items such as mops, kits and large cans) and free on orders over £100. Orders normally arrive within 1 to 3 working days. If something will take longer, we will let you know.
3. Changing your mind
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, you have 14 days from the day after delivery to tell us you want to cancel, for any reason, and then a further 14 days to send the goods back. Email [email protected] to cancel. Return the goods to Howard Naish Wooden Floors Ltd, 61b Midmoor Road, Balham, London SW12 0ES. You pay the return postage unless the goods are faulty. We refund within 14 days of receiving the goods back (or of you showing proof of postage), including the standard delivery charge you paid. You may examine goods as you would in a shop; we may reduce the refund if the value of the goods has been diminished by handling beyond that.
4. Faulty goods
Nothing in these terms affects your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If a product is faulty, not as described or unfit for purpose, tell us and we will put it right: within 30 days of delivery you can reject faulty goods for a full refund, and after that you are entitled to a replacement or refund as the law provides. We pay return postage on faulty goods.
5. Questions and complaints
Email [email protected] or call 020 3131 0122 and you will deal with one of the two directors directly.
Howard Naish Details
23. Howard Naish is a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 13111793 whose registered office is 125 Wavertree Road, London SW2 3SN. Day to day, we work from our base at 61b Midmoor Road, Balham, SW12 0ES, and we operate the Website www.howardnaish.co.uk. The registered VAT number is 366925556.
You can contact Howard Naish by email on [email protected] .
These terms and conditions were last updated on 28 July 2026.
Areas we cover: south and south west London, from Balham and Clapham out to Fulham, Putney, Dulwich and Wimbledon. The full list of areas we serve is in the footer of every page.