How much does wood flooring cost in the UK?
Wood flooring costs £55 to £150 per m² in the UK, typically around £90. What moves the price most is total area in square metres, so a simpler job sits near the bottom of that range and a larger or higher-spec one near the top. Prices reviewed June 2026.
Wood flooring is priced by the square metre, supplied and fitted. Engineered wood is cheaper than solid hardwood, and the subfloor condition and fitting method change the labour.
Wood flooring cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your wood flooring in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Wood flooring cost breakdown
Typical wood flooring costs, by the unit:
| What | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Per m², supplied and fitted | £55 to £150 per m² |
| + Solid hardwood (not engineered) | add £25 to £60 per m² |
| + Subfloor levelling | add £10 to £25 per m² |
| 10 m² | £550 to £1,500 |
| 20 m² (typical) | £1,100 to £3,000 |
| 40 m² | £2,200 to £6,000 |
What's included in the price?
Typical wood flooring prices include:
- Floor preparation and underlay
- Flooring supplied and fitted
- Beading, thresholds and trims
- Offcut and waste removal
What changes the price?
The things that move wood flooring prices most:
Total area in square metres
Engineered wood is cheaper than solid hardwood; laminate is cheaper still
Subfloor condition and any levelling
Fitting method: floating, glued or nailed, and the board pattern
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, wood flooring typically costs around £110 per m², about 20% above the UK average of £90. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £85.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £55 | £90 | £150 |
| London | £65 | £110 | £180 |
| South East / South West | £60 | £95 | £160 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £55 | £85 | £150 |
Guide prices per m², scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Wood flooring cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £50 | £85 | £140 |
| Birmingham | £55 | £90 | £150 |
| Bristol | £60 | £95 | £160 |
| Cardiff | £55 | £85 | £150 |
| Edinburgh | £55 | £85 | £150 |
| Glasgow | £55 | £85 | £150 |
| Leeds | £55 | £85 | £150 |
| Liverpool | £55 | £85 | £150 |
| London | £65 | £110 | £180 |
| Manchester | £55 | £85 | £150 |
| Newcastle | £55 | £85 | £150 |
| Sheffield | £55 | £85 | £150 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for wood flooring, not quotes.
Fairly consistent nationally, with London a little higher on labour.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your wood flooring 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 it cost to fit wood flooring in a room?
A typical 20 square metre room costs roughly £1,100 to £3,000 in engineered wood, supplied and fitted. Solid hardwood costs more, laminate less.
Is engineered wood cheaper than solid wood?
Yes. Engineered boards use a thinner real-wood top layer on a stable core, so they cost less than solid hardwood and cope better with underfloor heating and moisture.
Is wood flooring cheaper than carpet?
No, carpet is cheaper to buy and fit. Wood flooring at £55 to £150 per m² fitted earns its keep over time: engineered boards last decades and solid wood can be sanded and refinished several times, where carpet is typically replaced every 10 years or so. If you plan to stay put, wood usually works out reasonable value; for a quick refresh before selling, carpet is the cheaper lever.
Can wood flooring go over underfloor heating?
Engineered wood, yes: its layered construction handles the temperature cycling, within the floor-temperature limit the manufacturer states. Solid wood is risky over underfloor heating because it moves with heat and moisture, and many suppliers will not warranty it. This is one of the main reasons engineered boards have become the default choice.
Do I need subfloor work before wood flooring?
Often, and it is the cost people miss. Boards need a flat, dry base, so levelling compound or ply adds £10 to £25 per m² where the subfloor is uneven. A good fitter checks moisture in a concrete subfloor before laying anything; skipping that check is how new floors end up cupping within a year.
Can I lay wood flooring myself?
Yes, a click-fit engineered floor is one of the more DIY-friendly jobs, and doing it yourself saves the fitting labour within the £55 to £150 per m2 range. You still buy the boards, underlay and any trims. The catches are subfloor prep, getting it flat and dry, and neat cuts around doorways and pipes. Glued or nailed solid boards are far trickier, so leave those to a fitter unless you are experienced.
Does wood flooring add value when you sell?
It helps a sale more than most flooring, but rarely returns the full £55 to £150 per m2 you spend. Buyers like real wood underfoot and it photographs well, so it can speed a sale, yet few will pay a clear premium for it over good laminate. Fit it mainly because you want to live with it, and treat any effect on price as a small bonus rather than the reason.
Can I have wood flooring in a flat?
If the flat is leasehold, check the lease before you choose boards: 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, for one, says replacing a carpet with a wood or laminate floor can make the flat below much noisier, and advises a resilient underlay. If you are above another flat, ask each fitter which underlay their fitting method allows before you compare quotes, and get any landlord consent in writing first.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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): Wood flooring typically costs £90 in the UK, ranging from £55 to £150 per m². Reviewed June 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Wood flooring cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-09-28. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/wood-flooring-cost/2026-09-28 (156 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.