How much does floor sanding cost in the UK?
Floor sanding costs £450 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £250 and £1,200 to sand and refinish a room. Floor area: Small room or hallway £250 to £400; Average room £400 to £650; Large room £650 to £1,200. Prices reviewed July 2026.
Floor sanding and refinishing usually costs between £250 and £1,200 in the UK, or about £20 to £25 per square metre. Most people pay around £450 to sand and refinish an average room. The price depends mainly on the floor area, the type of floor and the finish you choose.
Floor sanding cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your floor sanding in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Floor sanding cost breakdown
Typical floor sanding costs, by option:
| Floor area | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Small room or hallway (up to 12 m2) | £250 to £400 |
| Average room (12 to 25 m2) | £400 to £650 |
| Large room, whole floor or parquet | £650 to £1,200 |
What's included in the price?
Typical floor sanding prices include:
- A visit to check the floor's condition and the boards
- Punching down nails and filling gaps and cracks
- Machine sanding through coarse, medium and fine grits
- Two or three coats of oil, lacquer or hardwax
- Hoovering and clearing the dust as they work
What changes the price?
The things that move floor sanding prices most:
The floor area in square metres
The type of floor: softwood boards, hardwood or parquet
The finish you choose: lacquer, oil or hardwax oil
How worn the boards are and how much filling or repair is needed
Your region
Whether furniture needs moving out of the way
These are why two quotes for the same job can differ, and the only way to know your price is to get prices from local firms (through Bark; we may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you).
How the price is built up
The price covers moving furniture and prep, sanding from coarse through to fine grit, filling gaps and nail holes, then two or three coats of finish with drying time in between. Bigger areas and parquet take longer, and a harder-wearing finish costs more. Floor sanding is mostly labour and machine time. The materials are the abrasives and the finish; a 5 litre tin of good floor oil or lacquer is around £40 to £70 and covers two to three coats on an average room.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Clear the room and lift any carpet, gripper or tacks yourself before they start
- Have several rooms done in one visit to spread the callout charge
- Choose a good lacquer over an oil finish if you want a lower material cost
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, floor sanding typically costs around £540 to sand and refinish a room, about 20% above the UK average of £450. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £440.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £250 | £450 | £1,200 |
| London | £300 | £540 | £1,400 |
| South East / South West | £260 | £470 | £1,300 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
Guide prices to sand and refinish a room, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Floor sanding cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £240 | £430 | £1,100 |
| Birmingham | £250 | £450 | £1,200 |
| Bristol | £260 | £470 | £1,300 |
| Cardiff | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
| Edinburgh | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
| Glasgow | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
| Leeds | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
| Liverpool | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
| London | £300 | £540 | £1,400 |
| Manchester | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
| Newcastle | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
| Sheffield | £240 | £440 | £1,200 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for floor sanding, not quotes.
The South East and London are the priciest, often £3 to £5 more per square metre; the North, Wales and Scotland are typically cheaper.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your floor sanding tell you what it costs where you live.
Free and no obligation. You answer a few questions on Bark, local pros get in touch, and you decide who, if anyone, to hire. We may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you.Common questions
How much does floor sanding cost in 2026?
About £250 to £1,200 for a room, or roughly £20 to £25 per square metre. Most people pay around £450 to sand and refinish an average-sized room, with parquet and larger floors costing more.
What changes the price of floor sanding?
Mainly the floor area, the type of floor and the finish. Parquet costs more than plain boards because the sanding is fussier, and hardwax oil finishes cost more than a basic lacquer. Badly worn boards that need extra filling or repair also push the price up.
Is it worth sanding floorboards instead of replacing them?
Usually yes. Sanding and refinishing existing boards costs far less than new flooring and keeps the original timber. It only stops being worth it if the boards are rotten, riddled with woodworm or sanded so many times before that there is little wood left.
Can I sand my own floors?
You can, and hiring a drum sander and edger costs around £60 to £100 a day plus abrasives and finish. It is hard, dusty work though, and it is easy to gouge the boards with a heavy machine, so many people leave it to a specialist for a better result.
How long does floor sanding take?
An average room is usually one to two days once you allow for drying time between coats. A whole floor or intricate parquet can take three to four days.
How many times can a floor be sanded?
That depends on how much wood sits above the tongue, and it is the question to settle before booking anyone. On solid boards there is typically about 6mm between the surface and the tongue and groove on an 18mm board, and each sanding takes roughly 0.5 to 1.5mm off, so you get several passes: a solid floor professionally sanded and sealed about every decade will comfortably see 60 or 70 years. Engineered board is the one to check, because only the wear layer on top can be sanded and those run anywhere from 0.6mm to 6mm. At 6mm you have three to five sandings in the floor; at 2 to 3mm expect one or two; under 2mm it should not be sanded at all, because the risk of going through the veneer is too high. Laminate cannot be sanded under any circumstances. So the useful question before paying £250 to £1,200 a room is not how worn the floor looks, it is how much wood is left, and any decent floor sander will tell you when the answer is none.
Is oil or lacquer cheaper as a finish?
Lacquer is usually the cheaper and quicker option and gives a hard-wearing surface. Oils and hardwax oils cost a bit more and need more care, but they are easier to patch-repair later without sanding the whole floor again.
Is it safe to sand painted floorboards in an older house?
Not if the paint could contain lead, which in an older house it might. The UK Health Security Agency says lead paint was common before the 1970s, may still sit under newer paint in Victorian homes, and is only likely to cause exposure when it is deliberately removed or sanded, as a drum sander does; children should stay out until the dust is gone and the room aired. For old paint in poor condition, the Health and Safety Executive advises a chemical stripper, wet abrasive paper and on-tool extraction. If any boards or borders are painted, ask how the sander will deal with it before you accept a quote.
Can I sand the floorboards and leave them bare in a flat?
If the flat is leasehold, check the lease before you book anyone: GOV.UK's leasehold guidance says your lease sets out conditions such as whether you need permission to make alterations, and that you can be taken to court for not following them. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's noise guidance names sanded floorboards, with laminate and tiles, among the hard floors behind more noise disturbance in flats, and says swapping a carpet for wood can make the flat below much noisier. Bare boards cannot take an underlay, so rugs are the main fix. If the lease requires carpet, find out before paying £250 to £1,200 a room.
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- Lead: information for the public UK Health Security Agency · UKHSA's public guidance on lead: lead paint was common before the 1970s, can survive under newer paint in Victorian homes, and is a risk mainly when it is removed or sanded.
- Frequently asked questions on lead HSE · HSE's advice for removing old paint in poor condition: chemical stripper, wet abrasive paper and on-tool extraction rather than dry sanding.
- Noise associated with laminate and wood flooring Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council · A council's noise guidance: replacing a carpet with wood or laminate can make the flat below much noisier, and a resilient underlay and rugs reduce it.
- Leasehold property: leaseholder rights and responsibilities GOV.UK · GOV.UK's guidance for leaseholders: the lease sets the conditions you have agreed to, such as whether you need permission to make alterations, and not following them can end in court.
Cite this data
These figures are free to use in articles, reports and research under a CC BY 4.0 licence. All we ask is a credit to Costwise, and online a link. Where your style allows, please make "Costwise" the linked word so readers can check the figure for their own region.
Costwise (2026): Floor sanding typically costs £450 in the UK, ranging from £250 to £1,200 to sand and refinish a room. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Floor sanding cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/floor-sanding-cost/2026-10-12 (158 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.