Which flooring lasts longest in a Kent family home?

For a busy ground floor, glue-down LVT with a thick wear layer or engineered wood usually outlasts laminate and mid-range carpet, provided the subfloor is levelled properly first.

Can I see and feel the flooring before ordering?

Yes. Our Gillingham warehouse and showroom holds stock and samples, so you can walk on the product and compare it under real light before deciding.

Do you supply only, or supply and fit?

Both. You can buy the flooring alone, or have our own in-house fitters measure, prepare the subfloor and install it.

Is measuring and quoting free?

Yes. We measure on site, check the subfloor, bring samples and give you a written quote with no obligation.

Flooring across Kent

Every flooring type we supply and fit in Kent, compared honestly.

Seven materials, side by side: how each one wears, where it belongs, what it costs relative to the others, how it is fitted, what the subfloor needs and how to keep it looking right.

This page exists to answer one question: which floor should go into your room. It is not a company introduction. If you already know you want us and simply want the business details, the home page and showroom page cover that.

Everything below comes from fitting these products across 17 Kent towns from our warehouse at Gillingham Business Park. Where a material has a genuine weakness, it is written down, because the wrong specification is the single most common reason a floor gets replaced early.

Carpet

How it wears: Pile flattens in traffic lanes before it wears through, so density and fibre matter more than thickness. Wool blends recover better underfoot; polypropylene holds colour and resists staining.
Where it suits: Bedrooms, lounges, stairs and landings where warmth and sound absorption are worth more than water resistance.
Cost relative to the others: Cheapest to mid on material, quick on labour in simple rooms, dearer on stairs where every riser is cut and gripped.
How it is fitted: Gripper rods and underlay in domestic rooms, double-stick for contract areas and long corridors. Seams are placed away from doorways.
Underlay and subfloor: Needs a smooth, dry base. Loose boards get screwed down; concrete usually takes latex where the surface is pitted. Underlay is always required.
How to clean it: Vacuum with a beater bar weekly in traffic lanes, blot spills rather than rub, and hot water extract every year or two.

Carpet supplied and fitted

Laminate

How it wears: A printed decor under a melamine wear layer. It resists scratching well and dents poorly, and edge swelling is the usual failure once water sits in a joint.
Where it suits: Lounges, bedrooms and hallways on a budget where the floor will stay dry.
Cost relative to the others: Low material cost, fast to lay, so it is normally the cheapest hard floor supplied and fitted.
How it is fitted: Floated as a click system over foam or fibreboard underlay, with expansion gaps at every wall and a bar at each threshold.
Underlay and subfloor: Tolerates minor undulation better than glue-down, but anything over about 3mm across 2m telegraphs into the joints and eventually gaps them.
How to clean it: Barely damp mop only. Standing water and steam mops are what kill laminate early.

Laminate supplied and fitted

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT)

How it wears: Wear layer thickness decides the life. Thin domestic wear layers scuff in hallways; thicker commercial layers take trolley and chair traffic for years.
Where it suits: Kitchens, hallways, bathrooms, utility rooms and busy open-plan ground floors, plus offices and retail.
Cost relative to the others: Mid to upper on material and the highest prep cost of the hard floors, because glue-down demands a flat base.
How it is fitted: Glue-down for the best long-term result, click LVT where the floor may need lifting. Herringbone and pattern laying takes longer than plank.
Underlay and subfloor: The fussiest of the lot. Latex screed or plywood overlay is normal, because every ridge and screw head shows through the tile.
How to clean it: Sweep, then neutral pH cleaner. Avoid bleach and solvent cleaners which dull the surface finish.

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) supplied and fitted

Sheet vinyl

How it wears: A continuous surface with no joints to fail, so it copes with water better than any plank product. Heavy point loads can indent it.
Where it suits: Bathrooms, cloakrooms, utility rooms, kitchens and rental properties where cost and water resistance lead.
Cost relative to the others: The cheapest genuinely waterproof option supplied and fitted, especially in small rooms.
How it is fitted: Cut and scribed in one piece where the room allows, bonded fully or spot bonded, with seams heat welded in wet areas.
Underlay and subfloor: Needs a flat base with no debris, since every crumb reads through the sheet. Plywood overlay over boards is standard.
How to clean it: Mop with a vinyl-safe cleaner. Lift grit promptly, since trodden grit is what scratches the wear layer.

Sheet vinyl supplied and fitted

Engineered wood

How it wears: A real hardwood top layer over plywood. It can be sanded back once or twice depending on the veneer, so it is repairable rather than disposable.
Where it suits: Lounges, dining rooms, hallways and open-plan spaces, including over underfloor heating.
Cost relative to the others: The dearest domestic option per m² in most specifications, and the one that adds most perceived value.
How it is fitted: Glued or secret nailed, or floated on a wood-rated underlay. Acclimatised in the room before laying.
Underlay and subfloor: Moisture testing first, then levelling. Over underfloor heating the floor build-up and surface temperature limits govern the specification.
How to clean it: Dry sweep and a barely damp wood cleaner. Never wet mop, and keep felt pads under furniture.

Engineered wood supplied and fitted

Solid wood

How it wears: Thick enough to be sanded and refinished repeatedly, so a well-kept solid floor outlives everything else here. It also moves most with humidity.
Where it suits: Period rooms and upper floors on timber joists where the floor is not going over heating.
Cost relative to the others: High material cost with slow, skilled labour, so the highest total of the domestic options.
How it is fitted: Secret nailed to battens or joists, or fully bonded to a stable base, laid with expansion allowance at the perimeter.
Underlay and subfloor: Not usually suitable directly over underfloor heating or damp concrete. Needs a dry, well ventilated base.
How to clean it: Sweep, use a wax or oil care product matched to the finish, and refinish sections rather than replacing them.

Solid wood supplied and fitted

Safety flooring

How it wears: Aggregate in the wear layer gives sustained slip resistance rather than a coating that polishes off. Rated to slip performance standards, not just a texture.
Where it suits: Commercial kitchens, washrooms, care settings, schools, clinics and any wet or contaminated area.
Cost relative to the others: Priced above standard sheet vinyl because of the material grade and the welding and capping labour.
How it is fitted: Fully bonded, seams hot welded, and coved up the wall with capping where a hygienic detail is needed.
Underlay and subfloor: Fall and drainage detail matters as much as flatness. Damp proofing and screeding are checked before ordering.
How to clean it: Mechanical or deck scrubbing with the correct dilution. The wrong cleaner leaves a film that reduces slip performance.

Safety flooring supplied and fitted

Where we fit across Kent

Fitting teams run out of Gillingham daily. Each town page carries its own access, parking and housing-stock notes rather than the same paragraph with the name changed.

Flooring in Gillingham Flooring in Medway Flooring in Maidstone Flooring in Canterbury Flooring in Ashford Flooring in Folkestone Flooring in Dover Flooring in Sittingbourne Flooring in Faversham Flooring in Whitstable Flooring in Margate Flooring in Ramsgate Flooring in Tunbridge Wells Flooring in Tonbridge Flooring in Sevenoaks Flooring in Dartford Flooring in Gravesend

Looking for a carpet fitter instead?Commercial and contract flooring Read the flooring guides

Flooring samples and stock inside the Gillingham warehouse showroom

Come and stand on it first

Photographs flatten texture and shift colour. Our Gillingham showroom lets you walk on the carpet, flex the LVT and see the wood grain under daylight before you commit. Call 07702 737267 or tap to call and we will have the ranges you are weighing up ready when you arrive.