Flooring Buying Guide
The right choice of flooring will perfectly complement your home - and a new floor can transform any room. Explore our range of flooring styles, colours and finishes, from hard-wearing laminate and LVT to striking engineered wood. Our handy how to guides will help you get it right first time.
Types of flooring
Laminate flooring
Compressed fibreboard overlaid with photographic paper and a protective resin top layer (suitable for living spaces and kitchens).
Advantages
- Easy to install and maintain
- Resists scratches, dents, stains
- Made from 70% wood which is sourced from sustainable forests
- Softer underfoot than tiles, concrete and stones
- More affordable than engineered or solid wood
Solid wood flooring
Cut from a single piece of solid wood brings natural character, grain and warmth to a room (suitable for living spaces and bedrooms).
Advantages
- Strong and durable flooring with great sound absorption
- Timeless and long lasting with scratch-resistance
- Tongue & groove joint: can be glued or nailed
- Can be sanded, restained, lacquered or varnished
- Our timber is sourced responsibly and is FSC-certified
Engineered wood flooring
Engineered wood flooring combines all the natural character and durability of solid timber with a strengthened construction for stability and versatility (suitable for living spaces and kitchens).
Advantages
- Durable with strengthened construction made up of 3 layers
- Click fitting: no glue or nails required
- Textured finish with great scratch-resistance
- Our timber is sourced responsibly and is FSC-certified
- Compatible with underfloor heating
LVT luxury vinyl click flooring
Luxury Vinyl Flooring features a realistic printed decor, sandwiched between a layer of vinyl providing a resistance to scratches (suitable for living spaces, kitchens, bathrooms).
Advantages
- Most durable flooring
- 100% water-resistant
- Fast and simple installation
- Excellent noise reduction and has a soft sound when walked on
- Authentically replicates wooden and tiled floors
Shop by room
Kitchen flooring
Our range of flooring suitable for you kitchen helps you update your home with a friendly feel.
Shop kitchen flooring
Bathroom flooring
Our range of bathroom flooring has been designed to withstand moisture and give a great look.
Shop bathroom flooringShop by colour
Complete your flooring project
Underlay
Ideal for Laminate, Vinyl, Engineered and Solid Wood flooring
Advantages
- Smooths uneven floors
- High compression strength
- Proven sound reduction upon impact
Trims & Threshold Bars
Ideal for Laminate, Vinyl, Engineered and Solid Wood flooring
Advantages
- Covers the gap between the two floors and walls
- Creates continuity between the floors and skirting boards
- Colour matched to our range of laminate flooring
Flooring Tools
Ideal for Laminate, Vinyl, Engineered and Solid Wood flooring
Advantages
- Maintains the gap around a perimeter
- For pulling planks together and protecting edges of boards when tapping them together
- Great for repairing damaged flooring
Cork Expansion Strips
Ideal for Laminate, Vinyl, Engineered and Solid Wood flooring
Advantages
- Essential when fitting a floating floor
- Controls the natural expansion of your flooring
- Minimises impact and prevents rising and moving against the perimeter of a room
Top tips
Measure before buying
Measure the length of all walls in the area in which you intend to lay the flooring. Using the online flooring calculator, add your room dimensions to work out how many packs are needed.
Check the flooring is suitable
Before purchase, check the features and benefits of the type of flooring you are purchasing and ensure they meet the requirements of your household and the room. Moisture, pets and sunlight should all be considered. For kitchens and bathrooms, we recommend water-resistant flooring. Luxury vinyl tiles are waterproof, meaning they are bathroom- and kitchen-friendly. Please follow product instructions on pack to ensure the correct preparation and installation process.
Check the surface before installing the flooring
For flooring installations, make sure that the sub-floor surface is level, dry and clean. We recommend using an underlay on most floorings, unless already fitted. A good quality underlay will help improve acoustics and also level minor sub-floor imperfections. For any installations containing underfloor heating, please check with a qualified expert before installation.
Ensure you have the correct equipment
Make sure you have all the equipment that you'll need before starting a flooring project. This includes spacer wedges, jigsaw or handsaw, tapping block, hammer and a ruler.
Don't forget expansion gaps and other project completers
All laminate, wood and luxury vinyl flooring will expand and contract due to temperature and moisture fluctuations in the home. To allow for this, the expansion gaps recommended on the packs should be followed. You may also require a skirting board, door threshold bar or colour-matched edging trims to complete your project.
Flooring aftercare
To keep the flooring in a good condition, make sure that it is used in accordance with the recommended conditions found on the packaging. When moving furniture, make sure to be careful to avoid damaging the surface of the flooring, and use felt pads under chairs and heavier pieces of furniture. Barrier mats should be used if there is a risk of dirt and debris coming into the home from outside.
