Laminate, Wood & LVT Flooring Fitting in North West London

Laminate, engineered, LVT or solid wood: which should you choose?

Choose by room and use first, then by look. Each type behaves differently in water, under heat and over time.

• Laminate: a printed layer over a fibreboard core. Hard-wearing and good value for living rooms, bedrooms and hallways. Most standard laminate does not like standing water, so check the product before using it in a kitchen or bathroom.
• Engineered wood: a real timber top layer bonded to a plywood or fibreboard base. It looks and feels like wood but moves less than solid boards, and many products suit underfloor heating. It can be floated or glued down.
• Click LVT (luxury vinyl): rigid or flexible vinyl planks that resist water, so it suits kitchens, bathrooms and lets. It shows every bump in the subfloor, so preparation matters most here.
• Solid wood: boards of a single timber, nailed or glued down. It is the longest-lived option but moves most with humidity, and many products are not suited to underfloor heating.

Why does the subfloor matter so much?

The subfloor decides whether a new floor stays flat, quiet and dry, so it is the first thing we look at. Fitting instructions set a flatness tolerance. Hollows make laminate bounce and click at the joints, and they print through vinyl. Old timber floors are screwed down where they move, and squeaks are fixed before anything goes on top. For LVT over floorboards, a plywood overlay gives a flat, stable base. Concrete floors are ground or levelled with compound where they dip.

Concrete also needs a moisture check. A new screed or a floor that has had a leak can hold enough moisture to swell laminate and wood. Where the reading is high, a damp-proof membrane or more drying time is needed. If the cause looks like rising or penetrating damp, we stop and recommend a damp specialist. We do not diagnose damp.

Which underlay do you need?

The right underlay depends on the floor, the subfloor and the building. Fitting instructions often name the type, and using another can affect the warranty. On concrete, a floating floor normally needs a damp-proof membrane, either separate or built into the underlay. Over underfloor heating, the underlay has to let heat through, so check its rating.

Many click LVT products need a thin, firm underlay or none, because a soft one lets the joints flex. In a flat, the underlay is mainly about the neighbours below. Acoustic underlays reduce the impact noise of footsteps, and many leases expect one.

Can you lay a hard floor in a leasehold flat?

Often yes, but read the lease before you buy the flooring. The GOV.UK guide to leasehold says your lease sets out the conditions you have agreed to, any need for permission to make alterations, and who deals with noisy neighbours. Many flat leases include a flooring clause. Some require carpet and underlay, some allow other suitable sound-deadening materials, and some ask for the freeholder's written consent first. The wording matters. In a 2022 First-tier Tribunal case about a flat in Hampstead, the lease required underfelt and carpet or other suitable sound-deadening materials.

The freeholder applied for a finding that laminate with an acoustic underlay breached it. On the evidence, the tribunal found no breach. A lease that says carpet only, with no alternative, leaves far less room. Send us the clause, and any consent or specification from the managing agent. We will fit the underlay they ask for and leave you its data sheet as evidence. We cannot give a legal view on the lease or test acoustic performance.

What happens at the skirting, doorways and doors?

Floating floors expand and contract, so they need a gap at every wall, and the finish is about hiding it neatly. The cleanest way is to take the skirting off, lay the floor, and refit the skirting over the gap. Where skirting stays, a scotia or square bead covers the gap instead. At door frames, we undercut the architrave and lining so the floor slides beneath them, not scribed round them.

At doorways, a threshold strip joins rooms and covers the change in height or material. Doors usually have to come off and be trimmed. Approved Document F expects internal doors to clear the floor finish by about 10mm so air can move between rooms. We trim to that, which keeps the extract fans working. Fire doors keep their own bottom gap.

What if there are old floor tiles under the carpet?

Stop and get them tested before they are lifted or sanded. HSE says asbestos was added to PVC and thermoplastic floor tiles, and that old asbestos floor tiles can be hidden under carpets. Tiles in sound condition are often best left in place and overlaid. We will not break up, grind or sand untested tiles. Removal, if needed, goes to an asbestos specialist.

Which floors last best in a rental?

For lets, choose for wear, water and easy repair. Click LVT copes best with kitchens and bathrooms, where spills and leaks happen. A good laminate or engineered board suits living rooms and bedrooms. Look for a higher wear rating on the pack for hallways, which take the most traffic. Keep a box of spare boards.

A damaged click plank near a wall can often be replaced without relaying the room, if a matching batch is in stock. Take dated photos of the new floor at the start of each tenancy, as these are the evidence in any deposit claim. We photograph our work before and after, which helps.

What affects the cost of flooring fitting?

Floor area is only part of the price. Preparation varies most: screwing down boards, a plywood overlay, levelling compound or a membrane can take longer than the laying itself. Then come the floor type, with glue-down engineered wood and herringbone patterns slower than click laminate, and the number of rooms, doorways and cut-outs. Removing old flooring, refitting skirting rather than beading, and trimming doors all add time. A hallway with six doors takes longer per square metre than an open bedroom.

Certificates and defined jobs are a fixed price confirmed before we attend; repairs are charged by the hour, with the rate and an estimate confirmed before we attend.

Flooring in Harrow and north west London

We fit floors across Harrow, Kenton, Stanmore and Edgware, and out to Pinner, Wembley, Kingsbury, Mill Hill, Ruislip and nearby. Many interwar semis here have suspended timber ground floors over a ventilated void, where we fix the boards firm before laying and keep the air bricks clear.

Newer flats usually have concrete or screed floors, and a lease that governs what can go on them. For landlords, we can fit flooring during a void alongside decorating and other repairs, so the property is ready to re-let together.

Carpentry & Joinery by area: Carpenters in Harrow, Carpenters in Kenton, Carpenters in Stanmore, Carpenters in Edgware, Carpenters in Bushey, Carpenters in Colindale, Carpenters in Hendon, Carpenters in Mill Hill, Carpenters in Northolt, Carpenters in Northwood, Carpenters in Pinner, Carpenters in Ruislip and Carpenters in Wembley.

What we will not do

We do not sand or refinish existing wooden floors, and we do not lay carpet. Tiled floors are covered by our tiling service. We do not investigate damp, replace rotten joists or repair a floor that has moved structurally; those go to a damp specialist or a structural engineer. We do not remove or disturb suspected asbestos.

Why people trust us

• Electrical or plumbing items on the list go to a registered electrician or one of our plumbers, on the same visit where we can
• A walk-in office on Kenton Lane, not a serviced address
• A written specification, so you know what is included and what would count as an extra
• A time slot rather than a morning-or-afternoon window
• Work photographed before and after, and reported
• We tell you when you do not need something we sell

We are building a review profile under this name and would rather show you none than borrow someone else's. Ask us for references from landlords and we will put you in touch.

Official sources

• GOV.UK: Leasehold property, leaseholder rights and responsibilities
• First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber): Flat 5, 49 Maresfield Gardens, LON/00BK/LBC/2022/0028, decision 24 October 2022
• HSE: Locations of asbestos and taking the right action (floor tiles)
• GOV.UK: Approved Document F (ventilation), Volume 1: Dwellings, 2021 edition, paragraph 1.25 (door undercuts)

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.