Flooring: fitting, replacing and restoring floors in Ireland

Solid wood and parquet can be sanded and refinished many times, but they move with humidity and need care over underfloor heating. Engineered wood has a real timber top layer on a stable core; it copes better with heating and with changes in humidity, and the thicker the top layer, the more times it can be sanded. Laminate is a printed surface on a fibreboard core: hard-wearing and affordable, but it cannot be sanded and most types dislike standing water.

Vinyl comes as sheet, as luxury vinyl tiles or planks glued down, and as rigid click systems. It suits kitchens and bathrooms, but it needs a very smooth subfloor because every bump telegraphs through. Carpet remains the usual choice for bedrooms and stairs, and the underlay matters as much as the carpet for comfort, warmth and noise.

Floor sanding restores existing floorboards or old parquet. The sander takes off the old finish and a thin layer of timber, gaps can be filled or slivered, and the floor is then oiled or lacquered.

Before fitting anything, a good fitter checks the subfloor. Timber floors may need loose boards screwed down, damaged boards replaced, or a plywood overlay. Concrete floors and new screeds should be tested for moisture, because glue-down floors and wood react badly to residual damp. Uneven floors may need a levelling compound, which takes time to cure.

Solid and engineered wood usually needs time to acclimatise in the room before fitting. Doors often have to be trimmed, skirting boards removed or beading added, and thresholds between rooms of different heights need planning. These steps are where cheap quotes save time, and where problems start.

• the rooms and their approximate size, including stairs and landings
• the floor you want, or the choices you are weighing up
• what is there now and whether it must be lifted and removed
• the subfloor, if you know it: floorboards, chipboard, concrete
• underfloor heating, and whether it is water or electric
• for flats: any lease rules on flooring or underlay
• for offices or shops: whether work must happen outside opening hours

The quote should separate the cost of the flooring from fitting, and list preparation: uplift and disposal of old flooring, subfloor repairs, levelling, moisture checks, underlay, trims, thresholds, door trimming and skirting. If the fitter supplies the flooring, ask for the product name and the wastage allowed for, especially with herringbone or patterned layouts, which cut more material. For sanding, ask about dust extraction and the finish being used, and how long you must keep off the floor afterwards.

Whether the work needs planning permission depends on what is built and where. Many small works on a house are exempted development within set limits, but that exemption does not apply everywhere, for example to protected structures. Ask your county or city council's planning office before you commit if you are unsure.

Electrical work in homes is carried out by Registered Electrical Contractors, and gas work by Registered Gas Installers; ask to see the registration before work starts. Check whether the quote includes VAT, which Revenue charges at different rates depending on the goods and services involved.

Source: revenue.ie

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