Preparation is a quarter of the job and none of the expectation
You cannot lay herringbone LVT on a floor that is 8mm out over two metres, but the customer has priced the job at £22 a metre because that is what the shop said.
For flooring fitters
Flooring estimates that price the subfloor, not just the floor
Customers buy a floor and think they are buying a laying rate. Everything that makes it last is underneath: screwing down a squeaking deck, latexing a dip by the bay, ply overlaying for LVT. Dictate what you found and get an estimate that prices the preparation properly.
Why estimating is the worst part of the week
Client-supplied flooring is always short
They ordered the exact floor area with no wastage, from a batch that is now discontinued. You are the one standing in the hallway explaining it.
Doors, thresholds and beading get forgotten
Four doors to ease, three thresholds and forty metres of scotia is most of a day, and it never appears in the customer's mental price.
A real example
Engineered oak through ground floor and LVT to kitchen
On the left is what you would actually write down. On the right is what your customer receives.
Your notes
hall through to the lounge, 32sqm engineered oak 14/3 190 wide, floating on 3mm foam with a dpm. boards are theirs, bought from that place in gateshead, make sure they get them in the room 48 hours before, minimum. subfloor is chipboard and it squeaks like mad, screw it down first. levels are out about 8mm over 2m by the bay window, latex it. kitchen 11sqm karndean herringbone, that needs 6mm ply and full spread adhesive and the floor has to be dead flat, no arguing. they want flush beading not scotia. 3 thresholds. old carpet and grippers out and away. 4 doors need 12mm off the bottom. 3 days
The estimate
| Item | Qty | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lift and remove existing carpet, underlay and gripper rods | 43 m² | £172.00 |
| Screw down and stabilise chipboard subfloor | 43 m² | £215.00 |
| Latex self-levelling compound to bay area | 9 m² | £216.00 |
| 6mm ply overlay to kitchen, screwed at 150mm centres | 11 m² | £286.00 |
| Lay engineered oak as floating floor over foam and DPM | 32 m² | £832.00 |
| Lay LVT in herringbone, full spread adhesive | 11 m² | £528.00 |
| Flush beading to perimeter, supplied and fitted | 46 linear m | £322.00 |
| Threshold bars, supplied and fitted | 3 each | £96.00 |
| Ease, trim and rehang internal doors | 4 each | £140.00 |
| Waste removal and site clean | 1 job | £120.00 |
| Total before VAT | £2,927.00 | |
An illustration using typical UK rates, not a price list. TradeScribe prices from the rates in your own notes and your saved day rate.
What we know about flooring estimates
These are the lines that come up again and again on a flooring fitter's estimate. Mention any of them in your notes, however briefly, and they come out properly worded.
- Lift and dispose of existing floor covering, per square metre
- Latex self-levelling compound, per square metre
- Ply overlay, screwed and sanded, per square metre
- Engineered wood, floating, per square metre
- Solid wood, secret nailed or glued, per square metre
- LVT plank, full spread adhesive, per square metre
- Herringbone or chevron layout supplement
- Carpet and underlay, supplied and fitted, per square metre
- Scotia or flush beading, per linear metre
- Threshold bars and door easing, each
Flooring estimating questions
How do I price flooring when the subfloor might need levelling?
Take a straightedge on the survey and write down what you find, then price the levelling you can see and add a rate for the rest. 'Latex to bay area, 9m² included; further levelling at £24/m² if required' is far easier than turning up on day one to a floor that will not take the product. LVT in particular telegraphs every dip, and the customer will blame the fitter, not the floor.
Should I insist on acclimatisation time in my estimate?
Put it on as a condition, not a request: boards to be delivered and left flat in the room for at least 48 hours, ideally longer for solid timber. Wood that has come off a cold lorry and gone straight down will cup or gap within a month, and the manufacturer's warranty will be the first thing to be voided.
Who pays for extra boards if the customer under-ordered?
They do, but only if you told them the number to order. Give them the area plus a stated wastage percentage in writing, higher for herringbone or a diagonal lay, and put it in the estimate rather than a phone call. If the batch is discontinued by the time you find out, no amount of goodwill fixes it.
Do I charge to lift and take away the old carpet?
Yes, as its own line. Lifting, cutting, bagging and tipping an old carpet with gripper rods is real time and real tip charges, and it is much easier to price it visibly than to have a customer assume it was free because it was mentioned in passing. Give them the option to dispose of it themselves if they would rather.
Should my estimate cover the doors that will no longer close?
It should, because it is the most common complaint on a new floor. A build-up of ply, underlay and board can take 15mm off the gap under a door. List the doors to be eased and rehung, and note any that are fire doors, since trimming those has limits and may mean a replacement rather than a plane.
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