Labour and materials are two different numbers
The rates published on this site cover fitting labour. They don't include the flooring, the paint, the underlay, the skirting boards or the adhesive. That's deliberate: material prices vary enormously by range, and folding an assumed material cost into a labour rate produces a number that's wrong for almost everybody.
It also means you have a real choice. You can buy the material yourself, ask us to include it, or start from a budget and work backwards to what it buys. Tell us which of those you want and the quote is built that way.
What a square-metre rate does and doesn't cover
A per-square-metre rate prices the act of fitting a floor across a clear, prepared area. The rest of the job is made of things that don't scale with floor area, so they're quoted as their own items:
- Lifting and disposing of the existing floor.
- Subfloor preparation — levelling, damp checks, fixing squeaks, removing old adhesive.
- Skirting: refitting the existing boards, or supplying and fitting new ones.
- Scotia, beading, thresholds and transition strips between rooms.
- Trimming doors where the new floor height needs it.
- Moving and protecting furniture where that's part of the job.
Why the pattern changes the labour
Straight-plank laminate and LVT start from the same rate — €20/m² — because the fitting method is broadly comparable. Parquet and herringbone start higher, from €40/m², and that isn't a premium for the look: setting out a pattern, keeping it square across a room and cutting every perimeter piece to the angle simply takes longer.
Hardwood and engineered wood start from €50/m², reflecting both the fitting method — often glued or secret-nailed rather than floated — and how much less room for error there is in a material you can't just replace a plank of.
How painting is priced
Wall painting starts from €15/m², again as labour. What moves that figure is preparation rather than paint: filling and sanding cracks, dealing with previous bad finishes, stain-blocking, and how many coats the colour change actually needs. A dark wall going pale is a different job from a repaint in the same shade.
Ceilings, doors, frames and skirting are quoted per surface rather than lumped into a room price, so you can see what each part costs and drop anything you'd rather leave.
What to send to get an accurate quote
The difference between a vague answer and a useful one is usually four pieces of information:
- Your area or Eircode.
- Which rooms are involved, and rough measurements — pacing them out is fine.
- A few photos, including the existing floor or the walls in question.
- The finish you're after, access details (stairs, lift, parking), and your preferred timing.
Then a survey, then a written quote
The survey is free and it's where the estimate becomes a price: measurements get checked, the base and the surfaces get looked at, access is assessed, and anything ambiguous gets settled while everyone is standing in the room.
What follows is a written quote listing the agreed work, the materials, the price and what's excluded. If something new appears once the old floor is up, it's explained and agreed before the work continues — the quote is a starting agreement, not a fixed price that quietly changes on the day.
Common questions
Do your prices include materials?
Is the survey really free?
How quickly will I get a quote?
Can flooring and painting be quoted together?
What if the price changes once work starts?
Services this guide covers
More guides
- Laminate, LVT or Engineered Wood? Choosing a Floor for a Dublin HomeThree floor types cover most Dublin homes, and the right one usually depends less on taste than on the room: what's under it, how wet it gets, whether there's underfloor heating, and whether a management company has something to say about noise.
- What Subfloor Preparation Actually Involves — and Why a Price Can ChangeThe part of a flooring job you never see is the part that decides how the finished floor behaves. Here's what preparation covers, what gets checked, and why a quote can only be firm about it after the old floor is up.