How Long Will Your Flooring Installation Take?
Realistic timings for carpet, LVT, laminate and vinyl fitting, including subfloor drying times, stairs, whole houses and what delays a job on the day.
The fitting itself is often the shortest part. What sets the overall timescale is preparation and drying, because latex, adhesive and screed all need their own time before anyone can walk on the floor.
These are working timings from real jobs rather than best-case figures, so you can plan furniture, deliveries and time off around them.
Typical fitting times by room and product
| Job | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| Single bedroom carpet | 2 to 3 hours |
| Lounge in laminate or click LVT | Half a day |
| Kitchen in glue-down LVT | Full day, plus prep the day before |
| Bathroom in sheet vinyl | Half a day |
| Stairs and landing carpet | Most of a day |
| Herringbone LVT in a large room | Two days |
| Three-bedroom house, mixed floors | Three to five days |
Preparation is what extends the programme
- Latex screed usually needs overnight before flooring goes down, longer if applied thickly
- Plywood overlay adds most of a day in a medium room, screwed at close centres
- A new sand and cement screed can need weeks to dry before a floor can be bonded to it
- Damp proof membranes need their own cure time before anything is laid over them
Acclimatisation, and when it is genuinely needed
Wood and some LVT ranges are left in the room before fitting so the material settles to the temperature and humidity it will live in. Skipping it is a common cause of gapping in engineered wood a few weeks later. Carpet and sheet vinyl need far less, though vinyl relaxes better if unrolled first.
What delays a fitting day
- Furniture that has not been cleared, which turns a fitting day into a moving day
- A subfloor problem only visible once the old floor is lifted, such as damp or rotten boards
- Doors that will not clear the new build-up and need easing before rooms can be used
- Access and parking, particularly terraced streets and flats with no lift
When you can use the room again
Carpet and click systems are usable straight away. Glue-down LVT and bonded vinyl want light foot traffic only for the first 24 hours, and heavy furniture should stay off until the adhesive has cured, typically 48 hours. Put felt pads on furniture legs before it goes back.
Phasing a whole house or a working premises
Occupied houses are usually done room by room so there is always somewhere to sleep. Commercial sites are phased by area and often fitted outside trading hours, which lengthens the calendar but keeps the business open. Both are planned at survey stage, not on the morning.
Frequently asked questions
- Can it all be done in one day?
- A single room, usually yes. A whole house or anything needing screeding will not be, because the preparation has to dry.
- Do I need to move the furniture?
- Clearing what you can speeds the job and reduces cost, but we move normal household furniture where needed.
- How soon can I put the beds back?
- Same day on carpet. On glue-down floors, leave heavy items off for around 48 hours while the adhesive cures.
- Will you take the old flooring away?
- Yes, uplift and disposal are quoted with the work so nothing is left in the garden.
Keep reading
A realistic timeline of what to expect on the day your new flooring is fitted, and how to prepare your home beforehand.
How latex self-levelling compound works, when it's needed, and how it differs from full sand-cement screed before new flooring.
How to tell if a new screed is dry enough for flooring, and what happens if it isn't yet ready.
See how we survey, prepare and fit LVT across Kent.
See how we survey, prepare and fit carpet across Kent.
Talk it through with a fitter, not a call centre
Book a free measure from our Gillingham warehouse and we will bring samples of the options discussed here, check the subfloor and leave you with a written quote.