What actually drives the cost of a flooring job

Why we do not publish a rate

A per-square-metre rate on a website is either so heavily hedged it tells you nothing, or it is a number that only holds for one specific set of conditions and quietly grows once someone sees the job. Neither helps you compare quotes.

What does help is understanding what a quote is actually made of, so that when you receive two of them you can see why they differ. That is what this page is for.

The eight variables

In roughly the order of how much they move the number.

What moves the price

• Subfloor condition. The biggest and least predictable variable. A flat, dry, sound substrate needs nothing. One that needs grinding, levelling compound, a moisture barrier or a plywood overlay can add a substantial amount — and none of it can be known accurately until the old covering is up.
• Product tier. Wear layer thickness, core construction, board width and grade span an enormous range, and two boards that look identical in a showroom can differ several-fold in price. This is where most of the difference between two quotes usually sits.
• Format. Straight-lay is the baseline. Herringbone and chevron are laid piece by piece from a centre line, generate more waste, and demand a flatter subfloor — the labour component rises steeply.
• Total area. Rate per square metre generally falls as area rises, because set-up, delivery and mobilisation are fixed costs spread over more metres. A single small room is disproportionately expensive per metre.
• Removal and disposal. Pulling up carpet and underlay is quick. Glued vinyl, tiles and adhesive residue are slow, and tile removal often reveals a substrate that then needs work.
• Stairs, skirting and trims. Stairs are the slowest part of any flooring job — every tread is templated individually. Skirting can be refitted, replaced or covered with scotia, and the three options are meaningfully different in cost.
• Access. A ground-floor house with a driveway is one thing. A third-floor walk-up, a lift booking, restricted hours and a long carry is another. It is a real cost and an honest quote includes it.
• Strata requirements. Acoustic underlay, acoustic reporting, insurance documentation, protection of common areas and restricted working hours all add cost to an apartment job relative to the same floor in a house.

Sanding and polishing has its own variables

For a refinishing job rather than a new floor, the drivers change: how many coats of old finish have to come off, how cupped or uneven the boards are, whether gap filling is wanted, how many boards need replacing, and whether the floor is a species that sands easily. Pine and hardwood behave very differently under a machine.

The number of coats matters too — one sealer plus two finish coats is standard, three finish coats for heavy traffic — as does the coating system chosen.

What a good quote should show you

If you are comparing quotes, these are the things that make them comparable.

A quote worth trusting

• Product named specifically — brand, range, board size, and wear layer thickness. "Engineered oak" is not a specification.
• Subfloor preparation as its own line, with what has been assumed. A quote with preparation silently bundled in is a variation waiting to happen.
• Removal and disposal stated explicitly, including whether it is included.
• Skirting and trims specified — refit, replace or scotia.
• The fixing method: floating, direct-stick, or secret-nailed.
• For apartments: what acoustic underlay, and its rating.
• A day count, so you know how long you are living with it.
• What is excluded. The exclusions tell you more than the inclusions.

The cheapest quote and the most expensive quote

The cheapest quote in a set of three is usually cheap for a reason that is visible if you look: a thinner wear layer, no allowance for subfloor preparation, scotia instead of refitted skirting, or removal excluded. That is not necessarily wrong — if your subfloor genuinely is flat and dry, a lower price for the same work is just a better price.

The point is to be comparing the same job. Most of the time, two very different numbers are describing two different scopes.

Last reviewed 2026-09. General information only, not legal advice — check your own by-laws and the current legislation before acting.