How to Choose a Flooring Fitter
What to ask before hiring a flooring fitter in Kent: quotes, preparation, insurance, guarantees, payment terms and the warning signs worth walking away from.
Flooring is an unregulated trade. Anyone can buy a knife and a van and call themselves a fitter, and the difference between a good installation and a poor one often does not show for eighteen months, by which point the person who did it may be unreachable.
These are the questions that actually tell you something, drawn from the jobs we get called in to put right.
The questions worth asking
- Will you measure the room yourself before quoting, or is this a phone estimate?
- What subfloor preparation does the price include, and what would trigger an extra charge?
- Is uplift and disposal of the old floor in the price?
- What exact product and specification is quoted, including wear layer or pile weight?
- Who fits it, you or a subcontractor, and are they insured?
- What happens if a problem appears in six months?
- Can I see recent work or speak to a recent customer nearby?
The measure is the tell
A fitter who quotes without seeing the floor is guessing at the preparation, and preparation is where the money is. A proper measure takes twenty to forty minutes, includes checking the subfloor type, looking for damp on solid floors, checking door clearances and asking how the room is used.
If someone quotes from room dimensions over the phone, they have priced the covering and nothing else. Their number will be lower and their final invoice will not be.
Reading a quote properly
| Line | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Product | Exact range, colour and specification, not just 'grey LVT' |
| Underlay or adhesive | Named product and thickness or tog |
| Preparation | Latex, ply or none, with the area and method stated |
| Uplift and disposal | Included or excluded, stated explicitly |
| Accessories | Door bars, scotia, gripper, listed rather than 'sundries' |
| Labour | Day rate or fixed price, and the expected duration |
| Total | Including VAT, with payment terms |
Warning signs
A large cash deposit demanded up front, particularly cash only. A quote significantly cheaper than everyone else's with no explanation of what has been left out. No written quote at all. Pressure to decide today because a price expires. No fixed address or landline, and a mobile number that goes to voicemail.
None of these is proof of anything on its own, but two or three together is a reliable pattern, and it is the pattern behind most of the abandoned jobs we are asked to finish.
Insurance, guarantees and what they actually cover
Public liability insurance protects you if something in your property is damaged during the work. Ask for it and expect a straight answer. A workmanship guarantee is separate from the manufacturer's product warranty, and the two cover different failures.
Most product warranties are void if the floor was fitted outside the manufacturer's instructions, which is why a fitter who takes moisture readings and follows the acclimatisation guidance is protecting your warranty as well as their own reputation.
Cheapest is rarely cheapest
The two most common reasons a quote is much lower are that preparation has been omitted and that the product specification is a tier below what was discussed. Both surface later, one as a failing floor and one as a floor that wears out early.
A useful test is to take the cheapest and the middle quote and ask each of them, in writing, what preparation is included and what wear layer or pile weight is specified. The gap usually explains itself in one email.
Buying from a warehouse rather than a van
Buying from a business with a physical showroom and warehouse means you can see the product before you buy it, there is somewhere to go if something is wrong, and there is a stock history if you need a matching piece later.
We fit what we sell from our Gillingham warehouse, which means the same business is responsible for the product and the installation. When those are split between a supplier and a separate fitter, problems tend to sit in the gap between them.
Getting it in writing before work starts
Before the first day, you should have in writing the total price including VAT, the product and specification, what preparation is included, the start date and expected duration, the payment terms, and what happens if extra work becomes necessary once the old floor is up.
That last point is the one worth pinning down. Subfloors do hide surprises, and the reasonable arrangement is that any additional work is quoted and agreed before it is carried out, not added to the invoice afterwards.
For anything of significant value, pay by card or bank transfer rather than cash, so there is a record. It costs you nothing and it is the simplest protection available if a dispute ever needs resolving.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I pay a deposit?
- A deposit against materials is normal, usually with the balance on completion. Large up-front cash payments for the whole job are not.
- Are flooring fitters accredited?
- There is no mandatory scheme. Some fitters hold NICF or CFA membership, which is a useful indicator but not a legal requirement.
- Can I supply my own flooring?
- Most fitters will fit supplied material, but they cannot warrant a product they did not source, and any shortfall in quantity is your responsibility.
- How far in advance should I book?
- Two to four weeks is typical for domestic work, longer in the run up to Christmas when everyone wants a new floor at once.
Keep reading
A room by room checklist for the days before your flooring is fitted: furniture, doors, appliances, decorating order, parking and what fitters need on site.
The genuine reasons a flooring quote can move after a site survey — subfloor condition, access, room shape — and how to avoid nasty surprises.
What a flooring warranty actually covers, the difference between product and workmanship cover, common exclusions and how to keep a claim valid.
See how we survey, prepare and fit carpet across Kent.
See how we survey, prepare and fit LVT across Kent.
See how we survey, prepare and fit commercial flooring 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 suited to the room discussed here, check the subfloor and leave you with a written quote.