Flooring installation is the supply and fitting of a new floor finish, such as laminate, luxury vinyl tile, engineered wood or solid wood, over a properly levelled and prepared subfloor, with underlay, trims and thresholds finished neatly.
For a homeowner in Edinburgh, planning new flooring tends to begin with two questions: what will it cost, and how disruptive will it be? Our guide range is £1,150–£3,800 including VAT, and a typical job runs to 1–2 days per room, longer if levelling is needed. Both numbers firm up once we have seen the property, measured up and agreed exactly what is included.
- Guide price
- £1,150–£3,800 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 1–2 days per room, longer if levelling is needed
- Postcodes
- EH1, EH2, EH3, EH7 and EH8
- Planning rules
- Scotland
- Local area
- City of Edinburgh
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
What should you budget for new flooring in Edinburgh?
The costs listed here are typical for new flooring around Edinburgh and include VAT. They reflect labour and material costs in Scotland, about 4% below the national guide, giving a range of £1,150–£3,800. Exact pricing depends on your home, so we only fix it once a free site survey is done.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Laminate in one room | Around 15–20m² of laminate with underlay, trims and door trimming. | £600–£1,750 |
| LVT or engineered wood | Around 20–25m² of LVT or engineered wood, with levelling and moisture protection. | £1,150–£3,400 |
| Whole floor or solid wood | An open-plan ground floor, solid wood or herringbone, with extensive preparation. | £3,400–£8,600 |
Your price depends mostly on:
- Floor area and the number of rooms, stairs and doorways
- Flooring type, plank size and laying pattern
- Condition of the subfloor and any levelling needed
- Lifting and disposing of existing floor coverings
What does the job include in Edinburgh?
- Lifting and disposal of old carpet, laminate or vinyl
- Damp-proof membrane and suitable underlay for your floor type
- Supply and fitting of your chosen flooring
- Door trimming so doors clear the new floor
- Threshold strips, scotia or skirting finished neatly
- Furniture moved within the room where agreed
Local housing and new flooring
Edinburgh's New Town is a planned Georgian sandstone townscape within a World Heritage Site, and districts such as Marchmont and Leith have Victorian tenements. Bungalows and villas fill the suburbs, Midlothian has former mining villages, Livingston was built as a new town, and East Lothian villages often have red pantile roofs.
Listed and conservation-area homes need careful window and stone repairs. Bungalows commonly suit loft conversions and dormers, and suburban semis take extensions and garage conversions.
That mix of housing shapes how we approach new flooring in Edinburgh: the age and construction of your home affect the materials, the method and, in the end, the price.
Planning and building rules in Edinburgh
Each UK nation sets its own consent rules, and Edinburgh is in Scotland. What follows is a plain summary; we check the specifics for your property with the council before pricing anything.
Internal improvements do not need planning permission in Scotland unless the building is listed.
Like-for-like kitchen and bathroom replacements do not normally need a building warrant, but structural changes and some drainage or heating alterations do, and electrical work must meet the building standards.
Rules change and every property is different, so we check the planning history and constraints for your address before we quote.
From survey to handover
Free site survey
A free survey comes first. It gives us what we need to price new flooring properly, including dimensions, existing materials and access for deliveries, and gives you the chance to ask anything you like.
Your fixed price
Next you receive a written quote with a fixed price for the agreed specification. It lists what is included, what is not, and how payments are staged, so you can compare it properly.
Getting ready
Once you accept, we agree start dates, order materials and deal with any planning, building control or neighbour notices the job needs. You'll know who is coming and when before work begins.
Build and hand over
During the work we protect the areas around it and tidy up at the end of each day. Once complete, we check the finish, remove our materials and hand over paperwork such as building control sign-off where it applies.
Why homeowners choose us
Frequently asked questions
Do I need planning permission in Edinburgh?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. Edinburgh is in Scotland, so Scotland's rules apply. Many smaller jobs need no planning application, but some still need building control approval. We check what applies to your address before quoting.
Can I have wood flooring with underfloor heating?
Engineered wood and LVT both work well with underfloor heating, because they are stable and transfer heat efficiently. Solid wood is less suitable, as it can move and gap as temperatures change. The flooring and underlay must be approved for use with the heating system, and floor temperatures need limiting. We check the manufacturer's guidance before recommending a product.
How long does it take to lay a floor?
Laying a floor in an average room usually takes one to two days. Open-plan spaces, herringbone patterns and floors needing levelling compound take longer, because the compound must dry before the floor goes down. Some products also need to acclimatise in the room for a day or two before fitting. We confirm timings for your rooms with the written quote.
How do I look after a new floor?
Looking after a new floor is mostly about keeping grit off it, because grit acts like sandpaper. Use doormats, sweep or vacuum regularly and clean with a damp, not wet, mop using a cleaner made for that floor type. Put felt pads under furniture legs. Oiled wood floors need occasional re-oiling, while lacquered wood, laminate and LVT just need regular cleaning.
Do you cover Musselburgh, Bonnyrigg and Penicuik?
Yes. As well as Edinburgh, we cover Musselburgh, Bonnyrigg and Penicuik and the rest of Edinburgh and the Lothians. Our coverage is UK-wide, so the process is the same wherever you are: a free site survey, a quote in writing that fixes the price for the agreed scope, and one point of contact while the work is planned and carried out.
Nearby towns
We survey and quote throughout Edinburgh's EH1, EH2, EH3 and EH7 postcodes and in surrounding places such as Musselburgh, Bonnyrigg and Penicuik. The process and pricing approach are identical in each of them.